Kinsman-Costello receives grant to study Lake Erie coastal wetlands

The Ohio Water Development Authority has selected for funding a collaborative grant between Lauren Kinsman-Costello (KSU), Gil Bohrer (OSU) and Kelly Wrighton (OSU) titled “Predictive modeling of nutrient and carbon processing in wetlands-linking hydrology, water quality and microbial processes.” This research will combine a suite of powerful techniques, including empirical measures of nutrient processing rates and microbial communities as well as modeling, to provide a more comprehensive understanding of wetland nutrient cycling in the face of rapid changes in precipitation patterns and land use. Drs. Kinsman-Costello, Bohrer, and Wrighton will measure greenhouse gas emissions (Bohrer), nutrient removal functions (Kinsman-Costello), and microbial community composition and function (Wrighton) to parameterize the Ecosys model to provide improved understanding of how one of the few remaining high quality Lake Erie coastal wetlands functions (Old Woman Creek).