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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Honey As A Biomonitor For Air Pollutant Deposition In The Eastern United States Using Ion Chromatography And Scanning Electron Microscopy, Cole Cochran
Undergraduate Honors Theses
Anthropogenic activities generate metal, acid, and particulate air pollutants which negatively impact human and ecological health. In the United States, power plant, industrial, and vehicle emissions are leading causes of air pollution, however, the measurement of air pollution at high-resolution spatial regimes remains a challenge. Honey has emerged as a powerful biomonitoring tool to effectively quantify contaminants without the need for a large array of monitoring instruments. I hypothesized that honey could be used to effectively measure and map modern air pollutant spatiotemporal relationships over the Eastern U.S. Using ion chromatography with sulfate as an indicator for air pollution and …
Feedbacks Among Benthic Metabolism, Nitrogen Cycling, And Intense Phytoplankton Blooms In The York River Estuary, Michelle H. Woods
Feedbacks Among Benthic Metabolism, Nitrogen Cycling, And Intense Phytoplankton Blooms In The York River Estuary, Michelle H. Woods
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Benthic-pelagic coupling is defined as the deposition of organic matter from the water column to the sediments, and the subsequent remineralization of this organic matter and release of inorganic nutrients back to the water column. This process plays an important role in determining the magnitude of benthic net community production (NCP), a metric that reflects the balance between gross primary production and respiration. Environmental factors, such as the presence or absence of intense phytoplankton blooms can influence the direction and magnitude of benthic-pelagic coupling and determine if benthic NCP is net autotrophic or heterotrophic. The objective this thesis was to …
Differential Nitrogen Uptake By Aquatic Communities In A Chesapeake Bay Tributary And In The Coastal Alaskan Arctic, Brianna Stanley
Differential Nitrogen Uptake By Aquatic Communities In A Chesapeake Bay Tributary And In The Coastal Alaskan Arctic, Brianna Stanley
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Nitrogen (N) is one of the essential building blocks for all life and is available in the form of dissolved N in aquatic ecosystems. It is important to understand how this N can support primary and secondary production mediated by phytoplankton and bacteria, respectively, as it can affect both microbial loop biogeochemistry and the higher trophic levels of food webs. Nitrogen studies have traditionally focused on dissolved inorganic N (DIN) as a labile N source. Dissolved organic N (DON), while still often considered refractory, has been increasingly recognized as an important N source supporting primary and secondary production. However, the …
Three Centuries Of Vegetation Change In The William & Mary College Woods Reconstructed Using Phytoliths, Timothy Terlizzi
Three Centuries Of Vegetation Change In The William & Mary College Woods Reconstructed Using Phytoliths, Timothy Terlizzi
Undergraduate Honors Theses
The College Woods, west of William & Mary’s campus, consists of ~900 acres of protected southern mixed hardwood forest. The woods surround Lake Matoaka, a former millpond established in ~1700. Despite the rich history of the area, little is known about how the dominant vegetative landcover has shifted over the last 300 years. This study set out to quantify the modern vegetation within the College Woods via the phytolith assemblages within the soil and identify shifts in the assemblages since the creation of Lake Matoaka and whether these changes are distinct from the vegetation that existed in the area before …
Impacts Of Fertilization On Salt Marsh Resilience: Altered By Location-Specific Drivers, Kenneth Michael Czapla
Impacts Of Fertilization On Salt Marsh Resilience: Altered By Location-Specific Drivers, Kenneth Michael Czapla
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Salt marshes provide valuable ecosystem services to human society, but are currently under threat from accelerating sea level rise and nutrient enrichment. Carbon (C) and mineral accumulation allow salt marshes to maintain elevation above sea level and survive. Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) loading is increasing in many salt marshes, causing negative impacts on marsh resilience such as increased decomposition and decreased below-ground production. However, increasing N may also have simultaneous positive effects such as increased primary production and above-ground biomass, surface sediment accretion, and denitrification rates, which remove excess N from coastal waters. Many studies have been conducted to determine the …
Beach-Ridge Sedimentology As An Archive Of Terrestrial Climate Change: Insights From Geochemical And Stratigraphic Study Of The Tijucas Strandplain, Southern Brazil, Julie Lauren Krask
Beach-Ridge Sedimentology As An Archive Of Terrestrial Climate Change: Insights From Geochemical And Stratigraphic Study Of The Tijucas Strandplain, Southern Brazil, Julie Lauren Krask
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Millennial-scale variations in climate forcing are recognized to drive changes in terrestrial processes, and, by extension, impart controls on fluvial sediment loads (e.g., weathering and erosion). However, the impact of decadal- to centennial- scale climate fluctuations on downstream coastal sedimentation patterns and landscape evolution remains unclear. Specifically, the connection between long-term (decades or more) precipitation intensity/seasonality and sediment export from river systems has not been established. This study examines the manner in which sub-millennial-scale fluctuations in precipitation within a river catchment in southern Brazil are recorded in a coastal sedimentary archive. The 5-km wide Tijucas Strandplain formed over the last …
Using High-Resolution Glider Data And Biogeochemical Modeling To Investigate Phytoplankton Variability In The Ross Sea, Daniel Edward Kaufman
Using High-Resolution Glider Data And Biogeochemical Modeling To Investigate Phytoplankton Variability In The Ross Sea, Daniel Edward Kaufman
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
As Earth’s climate changes, polar environments experience a disproportionate share of extreme shifts. Because the Ross Sea shelf has the highest annual productivity of any Antarctic continental shelf, this region is of particular interest when striving to characterize current and future changes in Antarctic systems. However, understanding of mesoscale variability of biogeochemical patterns in the Ross Sea and how this variability affects assemblage dynamics is incomplete. Furthermore, it is unknown how the Ross Sea may respond to projected warming, reduced summer sea ice concentrations, and shallower mixed layers during the next century. to investigate these dynamics and explore their consequences …
Impact Of Climate Change Variables On Nutrient Cycling By Marine Microorganisms In The Southern California Bight And Ross Sea, Antarctica, Jenna Lee Spackeen
Impact Of Climate Change Variables On Nutrient Cycling By Marine Microorganisms In The Southern California Bight And Ross Sea, Antarctica, Jenna Lee Spackeen
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Ocean environments are being impacted by climate warming, elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) levels, and shifting nutrient sources and sinks. It is essential to quantify the sensitivity of microorganisms to these effects of global change because they form the base of the marine food web and are an integral component of nutrient cycling on the planet. their role in photosynthesis, nutrient uptake, and transfer of organic matter into higher trophic levels or to the deep ocean via the biological pump render microorganisms key in ecosystem structure and function and in regulating the global climate. The goal of this dissertation research was …
The Role Of Seabed Resuspension On Oxygen And Nutrient Dynamics In Coastal Systems: A Numerical Modeling Study, Julia Miege Moriarty
The Role Of Seabed Resuspension On Oxygen And Nutrient Dynamics In Coastal Systems: A Numerical Modeling Study, Julia Miege Moriarty
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Seabed resuspension can impact organic matter fate and water column biogeochemistry in coastal environments. Cycles of erosion and deposition can, for example, affect remineralization rates, seabed-water column fluxes of dissolved oxygen and nutrients, and light attenuation. Yet, models that incorporate both sediment transport and biogeochemical processes are rare, and nearly all neglect the effect of resuspension on oxygen and nutrient dynamics. Development of a novel tool, i.e. a coupled hydrodynamic-sediment transport-biogeochemical model, allowed for an investigation of the role of resuspension on oxygen and nitrogen dynamics within three distinct coastal environments. Called HydroBioSed, the coupled model was built within the …
Biogeochemistry Of Redox-Sensitive Elements In The Subterranean Estuary, Alison E. O'Connor
Biogeochemistry Of Redox-Sensitive Elements In The Subterranean Estuary, Alison E. O'Connor
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is any flow of water along the continental margins from the seabed into the coastal ocean, and it represents an important source of nutrients and trace metals to the coastal ocean. The chemical composition of SGD is strongly influenced by biogeochemical reactions that take place within the subterranean estuary (STE), the subsurface mixing zone of fresh and saline waters. Understanding the reactions that take place within the shallow STE is critical to evaluating the composition of SGD, and therefore SGD-driven chemical fluxes. In this dissertation, I seek to determine the biogeochemical processes controlling the behavior of …
A Biogeochemical Data Assimilative Modeling Study In The Mid-Atlantic Bight, Yongjin Xiao
A Biogeochemical Data Assimilative Modeling Study In The Mid-Atlantic Bight, Yongjin Xiao
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Continental shelves are generally believed to play a critical role in ocean biogeochemical cycling, however this has raised the question as to the relative importance of various nitrogen flux terms such as denitrification, burial, net community production and advective fluxes. Quantifying these fluxes on an annual area-integrated basis using traditional observational means is often difficult, due to the fact that these fluxes rapidly change on relatively small spatial scales, making inadequate data resolution a significant problem. Satellite remote sensing data and numerical modeling provide alternative ways to fill the data gaps, and hence have the potential to generate quantitative estimates …
Seasonal Nitrogen Uptake And Regeneration In The Water Column And Sea-Ice Of The Western Coastal Arctic, Steven E. Baer
Seasonal Nitrogen Uptake And Regeneration In The Water Column And Sea-Ice Of The Western Coastal Arctic, Steven E. Baer
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
The logistical difficulties of research in extremely low temperatures and lack of access to the Arctic have meant that there is a historic dearth of knowledge of coastal Arctic biogeochemistry, especially during winter when sea ice is present. Recent observations, however, indicate that the Arctic is changing rapidly. Changes include increased temperatures, decreased extent and volume of sea ice, and increased freshwater inputs. How these changes influence biogeochemical cycles is an open question, especially in the highly productive coastal regions of the Chukchi Sea. Here I present nitrogen (N) uptake and regeneration rates for phytoplankton and bacteria measured in the …
Submarine Groundwater Discharge To The York River Estuary: Quantifying Groundwater Flux And Potential For Biogeochemical Cycling, Jenna Lynn Luek
Submarine Groundwater Discharge To The York River Estuary: Quantifying Groundwater Flux And Potential For Biogeochemical Cycling, Jenna Lynn Luek
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
No abstract provided.
The Role Of Copepods And Heterotrophic Dinoflagellates In The Production Of Dissolved Organic Matter And Inorganic Nutrients, Grace Kathleen Saba
The Role Of Copepods And Heterotrophic Dinoflagellates In The Production Of Dissolved Organic Matter And Inorganic Nutrients, Grace Kathleen Saba
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Zooplankton play a key role in the cycling of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and inorganic nutrients. The factors that affect these processes, however, are not fully understood. I measured the effects of various diets on DOM and inorganic nutrient production by the copepod Acartia tonsa and the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Oxyrrhis marina, and explored the mechanisms of nutrient release from copepods. Copepods feeding on a mixed diet, the preferred diet of most copepods, had significantly lower dissolved organic carbon (DOC), ammonium (NH4+), and total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) release rates compared to feeding on a carnivorous or herbivorous diet. Thus, copepod feeding …
Interactions Between Macroalgae And The Sediment Microbial Community: Nutrient Cycling Within Shallow Coastal Bays, Amber Kay Hardison
Interactions Between Macroalgae And The Sediment Microbial Community: Nutrient Cycling Within Shallow Coastal Bays, Amber Kay Hardison
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Ephemeral macroalgal blooms are considered a symptom of eutrophication in shallow coastal lagoons, but their influence on nutrient cycling dynamics in these systems is not fully understood. From 2006-2008, I conducted a series of experiments to determine the influence of living and senescent macroalgae on sediment carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) cycling in coastal lagoons along the Delmarva Peninsula, USA. In particular, I focused on how macroalgae affect the microbial community at the sediment-water interface of shallow subtidal sediments because this complex consortium of autotrophic (e.g. benthic microalgae, BMA) and heterotrophic (e.g. bacteria) organisms plays a critical role in nutrient …
Multi-System Analysis Of Nitrogen Use By Phytoplankton And Heterotrophic Bacteria, Paul B. Bradley
Multi-System Analysis Of Nitrogen Use By Phytoplankton And Heterotrophic Bacteria, Paul B. Bradley
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Traditional measurements of phytoplankton N uptake have been confounded by bacterial retention on filters used in 15N uptake studies, and such methodological obstacles have limited our understanding of phytoplankton-bacterial interactions regarding N cycling. In this research, uptake of various inorganic and organic N substrates by phytoplankton and bacteria was measured in several marine ecosystems using two distinct approaches: size fractionation into phytoplankton and bacterial size classes, and flow cytometric (FCM) sorting of autotrophic cells. Comprehensive assessments of N uptake dynamics were conducted in Chesapeake Bay, the Mid-Atlantic Bight, and Raunefjord, Norway, with supplementary data collected from the York River, Virginia …
Community Dynamics In Submersed Aquatic Vegetation: Intermediate Consumers As Mediators Of Environmental Change, James G. Douglass
Community Dynamics In Submersed Aquatic Vegetation: Intermediate Consumers As Mediators Of Environmental Change, James G. Douglass
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Natural ecosystems are strongly affected by changes in resource supply (bottom-up forces) and by changes in upper trophic levels (top-down forces). The extent to which these processes impact a system depends largely on the responses of organisms at middle trophic levels. In seagrass beds, a group of mid-level consumers known as mesograzers form a critical link in the chain of impact, connecting seagrass and epiphytic algae with predatory fishes and crustaceans. I observed dramatic seasonal and interannual changes in mesograzer abundance and species composition in eelgrass (Zostera marina) beds of lower Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, and endeavored to explain the top-down …
Biogeochemistry And Phytoplankton Dynamics In The Ross Sea, Antarctica, Amy Rebecca Shields
Biogeochemistry And Phytoplankton Dynamics In The Ross Sea, Antarctica, Amy Rebecca Shields
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
The Ross Sea, Antarctica seasonal phytoplankton bloom is one of the largest in the Southern Ocean. This project focuses on the biological pump, which removes carbon from the surface ocean to the deep ocean through the settling of particulate organic matter, the advection of dissolved organic carbon, and active flux due to vertical migration of zooplankton. The objective of this study was to focus on three interrelated components of the biological pump including sedimentation, photosynthetic rates and grazing. The study was conducted in coordination with the Interannual Variability in the Antarctic-Ross Sea program, which covered the time period between 2001--2005. …
Sediment Biogeochemistry Of Northern Cascadia Margin Shallow Gas Hydrate Systems, John W. Pohlman
Sediment Biogeochemistry Of Northern Cascadia Margin Shallow Gas Hydrate Systems, John W. Pohlman
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Methane contained in gas hydrate is a significant component of the global organic carbon inventory. Describing the methane sources supporting these systems and the mechanisms that control the distribution of methane in marine sediments are critical elements in evaluating the resource potential, climate change implications and geologic hazards associated with gas hydrate. The northern Cascadia margin (offshore Vancouver Island, Canada) is a convergent margin with gas hydrate-bearing cold seeps composed of both thermogenic (Barkley Canyon) and microbial (Bullseye vent) gas sources. Gas hydrate and sediment cores were collected from each of these settings to examine the sources that sustain the …
Iron And Carbon Limitation Of Prokaryotic Growth In The Ocean, Jacques L. Oliver
Iron And Carbon Limitation Of Prokaryotic Growth In The Ocean, Jacques L. Oliver
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Studies were undertaken to examine the roles of iron and carbon in modulating prokaryotic growth in the ocean. The context of the first study was an open-open iron fertilization experiment in the high nutrient, low chlorophyll (HNLC) regime in the Southern Ocean. The context of the second study was the oligotrophic, iron-replete, and organic carbon-limited northwest Sargasso Sea. Experimental sea water cultures were amended with an iron chelator, desferrioxamine B (DFOB), and other nutrients to examine the effects of iron and carbon limitation on growth. In the first study prokaryotic abundance, carbon production, and growth rate increased in response to …
Microbial Dynamics And Biogeochemistry In The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, Matthew J. Church
Microbial Dynamics And Biogeochemistry In The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, Matthew J. Church
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
The research presented in this dissertation describes the influence of planktonic bacterial growth on upper ocean organic matter dynamics in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG). Examination of the temporal dynamics in dissolved organic matter (DOM) was coupled with investigations that targeted the influence of heterotrophic bacterial production (HBP) on organic matter fluxes in the NPSG. Nine cruises to the Hawaii Ocean Time-series field site Station ALOHA revealed that HBP accounted for a large flux of organic carbon in the upper ocean of the NPSG. HBP was significantly enhanced by sunlight, with photoenhancement of HBP accounting for 3.2 mol C …
Availability Of Humic Nitrogen To Phytoplankton, Jason Holt See
Availability Of Humic Nitrogen To Phytoplankton, Jason Holt See
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
The chemical, physical, and biological factors affecting the bioavailability of humic nitrogen (N) to coastal phytoplankton were examined. Historically, humic substances have largely been considered biologically refractory, and humic-N is though to be unavailable biologically without prior oxidation via photochemical cleavage or remineralization by bacteria. This is due in part to the high aromaticity and low N content of humic substances. This dissertation investigates whether these assumptions are valid, and whether humic substances may be a more important source of N to the coastal phytoplankton community than previously believed. The research consisted of four main parts. First, changes in the …
Fate Of Organic Compounds Associated With Extractable And Bound Phases Of Estuarine Sediments Deposited Under Varying Depositional Regimes, Krisa Murray Arzayus
Fate Of Organic Compounds Associated With Extractable And Bound Phases Of Estuarine Sediments Deposited Under Varying Depositional Regimes, Krisa Murray Arzayus
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Surficial sediments and sediment cores were collected from two distinct depositional regimes of the York River subestuary of Chesapeake Bay to document seasonal inputs, spatial variability, and longer-term (>40 years) fate of total organic carbon (TOC), lipid biomarker compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These regimes included biological mixing in the lower York and episodic mixing at the mid river site. Compounds were selected to represent a range of chemical reactivities, biological and anthropogenic sources, and modes of entry to the environment. The depositional environments were characterized with a suite of analytical tools: x-radiographs, Eh, 210Pb and 137Cs, total …
Organic Matter Cycling In The York River Estuary, Virginia: An Analysis Of Potential Sources And Sinks, Leigh Mccallister
Organic Matter Cycling In The York River Estuary, Virginia: An Analysis Of Potential Sources And Sinks, Leigh Mccallister
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
A study of the organic matter (OM) sources and biogeochemical and physicochemical sinks was undertaken in the York River estuary, Virginia. The reactivity of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was enhanced from ∼25--68% by the combined effects of exposure to natural sunlight and bacterial decomposition. In contrast, sunlight exposure decreased the bioreactivity of DOC in the higher salinity lower York by a factor of five. The combined effects of photochemical and bacterial processing were found to modify both the bioavailability and metabolic fate of OM (e.g. respiration vs. biomass). Stable isotopic (delta13C, delta15N) and radiocarbon (Delta14C) values of bacterial nucleic acids …
Persistent Organic Pollutant Transport And Fate: Assessment By Molecular Tracers, Padma T. Venkatraman
Persistent Organic Pollutant Transport And Fate: Assessment By Molecular Tracers, Padma T. Venkatraman
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as the organochlorine pesticide hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) may undergo atmospheric transport and accumulate in regions remote from the source. It is important to develop techniques to help apportion source and identify transport or transformation processes to which HCHs and other mobile POPs may be subjected. Molecular tracers such as compound specific stable isotope and enantiomer ratios (ERs) may prove valuable in studying POP fate and transport. The objective of this study was to further develop the use of these two novel geochemical tools to evaluate the sources, transport and environmental fate of POPs, in the context …
Organic Matter Composition Of Sediments And The History Of Eutrophication And Anoxia In The Mesohaline Chesapeake Bay, Andrew R. Zimmerman
Organic Matter Composition Of Sediments And The History Of Eutrophication And Anoxia In The Mesohaline Chesapeake Bay, Andrew R. Zimmerman
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
To evaluate the effects of anthropogenic alteration of the Chesapeake Bay (CB) watershed since European settlement, the historical progression of eutrophication and anoxia in the mesohaline region of CB was reconstructed. Lipid biomarker and carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic and elemental composition of CB surficial sediments were examined seasonally in order to identify the present sources of organic matter to CB sediments and the processes controlling their distribution. Temporal variability in surficial sediment composition could be linked to seasonal changes in phytoplankton community composition and biomass while spatial variation was dominated by the delivery of alloclithonous versus autochthonous sources of …
Carbon Dynamics In A Tidal Freshwater Marsh, Scott C. Neubauer
Carbon Dynamics In A Tidal Freshwater Marsh, Scott C. Neubauer
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
The sources and fates of carbon in a tidal freshwater marsh (Sweet Hall marsh; Pamunkey River, Virginia) were determined to understand the role that these marshes play with respect to estuarine carbon cycling. A carbon gas flux model, based on measured carbon dioxide and methane fluxes, was developed to calculate annual rates of macrophyte and microalgal photosynthesis and community and belowground respiration. Because carbon fluxes out of marsh sediments may underestimate true belowground respiration if sediment-produced gases are transported through plant tissues, gross nitrogen mineralization was used as a proxy for belowground carbon respiration. Annual community respiration exceeded gross photosynthesis, …
Nitrate Reduction At The Groundwater - Salt Marsh Interface, Craig -1967 Tobias
Nitrate Reduction At The Groundwater - Salt Marsh Interface, Craig -1967 Tobias
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
The influence of groundwater discharge on the hydrology and biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen in a fringing intertidal wetland was studied by characterizing groundwater discharge, determining N-cycling rates in cores, and examining nitrate reduction in situ using 15N enrichment and natural gradient tracer techniques. Groundwater discharge was estimated by three independent methods: Darcy's Law, a water/salt mass balance, and a subsurface tracer test. Seasonal patterns of discharge predicted by Darcy's Law and the mass balance were similar. Discharge maxima and minima occurred in April and September, respectively. The water/salt mass balance provided the more reasonable estimate of groundwater flux at high …
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (Pah) Distributions Within Urban Estuarine Sediments, Siddhartha Mitra
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (Pah) Distributions Within Urban Estuarine Sediments, Siddhartha Mitra
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Sediments and pore waters from two urban estuaries ranging in sediment mixing energy were studied to evaluate the potential release of contaminants from particles during sediment diagenesis. Two sites in Elizabeth River, VA and two tributaries in the Hudson River Watershed were sampled for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Sediment age, total sediment organic carbon (TOC), carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratios, and particle surface area (SA) were also sampled at these sites. In the Elizabeth River, both sites sampled (Site 1 and Site 2) have been non-depositional for the past 70 y or are comprised of old dredge spoil. PAH K&\sp\prime\sb{lcub}\rm …
Integrative Analysis Of Ecosystem Processes In The Littoral Zone Of Lower Chesapeake Bay: A Modeling Study Of The Goodwin Islands National Estuarine Research Reserve, Christopher P. Buzzelli
Integrative Analysis Of Ecosystem Processes In The Littoral Zone Of Lower Chesapeake Bay: A Modeling Study Of The Goodwin Islands National Estuarine Research Reserve, Christopher P. Buzzelli
Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects
Approximately 40% of the bottom of Chesapeake Bay is less than 2.0 m in depth and many of these broad shoal environments are bordered by wetlands. The vegetated and nonvegetated subtidal and intertidal environment is a dynamic mosaic of highly productive estuarine habitats linked by the exchange of waterborne materials. This study developed simulation models of primary production and material exchange for four littoral zone habitats of the Goodwin Islands National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) in lower Chesapeake Bay. Field studies were conducted to determine the sediment biogeochemical and biomass characteristics of sandy shoal, seagrass, silt-mud, and marsh habitats. Ecological …