Grantee Research Project Results
Phosphorus Burial in a Tidal Fresh/Oligohaline Marsh
EPA Grant Number: U915374Title: Phosphorus Burial in a Tidal Fresh/Oligohaline Marsh
Investigators: Bryner, Jeanna Rose
Institution: University of Maryland - College Park
EPA Project Officer: Lee, Sonja
Project Period: September 1, 1998 through September 1, 2001
Project Amount: $58,383
RFA: STAR Graduate Fellowships (1998) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Fellowship - Geology , Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration , Academic Fellowships
Objective:
The objectives of this research project are to: (1) describe nutrient burial and dynamics, particularly phosphorus, in tidal fresh/oligohaline marshes; and (2) determine how this may differ depending on salinity and tidal influence.
Approach:
In this project, we investigated nutrient storage and phosphorus dynamics in marsh sediments of the Choptank River, a subestuary of the Chesapeake Bay. Two marsh sites, King's Creek and Gilpin Point, were chosen because of their contrasting locations on the river. Sediment cores were collected along transects from the river back to the interior marsh. Solid-phase analyses included: total, inorganic and organic P, iron, and N. Cores also were taken for wet analyses (including acid volatile sulfides and chromium reducible sulfides) to determine the amount of pyrite and monosulfides present; these compounds should indicate reducing conditions, which would lead to the release of P. To determine sediment accretion rates and nutrient burial, a 210Pb dating method was used.
Supplemental Keywords:
fellowship, nutrient storage, phosphorus, tidal fresh/oligohaline marshes, Choptank River, Chesapeake Bay, King's Creek, Gilpin Point, acid volatile sulfides, chromium reducible sulfides, salinity, tidal influence, inorganic or organic phosphorus, iron, nitrogen, pyrite, monosulfides, sediment accretion rates, nutrient burial., RFA, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, Water, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecology, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, Ecosystem Protection, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Biochemistry, Mid-Atlantic, Ecology and Ecosystems, Drinking Water, Ecological Indicators, wetlands, phosphorus dynamics, tidal oligohaline marshes, tidal wetlands, other - risk assessment, Choptank River, ecosystem, constructed wetlands, natural wetlands, phosphorus, other - risk managementProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.