SREL Reprint #3740

Shower thoughts: why scientists should spend more time in the rain

John T. Van Stan1, Scott T. Allen2, Douglas P. Aubrey3, Z. Carter Berry4, Matthew Biddick5,
Miriam A.M.J. Coenders-Gerrits6, Paolo Giordani7, Sybil G. Gotsch8, Ethan D. Gutmann9,
Yakov Kuzyakov10,11, Donát Magyar12, Valentina S.A. Mella13, Kevin E. Mueller1,
Alexandra G. Ponette-González14, Philipp Porada15, Carla E. Rosenfeld16, Jack Simmons17,
Kandikere R. Sridhar18, Aron Stubbins19, and Travis Swanson20

1Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences, Cleveland State University,
Cleveland, Ohio, USA
2Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Science, University of Nevada-Reno,
Reno, Nevada, USA
3Savannah River Ecology Lab and Warnell School of Forestry, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, USA
4Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA
5Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany
6Department of Water Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands
7Dipartimento di Farmacia, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
8Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
9Research Applications Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA
10Department of Soil Science of Temperate Systems, Agricultural Soil Science,
Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen, Germany
11Peoples Friendship University of Russia, Moscow, Russia
12National Public Health Center, Budapest, Hungary
13Sydney School of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
14Department of City and Metropolitan Planning and Natural History Museum of Utah,
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
15Department of Biology at Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
16Department of Minerals and Earth Sciences, Carnegie Museum of Natural History,
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
17Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia, USA
18Department of Biosciences, Mangalore University, Konaje, Mangaluru, Karnataka, India
19Departments of Marine and Environmental Science, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and
Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
20independent scholar, Savannah, Georgia, USA

Abstract: Stormwater is a vital resource and dynamic driver of terrestrial ecosystem processes. However, processes controlling interactions during and shortly after storms are often poorly seen and poorly sensed when direct observations are substituted with technological ones. We discuss how human observations complement technological ones and the benefits of scientists spending more time in the storm. Human observation can reveal ephemeral storm-related phenomena such as biogeochemical hot moments, organismal responses, and sedimentary processes that can then be explored in greater resolution using sensors and virtual experiments. Storm-related phenomena trigger lasting, oversized impacts on hydrologic and biogeochemical processes, organismal traits or functions, and ecosystem services at all scales. We provide examples of phenomena in forests, across disciplines and scales, that have been overlooked in past research to inspire mindful, holistic observation of ecosystems during storms. We conclude that technological observations alone are insufficient to trace the process complexity and unpredictability of fleeting biogeochemical or ecological events without the shower thoughts produced by scientists’ human sensory and cognitive systems during storms.

Keywords: extreme event biogeochemistry, field and laboratory studies, sampling bias, climate change, precipitation, condensation, ecosystem functioning

SREL Reprint #3740

Van Stan, J. T., S. T. Allen, D. P. Aubrey, Z. C. Berry, M. Biddick, M. Coenders-Gerrits, P. Giordani, S. G. Gotsch, E. D. Gutmann, Y. Kuzyakov, D. Magyar, V. S. A. Mella, K. E. Mueller, A. G. Ponette-Gonzalez, P. Porada, C. E. Rosenfeld, J. Simmons, K. R. Srihar, A. Stubbins, and T. Swanson. 2023. Shower thoughts: why scientists should spend more time in the rain. Bioscience 73(6): 441-452.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).