TY - CONF
T1 - Connecting Terrestrial and Marine Carbon: The Missing Link
AU - Smeaton, Craig
AU - Austin, William
AU - Davies, Althea
AU - Howe, John
PY - 2014/5/1
Y1 - 2014/5/1
N2 - The poster introduces some initial ideas and concepts from my research
(starting October 2013) which aims to create a carbon inventory for sea
lochs on the west coast of Scotland; future aims the research will focus
on aspects of carbon cycling. There is currently a disparity in carbon
research: deep ocean and terrestrial carbon are both intensely
researched areas within both a Scottish and global context. In
comparison, carbon research in coastal regions is sparse, but there is a
growing awareness of key transfers in the carbon cycle at these
locations, suggesting that they are key areas for understanding the
global storage and cycling of carbon. Coastal environments are the
repository of significant quantities of terrestrial carbon, with
estimates ranging between 334.5 x1012 g a-1 (Degens et al. 1991) and 500
x 1012 g a-1 (Spitzy & Ittekkot 1991). The lack of research in the
coastal zones has implications for all areas of carbon research: without
a better understanding of carbon in our coastal waters, the
understanding of carbon transfer from source to sink will remain
incomplete. This project sets out to address some of the main questions
that are required to fill the gaps in our knowledge and generate a
better understanding of carbon in the coastal environment. Here we focus
on establishing first-order inventories of the carbon stored in sea loch
(fjord) sediments. We intend to use the West coast of Scotland as our
study area. The region contains multiple types of coastal environment
with minimal human disturbance. The main focus of the study will be sea
lochs as relatively few investigations of biogeochemical cycling in sea
loch systems have been conducted (Loh et al. 2002, 2008, 2010; Nuwer
& Keil 2005) and even fewer organic carbon investigations have been
undertaken in such systems (e.g. Overnell & Young 1995). Sea lochs
also provide a semi-enclosed system, making them ideal for this type of
study. Initially the project aims to use existing literature and data to
provide a proof of concept and develop a framework for future in-depth
investigation. The initial questions we wish to answer are: •What
quantities of sediment and carbon are held in sea lochs and what is the
depositional history? •What percentage of the sediment is carbon
and in what form is the carbon present? •How does this initially
compare to terrestrial carbon inventories(e.g. Chapman et al. 2009)?
Degens,E. T., Kempe,S.& Richey, J.E. (1991). Summary:
biogeochemistry of major world rivers. In: Degens, E. T., Kempe,S. &
Richey, J. E. (eds) Biogeochemis- try of Major World River. Wiley,
Chichester, 323-348. Loh, P. S., Reeves, A. D., Overnell, J.,
Harvey,S.M. & Miller, A. E. J. (2002). Assessment of terrigenous
organic carbon input to the total organic carbon in sedi- ments from
Scottish transitional waters (sea lochs): methodology and preliminary
results. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 6, 959-970. Loh, P. S.,
Miller,A.E. J., Reeves,A. D., Harvey,S.M. &Overnell, J. (2008).
Assessing the biodegradability of terrestrially-derived organic matter
in Scottish sea loch sediments. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 12,
811-823. Loh, P. S., Miller,A.E. J., Reeves,A. D., Harvey,S.M.
&Overnell, J.(2010). Sediment fluxes and carbon budgets in Loch
Creran, western Scotland, Geological Society, London, Special
Publications,344, 103-12. Nuwer,J.M. & Keil, R. G. (2005).
Sedimentary organic matter geochemistry of Clayoquot Sound, Vancouver
Island, British Columbia. Limnology and Oceano- graph, 50, 1119-1128
Overnell,J.& Young, S. 1995. Sedimentation and carbon flux in a
Scottish Sea Loch, Loch Linnhe. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science,
41, 361-376 Spitzy,A.&Ittekkot,V. (1991). Dissolved and particulate
organic matter in rivers. In: Mantoura, R. F. C. Ocean Margin Processes
in Global Change. Physical, Chemical, and Earth Sciences Research Report
9. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 5-17.
AB - The poster introduces some initial ideas and concepts from my research
(starting October 2013) which aims to create a carbon inventory for sea
lochs on the west coast of Scotland; future aims the research will focus
on aspects of carbon cycling. There is currently a disparity in carbon
research: deep ocean and terrestrial carbon are both intensely
researched areas within both a Scottish and global context. In
comparison, carbon research in coastal regions is sparse, but there is a
growing awareness of key transfers in the carbon cycle at these
locations, suggesting that they are key areas for understanding the
global storage and cycling of carbon. Coastal environments are the
repository of significant quantities of terrestrial carbon, with
estimates ranging between 334.5 x1012 g a-1 (Degens et al. 1991) and 500
x 1012 g a-1 (Spitzy & Ittekkot 1991). The lack of research in the
coastal zones has implications for all areas of carbon research: without
a better understanding of carbon in our coastal waters, the
understanding of carbon transfer from source to sink will remain
incomplete. This project sets out to address some of the main questions
that are required to fill the gaps in our knowledge and generate a
better understanding of carbon in the coastal environment. Here we focus
on establishing first-order inventories of the carbon stored in sea loch
(fjord) sediments. We intend to use the West coast of Scotland as our
study area. The region contains multiple types of coastal environment
with minimal human disturbance. The main focus of the study will be sea
lochs as relatively few investigations of biogeochemical cycling in sea
loch systems have been conducted (Loh et al. 2002, 2008, 2010; Nuwer
& Keil 2005) and even fewer organic carbon investigations have been
undertaken in such systems (e.g. Overnell & Young 1995). Sea lochs
also provide a semi-enclosed system, making them ideal for this type of
study. Initially the project aims to use existing literature and data to
provide a proof of concept and develop a framework for future in-depth
investigation. The initial questions we wish to answer are: •What
quantities of sediment and carbon are held in sea lochs and what is the
depositional history? •What percentage of the sediment is carbon
and in what form is the carbon present? •How does this initially
compare to terrestrial carbon inventories(e.g. Chapman et al. 2009)?
Degens,E. T., Kempe,S.& Richey, J.E. (1991). Summary:
biogeochemistry of major world rivers. In: Degens, E. T., Kempe,S. &
Richey, J. E. (eds) Biogeochemis- try of Major World River. Wiley,
Chichester, 323-348. Loh, P. S., Reeves, A. D., Overnell, J.,
Harvey,S.M. & Miller, A. E. J. (2002). Assessment of terrigenous
organic carbon input to the total organic carbon in sedi- ments from
Scottish transitional waters (sea lochs): methodology and preliminary
results. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 6, 959-970. Loh, P. S.,
Miller,A.E. J., Reeves,A. D., Harvey,S.M. &Overnell, J. (2008).
Assessing the biodegradability of terrestrially-derived organic matter
in Scottish sea loch sediments. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 12,
811-823. Loh, P. S., Miller,A.E. J., Reeves,A. D., Harvey,S.M.
&Overnell, J.(2010). Sediment fluxes and carbon budgets in Loch
Creran, western Scotland, Geological Society, London, Special
Publications,344, 103-12. Nuwer,J.M. & Keil, R. G. (2005).
Sedimentary organic matter geochemistry of Clayoquot Sound, Vancouver
Island, British Columbia. Limnology and Oceano- graph, 50, 1119-1128
Overnell,J.& Young, S. 1995. Sedimentation and carbon flux in a
Scottish Sea Loch, Loch Linnhe. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science,
41, 361-376 Spitzy,A.&Ittekkot,V. (1991). Dissolved and particulate
organic matter in rivers. In: Mantoura, R. F. C. Ocean Margin Processes
in Global Change. Physical, Chemical, and Earth Sciences Research Report
9. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, 5-17.
M3 - Poster
SP - 121
ER -