Analysis of soil in a Chesapeake Bay salt marsh using Fourier transform infrared spectrometry: Effects of global climate change and sea level rise in coastal marshes
2017
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Analysis of soil in a Chesapeake Bay salt marsh using Fourier transform infrared spectrometry: Effects of global climate change and sea level rise in coastal marshes
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2017
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The average global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration has increased by more than 38% since the beginning of the industrial revolution, reaching a level that has not been seen in over 800,000 years. This rise is primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels, land cultivation, and the deterioration of carbon sinks Salt marshes are one of these crucial carbon sinks, known as the Blue Carbon sink. Changes in both climate and land-use can destroy salt marshes, thus turning the natural carbon sink into a source of anthropogenic carbon dioxide. This research focused on one Chesapeake Bay salt marsh located in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. This region has experienced a continual increase in sea level, making it an ideal location to analyze the dynamics of soil organic matter (SOM) and how it changes with accelerated water rise. SOM is vital to the health of an ecosystem, contributing to soil nutrients, water storage, and other ecosystem services, which is why it is essential to study its chemical properties and how they change in regard to sea level rise and climate change. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry was used to qualitatively and quantitatively analyze the major functional groups in the SOM from the salt marsh, as well as a 2D correlation program to create synchronous plots to detect changes in soil composition across a variety of locations. The results showed that as sea levels have risen, the study site salt marsh has transgressed upslope and inland causing changes in vegetation over time at each site. It was proven that this change in SOM vegetative source was reflected in the changes in SOM chemistry both between samples at different locations, and among samples taken at different depths.
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University Honors Capstone Project Paper and Presentation, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2017.
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Wheeler, Marissa. (2017). Analysis of soil in a Chesapeake Bay salt marsh using Fourier transform infrared spectrometry: Effects of global climate change and sea level rise in coastal marshes. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/199961.
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