Talk

Science Seminar: Estimates of wetland-estuary organic carbon cycling in the Rhode River

Thursday, Dec 14, 2017 - 11:00am - 12:00pm
Event Location
Schmidt Conference Center

Event Details

Our Thursday science seminars are open to the public. Because they are directed towards an audience of scientists, they are more technical than our evening lectures. Learn more about our free Bay Optimism evening lecture series.

Summary: A new three-dimensional hydrodynamic biogeochemical model has been developed for the Rhode River, Md., to better simulate processes related to wetland-estuary organic carbon cycling. The new model incorporates processes important to wetland organic carbon, including wetland sediment dissolved organic carbon (DOC) inputs and explicit mechanistic photodegradation of colored DOC in the water column. The model predicts an average flux from the Kirkpatrick Marsh of 178 grams per square meter of DOC every year, with the wetland DOC signal dissipating from the marsh towards the mouth of the Rhode River. Results indicate that marsh-derived DOC attenuates primarily due to physical mixing and dilution, and secondarily due to biological remineralization enhanced by photodegradation.