Abstract:

Sediment characteristics were measured during a project to investigate sediment denitrification and nitrogen cycling processes. Sediments were filtered and stored on ice in the dark prior to return to the laboratory within 8 hrs. Sediment samples for chlorophyll were collected from the top 1 cm. Sediments for the carbon to nitrogen molar ratio were collected from the top 10 cm and homogenized prior to the analysis. The below ground biomass was collected from the top 10 cm of the sediments from the marsh platform. Data were collected seasonally from July 2015 to February 2016.

Suggested Citation:

Mortazavi, Behzad. 2017. Sediment characteristics in oil impacted salt marshes on Chandeleur Islands, July, 2015 through February, 2016. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N75X271C

Publications:

Hinshaw, S. E., Tatariw, C., Flournoy, N., Kleinhuizen, A., Taylor, C., Sobecky, P. A., & Mortazavi, B. (2017). Vegetation Loss Decreases Salt Marsh Denitrification Capacity: Implications for Marsh Erosion. Environmental Science & Technology, 51(15), 8245–8253. doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b00618

Purpose:

The purpose of this study was to investigate the denitrification rates in marsh and subtidal habitats that were previous exposed to moderately oiled sediments.

Data Parameters and Units:

Date: month, day and year, Habitat: marsh, unvegetated subtidal sediments Average molar C:N: carbon to nitrogen ratio of the sediments in molar units, Standard deviation C:N: standard deviation of the mean C:N molar ratio, Replicates C:N: numbers of replicates for the C:N determination, Average Chl-a: sediment chlorophyll a content in mg chla m-2, Standard deviation Chl-a: standard deviation of the mean sediment chlorophyll content, Replicate Chl-a: number of replicates for the chlorophyll a determination, Belowground biomass: the biomass of live and dead roots retained on a 2 mm mesh in kg m-2, Latitude Degrees: measured in degrees, Latitude Minutes: measured in minutes, Latitude Seconds: measured in seconds, Longitude Degrees: measured in degrees, Longitude Minutes: measured in minutes, Longitude Seconds: measured in seconds

Methods:

Belowground biomass was separated from the sediment matrix by rinsing with tap water on a 2 mm sieve. The live and dead roots were dried at 105 Celsius degrees prior to weighing.

Instruments:

C:N ratios were determined on a Carlo Erba CHN analyzer. Chlorophyll a was determined fluorometrically (Turner Design) after overnight extraction in 90% acetone.

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