| Title | Controls on sediment accretion and blue carbon burial in tidal saline wetlands: insights from the Oregon coast |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2020 |
| Authors | Peck, Erin K., Robert A. Wheatcroft, and Laura S. Brophy |
| Secondary Title | Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences |
| Volume | 125 |
| Number | 2 |
| Pagination | article e2019JG005464 |
| Date Published | 2020, Feb. |
| Call Number | OSU Libraries: Electronic Subscription |
| Keywords | Youngs River estuary, Nehalem Bay, Tillamook Bay, Netarts Bay, Salmon River estuary, Alsea Bay, Coquille River estuary, salt marsh, wetlands, sediments, climate change, sea levels, carbon, |
| Notes | In this study, the authors used the Oregon coast as “a natural laboratory” (p.16). Sediment accumulation and carbon burial rates over the last 100 years were measured in seven different estuaries. Marshes on the north and south coast (Youngs, Nehalem, Coquille, Netarts) were keeping pace with sea level rise, with sediment loads greater than the rising waters. Central coast estuaries (Salmon, Alsea) did not have sedimentation greater than sea level rise, indicating possible future drowning of marshes in those estuaries. Sediment load and relative sea level rise, rather than elevation, appear to drive sediment accumulation. Sediment accumulation rates correlate with carbon burial, and “carbon accumulation will increase as long as tidal saline wetlands maintain positive accretionary balances” (p.16). |
| DOI | 10.1029/2019JG005464 |
| Series Title | Journal of Geophysical Research. Biogeosciences |
