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Environmental Geochemistry Active

By Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center November 8, 2018

Hydrologic Restoration in Coastal Wetlands Enhances Climate Change Mitigation Benefits

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Coastal Environmental Geochemistry research at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center spans multiple ecosystems and topics, including coastal wetlands, aquifers, and estuaries, with the goal of providing data and guidance to federal, state, local, and private land owners and managers on these vital ecosystems.

Journal Article

small hole in the ground surrounded by grass

Soil carbon consequences of historic hydrologic impairment and recent restoration in coastal wetlands

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Data Release

Photograph of a tidally restricted wetland in the Herring River Estuary, Cape Cod

Nearshore groundwater seepage and geochemical data measured in 2015 at Guinea Creek, Rehoboth Bay, Delaware

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Research Themes

Coastal Environmental Geochemistry research at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center spans multiple ecosystems and topics, including coastal wetlands, aquifers, and estuaries.

a woman scientist in a baseball hat standing in a marsh holding a long piece of equipment
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Meagan Eagle, Research Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey, collects an elevation point along the edge of Quivett Creek in Brewster, MA. This salt marsh was restored in 2005 by replacing a narrow culvert to allow full tidal flow once again. Elevation is an important measurement in tidal wetlands, allowing scientists to understand where the wetland platform is in relation to sea level. Here elevation combined with soil core data was used to determine how the restored marsh grew over the past century. Along with enhanced soil accretion, more carbon is stored in this restored marsh today than while it was disconnected from the sea. 

Below are other science projects associated with this project.

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Meagan Gonneea checks on instruments at a tidal creek in Great Pond, Falmouth, MA

Environmental Geochemistry- Wetland Resilience

Tidal wetlands are key ecosystems because they are unique ecological systems that provide essential habitat for fish, shellfish, birds and other fauna and flora, many of which have great economic importance. At the same time, tidal wetlands provide critical services to society by serving as a physical barrier between our cities, roads and homes and the rising sea. If healthy and properly managed...
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Environmental Geochemistry- Wetland Resilience

Tidal wetlands are key ecosystems because they are unique ecological systems that provide essential habitat for fish, shellfish, birds and other fauna and flora, many of which have great economic importance. At the same time, tidal wetlands provide critical services to society by serving as a physical barrier between our cities, roads and homes and the rising sea. If healthy and properly managed...
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Trunk River is an example of a tidally restricted impounded wetland (Cape Cod, MA).

Environmental Geochemistry- Managed Wetlands

The challenge of wetland persistence is complicated by widespread management and alteration of wetland hydrology, and built infrastructure within migration corridors. Human development and utilization of coastal landscapes in the U.S. during the past several centuries has resulted in loss of approximately half of tidal wetland area, largely due to 1) restriction of tidal flows, through intentional...
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Environmental Geochemistry- Managed Wetlands

The challenge of wetland persistence is complicated by widespread management and alteration of wetland hydrology, and built infrastructure within migration corridors. Human development and utilization of coastal landscapes in the U.S. during the past several centuries has resulted in loss of approximately half of tidal wetland area, largely due to 1) restriction of tidal flows, through intentional...
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marsh platform is completely submerged during a spring tide

Environmental Geochemistry- Coastal Aquifers, Wetlands, and Tidal Exchange

The interface between groundwater and the coastal or intertidal landscape determines the location and migration path of fresh and saline wetlands. These ecosystems interact with the coastal ocean in many ways, much of which is driven by tidal exchange and groundwater discharge, both common coastal processes that deliver water, nutrients, and other materials to nearshore ecosystems, including...
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Environmental Geochemistry- Coastal Aquifers, Wetlands, and Tidal Exchange

The interface between groundwater and the coastal or intertidal landscape determines the location and migration path of fresh and saline wetlands. These ecosystems interact with the coastal ocean in many ways, much of which is driven by tidal exchange and groundwater discharge, both common coastal processes that deliver water, nutrients, and other materials to nearshore ecosystems, including...
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Data releases associated with the Environmental Geochemistry Project.

Filter Total Items: 18

Nearshore groundwater seepage and geochemical data measured in 2015 at Guinea Creek, Rehoboth Bay, Delaware

Assessment of biogeochemical processes and transformations at the aquifer-estuary interface and measurement of the chemical flux from submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) zones to coastal water bodies are critical for evaluating ecosystem service, geochemical budgets, and eutrophication status. The U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Delaware measured rates of SGD and concentrations of d
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Carbon dioxide and methane fluxes with supporting environmental data from coastal wetlands across Cape Cod, Massachusetts (ver 2.0, June 2022)

Saline tidal wetlands are important sites of carbon sequestration and produce negligible methane (CH4) emissions due to regular inundation with sulfate-rich seawater. Yet, widespread management of coastal hydrology has restricted vast areas of coastal wetlands to tidal exchange. These ecosystems often undergo impoundment and freshening, which in turn cause vegetation shifts like invasion by Phragm
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Continuous Water Level, Salinity, and Temperature Data from Coastal Wetland Monitoring Wells, Cape Cod, Massachusetts (ver. 2.0, August 2022)

Environmental parameters affecting plant productivity and microbial respiration, such as water level, salinity, and groundwater temperature included in these datasets, are key components of wetland carbon cycling, carbon storage, and capacity to maintain elevation. Data were collected to (1) provide background data to evaluate potential differences in water level and carbon flux between wetland si
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Static chamber gas fluxes and carbon and nitrogen isotope content of age-dated sediment cores from a Phragmites wetland in Sage Lot Pond, Massachusetts, 2013-2015

Coastal wetlands are major global carbon sinks, however, they are heterogeneous and dynamic ecosystems. To characterize spatial and temporal variability in a New England salt marsh, static chamber measurements of greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes were compared among major plant-defined zones (high marsh dominated by Distichlis spicata and a zone of invasive Phragmites australis) during 2013 and 2014 gro
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Suspended-sediment concentrations and loss-on-ignition from water samples collected in the Herring River during 2018-19 in Wellfleet, MA

The Herring River in Wellfleet, MA is a tidally-restricted estuary system. Management options including potential restoration of unrestricted tidal flows require an understanding of pre-restoration sediment conditions. Altering future tidal flows may cause changes in net sediment flux and direction, which could affect marsh restoration and aquaculture in Wellfleet Harbor. This research aims to mea
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Collection, analysis, and age-dating of sediment cores from Herring River wetlands and other nearby wetlands in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, 2015-17

The Herring River estuary in Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, has been tidally restricted for more than a century by a dike constructed near the mouth of the river. Upstream from the dike, the tidal restriction has caused the conversion of salt marsh wetlands to various other ecosystems including impounded freshwater marshes, flooded shrub land, drained forested upland, and brackish wetlands do
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Collection, analysis, and age-dating of sediment cores from natural and restored salt marshes on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2015-16

Nineteen sediment cores were collected from five salt marshes on the northern shore of Cape Cod where previously restricted tidal exchange was restored to part of the marshes. Cores were collected in duplicate from two locations within each marsh complex: one upstream and one downstream from the former tidal restriction (typically caused by an undersized culvert or a berm). The unaltered, natural
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Collection, analysis, and age-dating of sediment cores from mangrove and salt marsh ecosystems in Tampa Bay, Florida, 2015

Coastal wetlands in Tampa Bay, Florida, are important ecosystems that deliver a variety of ecosystem services. Key to ecosystem functioning is wetland response to sea-level rise through accumulation of mineral and organic sediment. The organic sediment within coastal wetlands is composed of carbon sequestered over the time scale of the wetland’s existence. This study was conducted to provide
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Collection, analysis, and age-dating of sediment cores from mangrove wetlands in San Juan Bay Estuary, Puerto Rico, 2016

The San Juan Bay Estuary, Puerto Rico, contains mangrove forests that store significant amounts of organic carbon in soils and biomass. There is a strong urbanization gradient across the estuary, from the highly urbanized and clogged Caño Martin Peña in the western part of the estuary, a series of lagoons in the center of the estuary, and a tropical forest reserve (Pi&nti
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Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Collection, analysis, and age-dating of sediment cores from a salt marsh platform and ponds, Rowley, Massachusetts, 2014-15

Sediment cores were collected from three sites within the Plum Island Ecosystems Long-Term Ecological Research (PIE-LTER) domain in Massachusetts to obtain estimates of long-term marsh decomposition and evaluate shifts in the composition and reactivity of sediment organic carbon in disturbed marsh environments. Paired sediment cores were collected from three sites on the marsh platform and from th
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Continuous Monitoring Data From Herring River Wetlands Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2015-Jan2020

The Herring River estuary (Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Massachusetts) has been tidally restricted for over a century by a dike constructed near the mouth of the river. Behind the dike, the tidal restriction has caused the conversion of salt marsh wetlands to various other ecosystems including impounded freshwater marshes, flooded shrub land, drained forested upland, and wetlands dominated by Phragmites a
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Continuous Monitoring Data From Great Barnstable Marsh on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2017-19

Salt marshes are environmental ecosystems that contribute to coastal landscape resiliency to storms and rising sea level. Ninety percent of mid-Atlantic and New England salt marshes have been impacted by parallel grid ditching that began in the 1920s–40s to control mosquito populations and to provide employment opportunities during the Great Depression (James-Pirri and others, 2009; Kennish,
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Environmental Geochemistry Project mulitmedia objects

Filter Total Items: 24
Collecting Water Samples
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Photograph of USGS staff collecting data in a marsh
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Meagan Gonneea checks on instruments at a tidal creek in Great Pond, Falmouth, MA
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Image of USGS personnel collecting salt marsh sediment cores
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Dr. Meagan Gonneea (Cape Cod, MA) retrieves a core from an infilling salt marsh pond in the Great Barnstable Marsh
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Image of USGS personnel and UAS on a dune
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Image of USGS scientist, Meagan Gonneea, at the Woods Hole Science Stroll outreach event
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Photo of technicians measuring greenhouse gas flux from a wetland
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Photograph of USGS personnel in a wetland vegetated by a tall wetland reed known as phragmites.
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Photograph of USGS personnel testing water in a marsh
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Sunset at Sage Lot Pond Salt Marsh Observatory
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marsh platform is completely submerged during a spring tide
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USGS and collaborators build research infrastructure at a salt marsh research site
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USGS collaborators from Marine Biological Laboratory preparing to measure greenhouse gas flux from a salt marsh study site
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Image of submerged flux chamber
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Science outreach at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
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The Salt Marsh Observatory at Sage Lot Pond in the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
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Image of a hawk on a post in a salt marsh
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Equipment used for a measuring lateral fluxes over tidal cycle
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USGS and Summer Interns from the Partnership Education Program (PEP) program sampling over a tidal cycle.
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Environmental Geochemistry Project publications

Filter Total Items: 57

CO2 uptake offsets other greenhouse gas emissions from salt marshes with chronic nitrogen loading

Coastal wetlands are known for exceptional productivity, but they also receive intense land-based nitrogen (N) loading. In Narragansett Bay, RI (USA), coastal ecosystems have received anthropogenic N inputs from wastewater for more than two centuries. Greenhouse gas fluxes were studied throughout a growing season (2016) in three coastal wetlands with contrasting histories of nitrogen loading. The
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Revisiting 228Th as a tool for determining sedimentation and mass accumulation rates

The use of 228Th has seen limited application for determining sedimentation and mass accumulation rates in coastal and marine environments. Recent analytical advances have enabled rapid, precise measurements of particle-bound 228Th using a radium delayed coincidence counting system (RaDeCC). Herein we review the 228Th cycle in the marine environment and revisit the historical use of 228Th as a tra
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Impoundment increases methane emissions in Phragmites-invaded coastal wetlands 

Saline tidal wetlands are important sites of carbon sequestration and produce negligible methane (CH4) emissions due to regular inundation with sulfate-rich seawater. Yet, widespread management of coastal hydrology has restricted tidal exchange in vast areas of coastal wetlands. These ecosystems often undergo impoundment and freshening, which in turn cause vegetation shifts like invasion by Phragm
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Detection and characterization of coastal tidal wetland change in the northeastern US using Landsat time series

Coastal tidal wetlands are highly altered ecosystems exposed to substantial risk due to widespread and frequent land-use change coupled with sea-level rise, leading to disrupted hydrologic and ecologic functions and ultimately, significant reduction in climate resiliency. Knowing where and when the changes have occurred, and the nature of those changes, is important for coastal communities and nat
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Recent carbon storage and burial exceed historic rates in the San Juan Bay estuary peri-urban mangrove forests (Puerto Rico, United States)

Mangroves sequester significant quantities of organic carbon (C) because of high rates of burial in the soil and storage in biomass. We estimated mangrove forest C storage and accumulation rates in aboveground and belowground components among five sites along an urbanization gradient in the San Juan Bay Estuary, Puerto Rico. Sites included the highly urbanized and clogged Caño Martin Peña in the w
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Oxygen-controlled recirculating seepage meter reveals extent of nitrogen transformation in discharging coastal groundwater at the aquifer–estuary interface

Nutrient loads delivered to estuaries via submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) play an important role in the nitrogen (N) budget and eutrophication status. However, accurate and reliable quantification of the chemical flux across the final decimeters and centimeters at the sediment–estuary interface remains a challenge, because there is significant potential for biogeochemical alteration due to c
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Assessment of water quality and discharge in the Herring River, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, November 2015 to September 2017

The U.S. Geological Survey, Cape Cod National Seashore of the National Park Service, and Friends of Herring River cooperated from 2015 to 2017 to assess nutrient concentrations and fluxes across the ocean-estuary boundary at a dike on the Herring River in Wellfleet, Massachusetts. The purpose of this assessment was to characterize environmental conditions prior to a future removal of the dike, whi
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Water Resources, New England Water Science Center

Groundwater discharge impacts marine isotope budgets of Li, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba

Groundwater-derived solute fluxes to the ocean have long been assumed static and subordinate to riverine fluxes, if not neglected entirely, in marine isotope budgets. Here we present concentration and isotope data for Li, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba in coastal groundwaters to constrain the importance of groundwater discharge in mediating the magnitude and isotopic composition of terrestrially derived solut
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Soil organic carbon development and turnover in natural and disturbed salt marsh environments

Salt marsh survival with sea‐level rise (SLR) increasingly relies on soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation and preservation. Using a novel combination of geochemical approaches, we characterized fine SOC (≤1 mm) supporting marsh elevation maintenance. Overlaying thermal reactivity, source (δ13C), and age (F14C) information demonstrates several processes contributing to soil development: marsh gra
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Modeling the spatial dynamics of marsh ponds in New England salt marshes

Ponds are common features on salt marshes, yet it is unclear how they affect large-scale marsh evolution. We developed a spatially explicit model that combines cellular automata for pond formation, expansion, and drainage, and partial differential equations for elevation dynamics. We use the mesotidal Barnstable marsh (MA, USA) as a case study, for which we measured pond expansion rate by remote s
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Plant biomass and rates of carbon dioxide uptake are enhanced by successful restoration of tidal connectivity in salt marshes

Salt marshes, due to their capability to bury soil carbon (C), are potentially important regional C sinks. Efforts to restore tidal flow to former salt marshes have increased in recent decades in New England (USA), as well as in some other parts of the world. In this study, we investigated plant biomass and carbon dioxide (CO2) fluxes at four sites where restoration of tidal flow occurred five to
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

An important biogeochemical link between organic and inorganic carbon cycling: Effects of organic alkalinity on carbonate chemistry in coastal waters influenced by intertidal salt marshes

Organic acid charge groups in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) contribute to total alkalinity (TA), i.e. organic alkalinity (OrgAlk). Its effect is often ignored or treated as a calculation uncertainty in many aquatic CO2 studies. This study evaluated the variability, sources, and characteristics of OrgAlk in estuarine waters exchanged tidally with a groundwater-influenced salt marsh in the northeas
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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Hydrologic Restoration in Coastal Wetlands Enhances Climate Change Mitigation Benefits

A recent study shows that restoring tidal exchange in impounded coastal wetlands can enhance their elevation resilience and climate change mitigation...

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Tidal restoration could reduce methane emissions in impounded, Phragmites-invaded wetlands by restoring high salinity levels

A new study confirms that restoration of tidal flow to impounded coastal wetlands dominated by the non-native plant Phragmites australis could reduce...

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