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Environmental Geochemistry

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

Hydrologic Restoration in Coastal Wetlands Enhances Climate Change Mitigation Benefits

Learn more

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

Read article

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

Download Data

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.

Media
a woman scientist in a baseball hat standing in a marsh holding a long piece of equipment
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
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.

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...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Environmental Geochemistry- Wetland Resilience

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...
Learn More

Data releases associated with the Environmental Geochemistry Project.

Filter Total Items: 18

Continuous monitoring data from natural and restored salt marshes on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2016-17 Continuous monitoring data from natural and restored salt marshes on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2016-17

Continuous monitoring data reported are a portion of data from a larger study investigating changes in soil properties, carbon accumulation, and greenhouse gas fluxes in four recently restored salt marsh sites and nearby natural salt marshes. For several decades, local towns, conservation groups, and government organizations have worked to identify, replace, repair, and enlarge culverts...
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Time-series of biogeochemical and flow data from a tidal salt-marsh creek, Sage Lot Pond, Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts, 2012-2016 (ver. 2.0, July 2023) Time-series of biogeochemical and flow data from a tidal salt-marsh creek, Sage Lot Pond, Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts, 2012-2016 (ver. 2.0, July 2023)

Extended time-series sensor data were collected between 2012 and 2016 in surface water of a tidal salt-marsh creek on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The objective of this field study was to measure water chemical characteristics and flows, as part of a study to quantify lateral fluxes of dissolved carbon species between the salt marsh and estuary. Data consist of in-situ measurements including...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Geochemical data supporting analysis of geochemical conditions and nitrogen transport in nearshore groundwater and the subterranean estuary at a Cape Cod embayment, East Falmouth, Massachusetts Geochemical data supporting analysis of geochemical conditions and nitrogen transport in nearshore groundwater and the subterranean estuary at a Cape Cod embayment, East Falmouth, Massachusetts

This data release provides analytical and other data in support of an analysis of nitrogen transport and transformation in groundwater and in a subterranean estuary in the Eel River and onshore locations on the Seacoast Shores peninsula, Falmouth, Massachusetts. The analysis is described in U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5095 by Colman and others (2018)...
By
New England Water Science Center

Collection, analysis, and age-dating of sediment cores from salt marshes on the south shore of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, from 2013 through 2014 Collection, analysis, and age-dating of sediment cores from salt marshes on the south shore of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, from 2013 through 2014

The accretion history of fringing salt marshes located on the south shore of Cape Cod is reconstructed from sediment cores collected in low and high marsh vegetation zones. These marshes are micro-tidal, with a mean tidal range of 0.442 m. Their location within protected embayments and the absence of large rivers results in minimal sediment supply and a dominance of organic matter...
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Coastal Groundwater Chemical Data from the North and South Shores of Long Island, New York Coastal Groundwater Chemical Data from the North and South Shores of Long Island, New York

Groundwater data were collected in the spring and fall of 2008 from three sites representing different geological settings and biogeochemical conditions within the surficial glacial aquifer of Long Island, NY. Investigations were designed to examine the extent to which average vadose zone thickness in contributing watersheds controlled biogeochemical conditions and processes, including...
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, USGS Science in Long Island Sound and its Watershed

Data compilation of soil respiration, moisture, and temperature measurements from global warming experiments from 1994-2014 Data compilation of soil respiration, moisture, and temperature measurements from global warming experiments from 1994-2014

This dataset is the largest global dataset to date of soil respiration, moisture, and temperature measurements, totaling >3800 observations representing 27 temperature manipulation studies, spanning nine biomes and nearly two decades of warming experiments. Data for this study were obtained from a combination of unpublished data and published literature values. We find that although...
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Environmental Geochemistry Project mulitmedia objects

Filter Total Items: 22
No results found.

Environmental Geochemistry Project publications

Filter Total Items: 71

Peat decomposition and erosion contribute to pond deepening in a temperate salt marsh Peat decomposition and erosion contribute to pond deepening in a temperate salt marsh

Salt marsh ponds expand and deepen over time, potentially reducing ecosystem carbon storage and resilience. The water filled volumes of ponds represent missing carbon due to prevented soil accumulation and removal by erosion and decomposition. Removal mechanisms have different implications as eroded carbon can be redistributed while decomposition results in loss. We constrained ponding...
Authors
Sheron Luk, Meagan J. Eagle, Giulio Mariotti, Kelsey Gosselin, Jonathan Sanderman, Amanda C. Spivak
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Mechanisms and magnitude of dissolved silica release from a New England salt marsh Mechanisms and magnitude of dissolved silica release from a New England salt marsh

Salt marshes are sites of silica (SiO2) cycling and export to adjacent coastal systems, where silica availability can exert an important control over coastal marine primary productivity. Mineral weathering and biologic fixation concentrate silica in these systems; however, the relative contributions of geologic versus biogenic silica dissolution to this export are not known. We collected...
Authors
Olivia Williams, Andrew C. Kurtz, Meagan J. Eagle, Kevin D. Kroeger, Joseph Tamborski, Joanna C. Carey
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

CO2 uptake offsets other greenhouse gas emissions from salt marshes with chronic nitrogen loading 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...
Authors
Serena Moseman-Valtierra, Katelyn Szura, Meagan J. Eagle, Carol Thornber, Faming Wang
By
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 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...
Authors
Joseph Tamborski, Pinghe Cai, Meagan J. Eagle, Paul Henderson, Matthew Charette
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Impoundment increases methane emissions in Phragmites-invaded coastal wetlands  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...
Authors
Rebecca Sanders-DeMott, Meagan J. Eagle, Kevin D. Kroeger, Faming Wang, Thomas W. Brooks, Jennifer A. O’Keefe Suttles, Sydney K. Nick, Adrian G. Mann, Jianwu Tang
By
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 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...
Authors
Xiucheng Yang, Zhe Zhu, Shirley Qiu, Kevin D. Kroeger, Zhiliang Zhu, Scott Covington
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

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

Read article

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

Download Data

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.

Media
a woman scientist in a baseball hat standing in a marsh holding a long piece of equipment
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
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.

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...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Environmental Geochemistry- Wetland Resilience

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...
Learn More

Data releases associated with the Environmental Geochemistry Project.

Filter Total Items: 18

Continuous monitoring data from natural and restored salt marshes on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2016-17 Continuous monitoring data from natural and restored salt marshes on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2016-17

Continuous monitoring data reported are a portion of data from a larger study investigating changes in soil properties, carbon accumulation, and greenhouse gas fluxes in four recently restored salt marsh sites and nearby natural salt marshes. For several decades, local towns, conservation groups, and government organizations have worked to identify, replace, repair, and enlarge culverts...
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Time-series of biogeochemical and flow data from a tidal salt-marsh creek, Sage Lot Pond, Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts, 2012-2016 (ver. 2.0, July 2023) Time-series of biogeochemical and flow data from a tidal salt-marsh creek, Sage Lot Pond, Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts, 2012-2016 (ver. 2.0, July 2023)

Extended time-series sensor data were collected between 2012 and 2016 in surface water of a tidal salt-marsh creek on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The objective of this field study was to measure water chemical characteristics and flows, as part of a study to quantify lateral fluxes of dissolved carbon species between the salt marsh and estuary. Data consist of in-situ measurements including...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Geochemical data supporting analysis of geochemical conditions and nitrogen transport in nearshore groundwater and the subterranean estuary at a Cape Cod embayment, East Falmouth, Massachusetts Geochemical data supporting analysis of geochemical conditions and nitrogen transport in nearshore groundwater and the subterranean estuary at a Cape Cod embayment, East Falmouth, Massachusetts

This data release provides analytical and other data in support of an analysis of nitrogen transport and transformation in groundwater and in a subterranean estuary in the Eel River and onshore locations on the Seacoast Shores peninsula, Falmouth, Massachusetts. The analysis is described in U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2018-5095 by Colman and others (2018)...
By
New England Water Science Center

Collection, analysis, and age-dating of sediment cores from salt marshes on the south shore of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, from 2013 through 2014 Collection, analysis, and age-dating of sediment cores from salt marshes on the south shore of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, from 2013 through 2014

The accretion history of fringing salt marshes located on the south shore of Cape Cod is reconstructed from sediment cores collected in low and high marsh vegetation zones. These marshes are micro-tidal, with a mean tidal range of 0.442 m. Their location within protected embayments and the absence of large rivers results in minimal sediment supply and a dominance of organic matter...
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Coastal Groundwater Chemical Data from the North and South Shores of Long Island, New York Coastal Groundwater Chemical Data from the North and South Shores of Long Island, New York

Groundwater data were collected in the spring and fall of 2008 from three sites representing different geological settings and biogeochemical conditions within the surficial glacial aquifer of Long Island, NY. Investigations were designed to examine the extent to which average vadose zone thickness in contributing watersheds controlled biogeochemical conditions and processes, including...
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, USGS Science in Long Island Sound and its Watershed

Data compilation of soil respiration, moisture, and temperature measurements from global warming experiments from 1994-2014 Data compilation of soil respiration, moisture, and temperature measurements from global warming experiments from 1994-2014

This dataset is the largest global dataset to date of soil respiration, moisture, and temperature measurements, totaling >3800 observations representing 27 temperature manipulation studies, spanning nine biomes and nearly two decades of warming experiments. Data for this study were obtained from a combination of unpublished data and published literature values. We find that although...
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Environmental Geochemistry Project mulitmedia objects

Filter Total Items: 22
No results found.

Environmental Geochemistry Project publications

Filter Total Items: 71

Peat decomposition and erosion contribute to pond deepening in a temperate salt marsh Peat decomposition and erosion contribute to pond deepening in a temperate salt marsh

Salt marsh ponds expand and deepen over time, potentially reducing ecosystem carbon storage and resilience. The water filled volumes of ponds represent missing carbon due to prevented soil accumulation and removal by erosion and decomposition. Removal mechanisms have different implications as eroded carbon can be redistributed while decomposition results in loss. We constrained ponding...
Authors
Sheron Luk, Meagan J. Eagle, Giulio Mariotti, Kelsey Gosselin, Jonathan Sanderman, Amanda C. Spivak
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Mechanisms and magnitude of dissolved silica release from a New England salt marsh Mechanisms and magnitude of dissolved silica release from a New England salt marsh

Salt marshes are sites of silica (SiO2) cycling and export to adjacent coastal systems, where silica availability can exert an important control over coastal marine primary productivity. Mineral weathering and biologic fixation concentrate silica in these systems; however, the relative contributions of geologic versus biogenic silica dissolution to this export are not known. We collected...
Authors
Olivia Williams, Andrew C. Kurtz, Meagan J. Eagle, Kevin D. Kroeger, Joseph Tamborski, Joanna C. Carey
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

CO2 uptake offsets other greenhouse gas emissions from salt marshes with chronic nitrogen loading 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...
Authors
Serena Moseman-Valtierra, Katelyn Szura, Meagan J. Eagle, Carol Thornber, Faming Wang
By
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 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...
Authors
Joseph Tamborski, Pinghe Cai, Meagan J. Eagle, Paul Henderson, Matthew Charette
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Impoundment increases methane emissions in Phragmites-invaded coastal wetlands  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...
Authors
Rebecca Sanders-DeMott, Meagan J. Eagle, Kevin D. Kroeger, Faming Wang, Thomas W. Brooks, Jennifer A. O’Keefe Suttles, Sydney K. Nick, Adrian G. Mann, Jianwu Tang
By
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 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...
Authors
Xiucheng Yang, Zhe Zhu, Shirley Qiu, Kevin D. Kroeger, Zhiliang Zhu, Scott Covington
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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