Details:

Journal Title:
Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences
Personal Author:
Peck, Erin K. ; Wheatcroft, Robert A. ; Brophy, Laura S.
Peck, Erin K. ; Wheatcroft, Robert A. ; Brophy, Laura S. Less -
NOAA Program & Office:
Sea Grant ; OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research)
Sea Grant ; OAR (Oceanic and Atmospheric Research) Less -
Sea Grant Program:
ORESU (Oregon Sea Grant)
Description:
Oregon estuaries provide important opportunities to assess controls on tidal saline wetland carbon burial and sediment accretion as both rates of relative sea level rise (RSLR; −1.4 ± 0.9 to 2.8 ± 0.8 mm yr−1) and fluvial suspended sediment load relative to estuary area (0.23 to 17 × 103 t km−2 yr−1) vary along the coast. We hypothesized that vertical accretion, measured using excess 210Pb in least-disturbed wetlands within seven Oregon estuaries, would vary with either RSLR or sediment load relative to estuary area, and carbon burial would correlate strongly to sediment accretion. Mean rates of high marsh accretion (0.8 ± 0.2 to 4.1 ± 0.2 mm yr−1) indicate that Oregon tidal wetlands have mainly kept pace with twentieth-century RSLR with the exception that the accretionary balance in the central coast is negative, suggesting drowning. Experiencing the fastest rates of RSLR, central-coast estuaries may foreshadow the fates of other Oregon estuaries under future accelerated sea level rise. Comparison of mass accumulation rates with sediment loads, however, indicates low trapping efficiency and therefore no fluvial sediment limitation. Thus, nonlinear feedback between RSLR and sediment accretion may enhance wetland resistance to drowning. Among wetlands keeping pace with or exceeding RSLR, sediment accretion displays no significant relationship with elevation but rather appears controlled by both the rate of RSLR and relative sediment load, highlighting the importance of incorporating both factors into future studies of tidal saline wetlands. Carbon burial rates, controlled by sediment accretion, will likely increase with future accelerated sea level rise.
Keywords:
[+]
Estuaries Sea Level Sediments
Source:
Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 125, e2019JG005464
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JG005464
Sea Grant Document Number:
ORESU-R-20-001
Document Type:
Journal Article
Funding:
Grant no. NA18OAR4170072
Place as Subject:
Oregon
Rights Information:
CC BY
Compliance:
Library
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:edc1eef30082f256fccb35a26bc03ab5b493de59baf161b84dad7026654f3ac1
Download URL:
https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/37445/noaa_37445_DS1.pdf
File Type:

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