Detailed information on vegetation phenology in salt marshes is useful for understanding patterns in plant production and carbon sequestration. I used high-frequency PhenoCam imagery to characterize the phenophases of Spartina alterniflora, the dominant macrophyte in eastern U.S. salt marshes. These observations showed differences of > 1 month in the timing of spring green-up in plants located only meters apart. I found that green-up could be…
Elasmobranchs typically occupy higher trophic levels in food webs and, consequently, have a propensity to accumulate high organochlorine contaminant (OC) concentrations. However, not all sharks accumulate the same types of contaminants or at the same rate, making use of OCs a potential ecological tool. Bioaccumulation with respect to ontogeny was examined among three species of pelagic sharks (Shortfin Mako Isurus oxyrhincus, Common…
Estuaries provide critical habitat for eelgrass, oysters, and other species, and also serve as natural sediment traps. The sediment regimes of many modern estuaries are evolving, however, in response to land use changes, shoreline alterations, dredging, and other human impacts. In order to assess hydrodynamics and sediment dynamics in the Coos Bay Estuary (Oregon), we used an unstructured finite-volume model (FVCOM) and multi-year measurements…
Andreas Thurnherr will present observations showing where and how AABW is transformed to lighter density classes and upwells and will also discuss how these two requirements for closing the overturning circulation relate to the observed vertical gradients in turbulence levels and to the hypothesized role of bottom boundary layers for upwelling of bottom water.