Can the the implementation of agrivoltaics in vacant urban spaces provide additional environmental and socioeconomic benefits, including buffering heat stress, extending seasonal range limits of some crops, storm water management and the potential to address food deserts? Caroline Merheb‘s research is case in point. Our extensive sensor network monitors around 50 physical variables at the TU agrivoltaic test site, including multiple sensors to track the spatial and temporal distribution of light (direct, PAR, albedo), soil moisture, air/soil temperature, panel temperature, wind dynamics, and electricity generation
Congratulations Dr. Chong Seok Choi and Rebecca Bertel (ES major) ! New publication in Applied Energy. Multi-year multi-site evaluation of different site management strategies at utility scale solar energy sites. This study highlights the need for evaluating multiple ecosystem services at solar sites to identify site-specific dominant environmental co-benefits in co-located systems
Leonard, J., S. Ravi and S. K. Mohanty, (2024) Preferential Emission of Microplastics from Biosolid-Applied Agricultural Soils: Field Evidence and Theoretical Framework, Environmental Science & Technology Lett. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.3c00850
Khatei, K., T. Rinaldo, R. S. Van Pelt, P. D’Odorico and S. Ravi (2024), Wind erodibility and particulate matter emissions of salt-affected soils: The case of dry soils in a low humidity atmosphere, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, https://doi. org/10.1029/2023JD039576
Burger, W. J., R. S. Van Pelt, D. E. Grandstaff, G. Wang, T. T. Sankey, J. Li, J. Sankey and S. Ravi (2023). Multi-year tracing of spatial and temporal dynamics of post-fire aeolian sediment transport using rare Earth elements provide insights into grassland management. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 128, e2023JF007274. https://doi. org/10.1029/2023JF007274
This week our research group joined ~27K attendees from around the world for the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. Our group contributed to 11 presentations/abstracts and organizing two sessions in Hydrology and Global Environmental Change sections. Incredibly proud of all our students !
Monday:
H13J-1576 Internal feedback mechanisms driving shrub-grass dominance: from shrub encroachment to exotic grass invasions in North American deserts. Sujith Ravi
ED11C-0773 Developing an Inclusive Learning Community Focused on Agrivoltaic Research: Sofia Taboada
H13J-1571 Salinity and soil water retention: The compounding effects of osmotic and matric potential: Lucy Archibald
Tuesday:
GC211-1039A Global Synthesis of Multi-use Solar Energy Projects: Synergies and Tradeoffs: Caroline Merheb
GC211-1049 Multi-year field study on the impacts of managed sheep grazing on soil health at solar energy sites: Natalie Thomas
GC211-1045 Evaluating the environmental co-benefits and tradeoffs of urban agrivoltaics in Philadelphia: Cara Rydzewski
GC21I-1048 Multi-Year Analysis of Physical Interactions between Solar PV Arrays and Underlying Soil-Plant Components in Vegetated Utility-Scale Systems: Chong Seok Choi
Friday
GC53J-0936 Preferential Emission of Microplastics from Biosolid-applied Agricultural Soils: Field Evidence and Theoretical Framework: Dona Jamie Leonard,
A53N-2465 Wind Erodibility and Particulate Matter Emissions of Dry Salt-Affected Soils Under Diverse Atmospheric Humidity Conditions Ganesh Khatei
EP53C-1678Salinity Effects on Soil Surface Erodibility and Dust Emissions: Robert S Van Pelt
Session on Monday H12C – Advances in Ecohydrology of Water-Limited Environments (Co-organized by S. Ravi)
Session on Tuesday GC211- Dual-Use Renewable Energy and Agrivoltaics for Climate-Resilient Landscapes and Food-Energy-Water Security (Co-organized by Chong Seok Choi )
New publication by Chong Seok Choi (PhD, EES) and Dellena Bloom (ES major) in American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Earth’s Future on the benefits and tradeoffs of multifunctional solar PV projects. Agrivoltaics in agricultural areas with carbon debt can be an effective climate mitigation strategy along with revitalizing agricultural soils, generating income streams from fallow land, and providing pollinator habitats. Our findings provide foundational data for site preservation and for optimizing agrivoltaic designs by targeting site specific co-benefits.
Choi, C.S., J. Macknick, Y. Li, D. Bloom, J. McCall, and S. Ravi, (2023) Environmental co-benefits of maintaining natural vegetation with solar photovoltaic infrastructure. Earth’s Future, 10.1029/2023EF003542
EES students Caroline Merheb (PhD), Cara Rydzewski (ES major) studying the benefits and trade-offs of multi-functional solar projects in urban areas, that provide renewable energy while supporting food production. #NSF CAREER
This project will collect foundational field studies of micro-solar and agricultural colocation, specifically in the context of remote, off-grid locations, and developing countries.
Lucy Archibald, Geology major, received NSF GEO-REPS funding – to support up to one year of research training for students who did not have access to opportunities due to pandemic-related interruptions. Funding includes a competitive stipend (up to one year), research supplies and conference travel.
Lucy’s work focuses on how water is transported and retained in saline and sodic soils. Soil salinization is a major environmental issues with impacts on global food security and environmental quality. Saline soils present significant challenges to soil and water quality, soil biodiversity, soil erosion and economic crop production, creating significant challenges for more than 1.5 billion people around the world. Lucy will develop a novel experimental methodology to create soils with different salinity levels in the laboratory and will investigate and model water retention properties for agriculturally important soils in the US, which are prone to salinization. The GEO-REPS supplemental funding will enable her to continue this project for up to one year after graduation.
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