Articles | Volume 16, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-593-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-16-593-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
14 May 2020
Research article |
| 14 May 2020
| 14 May 2020
Spatiotemporal variability of light attenuation and net ecosystem metabolism in a back-barrier estuary
U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center,
Woods Hole, MA, USA
Jeremy M. Testa
Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for
Environmental Science, Solomons, MD, USA
Steven E. Suttles
U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center,
Woods Hole, MA, USA
Alfredo L. Aretxabaleta
U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center,
Woods Hole, MA, USA
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Light availability to seagrass is an important factor in their success. We deployed instrumentation to measure light in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, and found lower availability in the southern bay due to high turbidity (suspended sediment), while the northern bay has higher availability. In the northern bay, dissolved organic material and chlorophyll are most responsible for blocking light to the seagrass canopy. We also found that boat wakes do not have a large effect on sediment resuspension.
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Short summary
Seagrasses, as plants, need light for photosynthesis and production. This study measured the changes in productivity and light in a back-barrier estuary and connected those changes with the type of seabed within the estuary. We found that the locations with seagrass on the seabed had more light getting through the water and higher productivity because of the way seagrass keeps sediment on the seabed during wave events. When sediment stays on the bed, it cannot reduce the light in the water.
Seagrasses, as plants, need light for photosynthesis and production. This study measured the...
