Remote-Sensing Coastal Change project field collections at the Head of the Meadow Bay in Massachusetts.
Environmental Geochemistry Active
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.
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.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Environmental Geochemistry- Wetland Resilience
Environmental Geochemistry- Managed Wetlands
Environmental Geochemistry- Coastal Aquifers, Wetlands, and Tidal Exchange
Data releases associated with the Environmental Geochemistry Project.
Nearshore groundwater seepage and geochemical data measured in 2015 at Guinea Creek, Rehoboth Bay, Delaware
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
Continuous Water Level, Salinity, and Temperature Data from Coastal Wetland Monitoring Wells, Cape Cod, Massachusetts (ver. 2.0, August 2022)
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
Suspended-sediment concentrations and loss-on-ignition from water samples collected in the Herring River during 2018-19 in Wellfleet, MA (ver 1.1, March 2023)
Collection, analysis, and age-dating of sediment cores from Herring River wetlands and other nearby wetlands in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, 2015-17
Collection, analysis, and age-dating of sediment cores from natural and restored salt marshes on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2015-16
Collection, analysis, and age-dating of sediment cores from mangrove and salt marsh ecosystems in Tampa Bay, Florida, 2015
Collection, analysis, and age-dating of sediment cores from mangrove wetlands in San Juan Bay Estuary, Puerto Rico, 2016
Collection, analysis, and age-dating of sediment cores from a salt marsh platform and ponds, Rowley, Massachusetts, 2014-15
Continuous Monitoring Data From Herring River Wetlands Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2015-Jan2020
Continuous Monitoring Data From Great Barnstable Marsh on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2017-19
Environmental Geochemistry Project mulitmedia objects
Remote-Sensing Coastal Change project field collections at the Head of the Meadow Bay in Massachusetts.
Meagan Gonneea checks on instruments at a tidal creek in Great Pond, Falmouth, MA. Daily tides drive exchange between coastal wetlands and adjacent estuaries. Here we have instrumented a tidal channel to measure those fluxes over a tidal cycle. When the marsh floods, material is imported from the estuary.
Meagan Gonneea checks on instruments at a tidal creek in Great Pond, Falmouth, MA. Daily tides drive exchange between coastal wetlands and adjacent estuaries. Here we have instrumented a tidal channel to measure those fluxes over a tidal cycle. When the marsh floods, material is imported from the estuary.
NAGT summer intern, Kelly Sanks, prepares to collect salt marsh sediment cores with her advisor, Dr. Meagan Gonneea (Cape Cod, MA).
NAGT summer intern, Kelly Sanks, prepares to collect salt marsh sediment cores with her advisor, Dr. Meagan Gonneea (Cape Cod, MA).
Dr. Meagan Gonneea (Cape Cod, MA) retrieves a core from an infilling salt marsh pond in the Great Barnstable Marsh.
Dr. Meagan Gonneea (Cape Cod, MA) retrieves a core from an infilling salt marsh pond in the Great Barnstable Marsh.
Surveying with UAS in cooperation with US Army Corps of Engineers (Cape Cod, MA).
Surveying with UAS in cooperation with US Army Corps of Engineers (Cape Cod, MA).
USGS scientists, along with collaborators from the Marine Biological Laboratory, deployed a carbon flux tower on Great Marsh in 2017. Great Marsh is a 3800 acre salt marsh complex behind the Sandy Neck barrier beach in Barnstable, Cape Cod. This ecosystem is home to a variety of animals, including deer, fox, owls, and the rare Diamondback terrapin.
USGS scientists, along with collaborators from the Marine Biological Laboratory, deployed a carbon flux tower on Great Marsh in 2017. Great Marsh is a 3800 acre salt marsh complex behind the Sandy Neck barrier beach in Barnstable, Cape Cod. This ecosystem is home to a variety of animals, including deer, fox, owls, and the rare Diamondback terrapin.
USGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, talking about the differences between coastal salt marshes and invasive phragmites at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll outreach event
USGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, talking about the differences between coastal salt marshes and invasive phragmites at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll outreach event
Jen Suttles,Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, collects water samples from a salt marsh tidal creek (East Falmouth, MA) for laboratory analysis of total organic carbon. These samples will be compared to data recorded by instrumentation deployed in an adjacent tidal creek as part of research efforts to quantify carbon dynamics in coastal ecosystems
Jen Suttles,Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, collects water samples from a salt marsh tidal creek (East Falmouth, MA) for laboratory analysis of total organic carbon. These samples will be compared to data recorded by instrumentation deployed in an adjacent tidal creek as part of research efforts to quantify carbon dynamics in coastal ecosystems
Sunset at Sage Lot Pond Salt Marsh Observatory marks the end of 16 hour field effort. During this sampling, USGS researchers captured the exchange of materials between the marsh and estuary. This field site provides infrastructure to keep sensors deployed nearly year-round so changes across seasons and extreme events, such as large storms, are captured.
Sunset at Sage Lot Pond Salt Marsh Observatory marks the end of 16 hour field effort. During this sampling, USGS researchers captured the exchange of materials between the marsh and estuary. This field site provides infrastructure to keep sensors deployed nearly year-round so changes across seasons and extreme events, such as large storms, are captured.
High tides are one challenge of working in tidal wetlands! Here the marsh platform is completely submerged during a spring tide. The boardwalk, which scientists use to access the site, is also under water during this extreme high tide, while the solar panels powering some instruments remain dry.
High tides are one challenge of working in tidal wetlands! Here the marsh platform is completely submerged during a spring tide. The boardwalk, which scientists use to access the site, is also under water during this extreme high tide, while the solar panels powering some instruments remain dry.
USGS and collaborators from Marine Biological Laboratory and Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve building research infrastructure at a salt marsh field site (Cape Cod, MA).
USGS and collaborators from Marine Biological Laboratory and Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve building research infrastructure at a salt marsh field site (Cape Cod, MA).
USGS collaborators from Marine Biological Laboratory preparing to measure greenhouse gas flux from a salt marsh study site (Cape Cod, MA).
USGS collaborators from Marine Biological Laboratory preparing to measure greenhouse gas flux from a salt marsh study site (Cape Cod, MA).
The oxygen-regulated benthic flux chamber measures fluxes of water and chemical species across the sediment water interface. It is shown here deployed in the subtidal discharge zone in Indian River Bay, DE, USA
The oxygen-regulated benthic flux chamber measures fluxes of water and chemical species across the sediment water interface. It is shown here deployed in the subtidal discharge zone in Indian River Bay, DE, USA
Science outreach at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Science outreach at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
The Salt Marsh Observatory at Sage Lot Pond in the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve serves as an important platform for research in coastal salt marshes. Infrastrucutre in this marsh allows researchers to access sites while maintaining habitat and platform health.
The Salt Marsh Observatory at Sage Lot Pond in the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve serves as an important platform for research in coastal salt marshes. Infrastrucutre in this marsh allows researchers to access sites while maintaining habitat and platform health.
USGS research supports wetland conservation as critical habitat, Cape Cod, MA
USGS research supports wetland conservation as critical habitat, Cape Cod, MA
USGS and Summer Interns from the Partnership Education Program (PEP) program sampling over a tidal cycle.
USGS and Summer Interns from the Partnership Education Program (PEP) program sampling over a tidal cycle.
Equipment used for a measuring lateral fluxes over tidal cycle
Equipment used for a measuring lateral fluxes over tidal cycle
Adrian Mann is using a piezometer to extract submarine groundwater to analyze for geochemical parameters in Indian River Bay, DE.
Adrian Mann is using a piezometer to extract submarine groundwater to analyze for geochemical parameters in Indian River Bay, DE.
Trunk River is an example of a tidally restricted impounded wetland (Cape Cod, MA).
Trunk River is an example of a tidally restricted impounded wetland (Cape Cod, MA).
Sandra Brosnahan (USGS) collecting water samples (Long Island, NY).
Sandra Brosnahan (USGS) collecting water samples (Long Island, NY).
Environmental Geochemistry Project publications
Mechanisms and magnitude of dissolved silica release from a New England salt marsh
CO2 uptake offsets other greenhouse gas emissions from salt marshes with chronic nitrogen loading
Revisiting 228Th as a tool for determining sedimentation and mass accumulation rates
Impoundment increases methane emissions in Phragmites-invaded coastal wetlands
Detection and characterization of coastal tidal wetland change in the northeastern US using Landsat time series
Recent carbon storage and burial exceed historic rates in the San Juan Bay estuary peri-urban mangrove forests (Puerto Rico, United States)
Oxygen-controlled recirculating seepage meter reveals extent of nitrogen transformation in discharging coastal groundwater at the aquifer–estuary interface
Assessment of water quality and discharge in the Herring River, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, November 2015 to September 2017
Groundwater discharge impacts marine isotope budgets of Li, Mg, Ca, Sr, and Ba
Soil organic carbon development and turnover in natural and disturbed salt marsh environments
Modeling the spatial dynamics of marsh ponds in New England salt marshes
Plant biomass and rates of carbon dioxide uptake are enhanced by successful restoration of tidal connectivity in salt marshes
- Overview
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.
Research ThemesCoastal Environmental Geochemistry research at the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center spans multiple ecosystems and topics, including coastal wetlands, aquifers, and estuaries.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
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...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...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... - Data
Data releases associated with the Environmental Geochemistry Project.
Filter Total Items: 18Nearshore 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 dCarbon 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
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 siStatic 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 groSuspended-sediment concentrations and loss-on-ignition from water samples collected in the Herring River during 2018-19 in Wellfleet, MA (ver 1.1, March 2023)
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 meaCollection, 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 doCollection, 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, naturalCollection, 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 inforCollection, 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 (Piñones) in the easternmost partCollection, 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 thContinuous 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 aContinuous 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, 2001) - Multimedia
Environmental Geochemistry Project mulitmedia objects
Field Collections at Head of the Meadow Bay, MARemote-Sensing Coastal Change project field collections at the Head of the Meadow Bay in Massachusetts.
Remote-Sensing Coastal Change project field collections at the Head of the Meadow Bay in Massachusetts.
Instrument check at a tidal creek, Falmouth, MAMeagan Gonneea checks on instruments at a tidal creek in Great Pond, Falmouth, MA. Daily tides drive exchange between coastal wetlands and adjacent estuaries. Here we have instrumented a tidal channel to measure those fluxes over a tidal cycle. When the marsh floods, material is imported from the estuary.
Meagan Gonneea checks on instruments at a tidal creek in Great Pond, Falmouth, MA. Daily tides drive exchange between coastal wetlands and adjacent estuaries. Here we have instrumented a tidal channel to measure those fluxes over a tidal cycle. When the marsh floods, material is imported from the estuary.
Salt Marsh CoringNAGT summer intern, Kelly Sanks, prepares to collect salt marsh sediment cores with her advisor, Dr. Meagan Gonneea (Cape Cod, MA).
NAGT summer intern, Kelly Sanks, prepares to collect salt marsh sediment cores with her advisor, Dr. Meagan Gonneea (Cape Cod, MA).
Core retrievalDr. Meagan Gonneea (Cape Cod, MA) retrieves a core from an infilling salt marsh pond in the Great Barnstable Marsh.
Dr. Meagan Gonneea (Cape Cod, MA) retrieves a core from an infilling salt marsh pond in the Great Barnstable Marsh.
Dune Surveys, Cape Cod, MASurveying with UAS in cooperation with US Army Corps of Engineers (Cape Cod, MA).
Surveying with UAS in cooperation with US Army Corps of Engineers (Cape Cod, MA).
Great view of the Great Marsh, Cape Cod, MAUSGS scientists, along with collaborators from the Marine Biological Laboratory, deployed a carbon flux tower on Great Marsh in 2017. Great Marsh is a 3800 acre salt marsh complex behind the Sandy Neck barrier beach in Barnstable, Cape Cod. This ecosystem is home to a variety of animals, including deer, fox, owls, and the rare Diamondback terrapin.
USGS scientists, along with collaborators from the Marine Biological Laboratory, deployed a carbon flux tower on Great Marsh in 2017. Great Marsh is a 3800 acre salt marsh complex behind the Sandy Neck barrier beach in Barnstable, Cape Cod. This ecosystem is home to a variety of animals, including deer, fox, owls, and the rare Diamondback terrapin.
USGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, shares scienceUSGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, shares scienceUSGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, talking about the differences between coastal salt marshes and invasive phragmites at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll outreach event
USGS Research Scientist, Meagan Gonneea, talking about the differences between coastal salt marshes and invasive phragmites at the 2017 Woods Hole Science Stroll outreach event
Testing the Water!Jen Suttles,Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, collects water samples from a salt marsh tidal creek (East Falmouth, MA) for laboratory analysis of total organic carbon. These samples will be compared to data recorded by instrumentation deployed in an adjacent tidal creek as part of research efforts to quantify carbon dynamics in coastal ecosystems
Jen Suttles,Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, collects water samples from a salt marsh tidal creek (East Falmouth, MA) for laboratory analysis of total organic carbon. These samples will be compared to data recorded by instrumentation deployed in an adjacent tidal creek as part of research efforts to quantify carbon dynamics in coastal ecosystems
Sunset at Sage Lot Pond Salt Marsh ObservatorySunset at Sage Lot Pond Salt Marsh Observatory marks the end of 16 hour field effort. During this sampling, USGS researchers captured the exchange of materials between the marsh and estuary. This field site provides infrastructure to keep sensors deployed nearly year-round so changes across seasons and extreme events, such as large storms, are captured.
Sunset at Sage Lot Pond Salt Marsh Observatory marks the end of 16 hour field effort. During this sampling, USGS researchers captured the exchange of materials between the marsh and estuary. This field site provides infrastructure to keep sensors deployed nearly year-round so changes across seasons and extreme events, such as large storms, are captured.
High TideHigh tides are one challenge of working in tidal wetlands! Here the marsh platform is completely submerged during a spring tide. The boardwalk, which scientists use to access the site, is also under water during this extreme high tide, while the solar panels powering some instruments remain dry.
High tides are one challenge of working in tidal wetlands! Here the marsh platform is completely submerged during a spring tide. The boardwalk, which scientists use to access the site, is also under water during this extreme high tide, while the solar panels powering some instruments remain dry.
Team Building!USGS and collaborators from Marine Biological Laboratory and Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve building research infrastructure at a salt marsh field site (Cape Cod, MA).
USGS and collaborators from Marine Biological Laboratory and Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve building research infrastructure at a salt marsh field site (Cape Cod, MA).
Measuring Greenhouse Gas FluxUSGS collaborators from Marine Biological Laboratory preparing to measure greenhouse gas flux from a salt marsh study site (Cape Cod, MA).
USGS collaborators from Marine Biological Laboratory preparing to measure greenhouse gas flux from a salt marsh study site (Cape Cod, MA).
Benthic Flux ChamberThe oxygen-regulated benthic flux chamber measures fluxes of water and chemical species across the sediment water interface. It is shown here deployed in the subtidal discharge zone in Indian River Bay, DE, USA
The oxygen-regulated benthic flux chamber measures fluxes of water and chemical species across the sediment water interface. It is shown here deployed in the subtidal discharge zone in Indian River Bay, DE, USA
Science outreach at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.Science outreach at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.Science outreach at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Science outreach at Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Salt Marsh Observatory at Sage Lot Pond in the Waquoit Bay, MASalt Marsh Observatory at Sage Lot Pond in the Waquoit Bay, MAThe Salt Marsh Observatory at Sage Lot Pond in the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve serves as an important platform for research in coastal salt marshes. Infrastrucutre in this marsh allows researchers to access sites while maintaining habitat and platform health.
The Salt Marsh Observatory at Sage Lot Pond in the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve serves as an important platform for research in coastal salt marshes. Infrastrucutre in this marsh allows researchers to access sites while maintaining habitat and platform health.
Salt Marsh ResearchUSGS research supports wetland conservation as critical habitat, Cape Cod, MA
USGS research supports wetland conservation as critical habitat, Cape Cod, MA
USGS and Summer Interns from the Partnership Education Program (PEP) pUSGS and Summer Interns from the Partnership Education Program (PEP) pUSGS and Summer Interns from the Partnership Education Program (PEP) program sampling over a tidal cycle.
USGS and Summer Interns from the Partnership Education Program (PEP) program sampling over a tidal cycle.
Equipment used for a measuring lateral fluxes over tidal cycleEquipment used for a measuring lateral fluxes over tidal cycleEquipment used for a measuring lateral fluxes over tidal cycle
Equipment used for a measuring lateral fluxes over tidal cycle
Groundwater collection using a piezometerAdrian Mann is using a piezometer to extract submarine groundwater to analyze for geochemical parameters in Indian River Bay, DE.
Adrian Mann is using a piezometer to extract submarine groundwater to analyze for geochemical parameters in Indian River Bay, DE.
Trunk River, Woods Hole, MATrunk River is an example of a tidally restricted impounded wetland (Cape Cod, MA).
Trunk River is an example of a tidally restricted impounded wetland (Cape Cod, MA).
Sandra Brosnahan (USGS) collecting water samples (Long Island, NY).Sandra Brosnahan (USGS) collecting water samples (Long Island, NY).Sandra Brosnahan (USGS) collecting water samples (Long Island, NY).
Sandra Brosnahan (USGS) collecting water samples (Long Island, NY).
- Publications
Environmental Geochemistry Project publications
Filter Total Items: 58Mechanisms 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 water samAuthorsOlivia Williams, Andrew C. Kurtz, Meagan J. Eagle, Kevin D. Kroeger, Joseph Tamborski, Joanna C. CareyCO2 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. TheAuthorsSerena Moseman-Valtierra, Katelyn Szura, Meagan J. Eagle, Carol Thornber, Faming WangRevisiting 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 traAuthorsJoseph Tamborski, Pinghe Cai, Meagan J. Eagle, Paul Henderson, Matthew CharetteImpoundment 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 PhragmAuthorsRebecca 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 TangDetection 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 natAuthorsXiucheng Yang, Zhe Zhu, Shirley Qiu, Kevin D. Kroeger, Zhiliang Zhu, Scott CovingtonRecent 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 wAuthorsCathleen Wigand, Meagan J. Eagle, Benjamin Branoff, Stephen Balogh, Kenneth Miller, Rose M. Martin, Alana Hanson, Autumn Oczkowski, Evelyn Huertas, Joseph Loffredo, Elizabeth WatsonOxygen-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 cAuthorsThomas W. Brooks, Kevin D. Kroeger, Holly A. Michael, Joanna K. YorkAssessment 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, whiAuthorsThomas G. Huntington, Alana B. Spaetzel, John A. Colman, Kevin D. Kroeger, Robert T. BradleyGroundwater 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 solutAuthorsKimberly 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 PaytanSoil 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 graAuthorsSheron Luk, Katherine Todd-Brown, Meagan J. Eagle, Ann McNichol, Jonathan Sanderman, Kelsey Gosselin, Amanda C. SpivakModeling 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 sAuthorsG. Mariotti, A. Spivak, S.Y. Luk, G. Ceccherini, M. Tyrrell, Meagan Gonneea EaglePlant 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 toAuthorsFanning Wang, Meagan J. Eagle, Kevin D. Kroeger, Amanda C. Spivak, Jianwu Tang - News