Suzanne Thomas and Claire Lunch examine "living crusts," sand glued together by microscopic, photosynthetic organisms. (Zoe Cardon)

Why are the Cape Cod sand dunes crusty?

	View of Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown from the research site at the National Seashore. (Zoe Cardon)

Over the course of the last century, the inland parabolic, or U-shaped, sand dunes at Cape Cod National Seashore have marched from the northwest to the southeast, pushed by winter winds. Aerial photographs show that the dune fronts have moved 130 to 230 meters since 1938, some fronts even intersecting with Route 6.

Close-up of sand crust. (Zoe Cardon)

Distinct plant communities have developed as the dunes envelop trees and create moist troughs. The surface of the dunes is, in some places, surprisingly dark-colored and tough, and the darkened crust turns green with spring rains -- sand in the crust is glued ....>>>



More Ecosystems Center News

FEATURES

Sampling at the waterfall in Panama

MBL Ecosystems Center scientists studying Panama’s tropical ecosystems have returned to their field site at the Liquid Jungle Laboratory (LJL) on the island of Canales de Tierra, Veraguas Province....>>>

STAFF NEWS

Jerry Melillo Christopher Neil MBL Names Melillo Distinguished Scientist, Promotes Neill to Senior Scientist The MBL has honored Jerry Melillo by naming him Distinguished Scientist, a title held by only three scientists in the laboratory's 122-year history. MBL director Gary Borisy praised Melillo, saying that he is "not only an outstanding scientist, but also an advocate with genuine concern for the conservation of nature, and a highly valued colleague and mentor." Melillo has been at the Ecosystems Center since 1976, serving as co-director until last year. Christopher Neill was promoted to senior scientist. MBL Director Gary Borisy noted Neill's "high quality and diversity of research," along with his "scientific accomplishments and leadership in collaborative research, education and public outreach." Neill is currently a Bullard Fellow in Amazon Ecology at the Harvard Forest in Petersham, Massachusetts... More>>>

Germer, S, C. Neill, A. V. Krusche and H. Elsenbeer. 2010. Influence of land-use change on near-surface hydrological processes: Undisturbed forest to pasture. Journal of Hydrology 380:473-480.

Hasagawa, Y. and J. E. Hobbie. 2010. Application of molecular knowledge of microbes to studies of ecological processes: Why the integration is so challenging. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 91:68-79.

Herron, P.M., D. J. Gage and Z. G. Cardon. 2010. Micro-scale water potential gradients visualized in soil around plant root tips using microbiosensors. Plant, Cell, and Environment 33:199-210.

Koop-Jakobsen, K., and A. E. Giblin. 2010. The effect of increased nitrate loading on nitrate reduction via denitrification and DNRA in salt marsh sediments. Limnology and Oceanography 55: 789-802.

Moran, X. A. G., A. Calvo-Diaz, and H.W. Ducklow. 2010. Total and phytoplankton mediated bottom-up control of bacterioplankton change with temperature in NE Atlantic shelf waters. Aquatic Microbial Ecology 58:229-239.

Olsen, Y. S., S. E. Fox, E. K. Kinney, M. Teichberg, and I. Valiela. 2010. Differences in urbanization and degree of marine influence are reflected in δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N of producers and consumers in seagrass habitats of Puerto Rico. Marine Environmental Research 69: 198–206

Yano, Y., G. R. Shaver, A. E. Giblin and E. B. Rastetter. 2010. Depleted ¹⁵N in hydrolysable-N of arctic soils and its implication for mycorrhizal fungi-plant interaction. Biogeochemistry. 97 (2-3):183-194.

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