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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

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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

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
No Result Found

Environmental Geochemistry Project mulitmedia objects

Filter Total Items: 22
No results found.

Environmental Geochemistry Project publications

Filter Total Items: 71

Recent carbon storage and burial exceed historic rates in the San Juan Bay estuary peri-urban mangrove forests (Puerto Rico, United States) 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...
Authors
Cathleen Wigand, Meagan J. Eagle, Benjamin Branoff, Stephen Balogh, Kenneth Miller, Rose M. Martin, Alana Hanson, Autumn Oczkowski, Evelyn Huertas, Joseph Loffredo, Elizabeth Watson
By
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 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...
Authors
Thomas W. Brooks, Kevin D. Kroeger, Holly A. Michael, Joanna K. York
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Assessment of water quality and discharge in the Herring River, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, November 2015 to September 2017 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...
Authors
Thomas G. Huntington, Alana B. Spaetzel, John A. Colman, Kevin D. Kroeger, Robert T. Bradley
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Groundwater discharge impacts marine isotope budgets of Li, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba 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...
Authors
Kimberly Mayfield, Anton Eisenhauer, Danielle P. Santiago Ramos, John A. Higgins, Tristan Horner, Maureen Auro, Tomas Magna, Nils Moosdorf, Matthew Charette, Meagan Gonneea Eagle, Carolyn Brady, Nemanja Komar, Bernhard Peucker-Ehrenbrink, Adina Paytan
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Soil organic carbon development and turnover in natural and disturbed salt marsh environments 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...
Authors
Sheron Luk, Katherine Todd-Brown, Meagan J. Eagle, Ann McNichol, Jonathan Sanderman, Kelsey Gosselin, Amanda C. Spivak
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Modeling the spatial dynamics of marsh ponds in New England salt marshes 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...
Authors
G. Mariotti, A. Spivak, S.Y. Luk, G. Ceccherini, M. Tyrrell, Meagan Gonneea Eagle
By
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
No Result Found

Environmental Geochemistry Project mulitmedia objects

Filter Total Items: 22
No results found.

Environmental Geochemistry Project publications

Filter Total Items: 71

Recent carbon storage and burial exceed historic rates in the San Juan Bay estuary peri-urban mangrove forests (Puerto Rico, United States) 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...
Authors
Cathleen Wigand, Meagan J. Eagle, Benjamin Branoff, Stephen Balogh, Kenneth Miller, Rose M. Martin, Alana Hanson, Autumn Oczkowski, Evelyn Huertas, Joseph Loffredo, Elizabeth Watson
By
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 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...
Authors
Thomas W. Brooks, Kevin D. Kroeger, Holly A. Michael, Joanna K. York
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Assessment of water quality and discharge in the Herring River, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, November 2015 to September 2017 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...
Authors
Thomas G. Huntington, Alana B. Spaetzel, John A. Colman, Kevin D. Kroeger, Robert T. Bradley
By
Water Resources Mission Area, New England Water Science Center

Groundwater discharge impacts marine isotope budgets of Li, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba 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...
Authors
Kimberly Mayfield, Anton Eisenhauer, Danielle P. Santiago Ramos, John A. Higgins, Tristan Horner, Maureen Auro, Tomas Magna, Nils Moosdorf, Matthew Charette, Meagan Gonneea Eagle, Carolyn Brady, Nemanja Komar, Bernhard Peucker-Ehrenbrink, Adina Paytan
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Soil organic carbon development and turnover in natural and disturbed salt marsh environments 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...
Authors
Sheron Luk, Katherine Todd-Brown, Meagan J. Eagle, Ann McNichol, Jonathan Sanderman, Kelsey Gosselin, Amanda C. Spivak
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Modeling the spatial dynamics of marsh ponds in New England salt marshes 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...
Authors
G. Mariotti, A. Spivak, S.Y. Luk, G. Ceccherini, M. Tyrrell, Meagan Gonneea Eagle
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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