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Title: Control Points in Ecosystems: Moving Beyond the Hot Spot Hot Moment Concept
Award ID(s):
1637661
NSF-PAR ID:
10054793
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Ecosystems
Volume:
20
Issue:
4
ISSN:
1432-9840
Page Range / eLocation ID:
665 to 682
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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    Biogeochemical processes are often spatially discrete (hot spots) and temporally isolated (hot moments) due to variability in controlling factors like hydrologic fluxes, lithological characteristics, bio-geomorphic features, and external forcing. Although these hot spots and hot moments (HSHMs) account for a high percentage of carbon, nitrogen and nutrient cycling within the Critical Zone, the ability to identify and incorporate them into reactive transport models remains a significant challenge. This chapter provides an overview of the hot spots hot moments (HSHMs) concepts, where past work has largely focused on carbon and nitrogen dynamics within riverine systems. This work is summarized in the context of process-based and data-driven modeling approaches, including a brief description of recent research that casts a wider net to incorporate Hg, Fe and other Critical Zone elements, and focuses on interdisciplinary approaches and concepts. The broader goal of this chapter is to provide an overview of the gaps in our current understanding of HSHMs, and the opportunities therein, while specifically focusing on the underlying parameters and processes leading to their prognostic and diagnostic representation in reactive transport models. 
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