Salt Marsh Sediment Biogeochemical Response to the BP Deepwater Horizon Blowout (Skiff Island, LA, and Cat Island, Marsh Point and Saltpan Island, MS)
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Mississippi State University Scholars Junction Theses and Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1-1-2013 Salt Marsh Sediment Biogeochemical Response to the BP Deepwater Horizon blowout (Skiff Island, LA, and Cat Island, Marsh Point and Saltpan Island, MS) Calista Lee Guthrie Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td Recommended Citation Guthrie, Calista Lee, "Salt Marsh Sediment Biogeochemical Response to the BP Deepwater Horizon blowout (Skiff Island, LA, and Cat Island, Marsh Point and Saltpan Island, MS)" (2013). Theses and Dissertations. 3853. https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/3853 This Graduate Thesis - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Scholars Junction. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholars Junction. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Automated Template B: Created by James Nail 2011V2.01 Salt marsh sediment biogeochemical response to the BP Deepwater Horizon blowout (Skiff Island, LA, and Cat Island, Marsh Point and Saltpan Island, MS) By Calista Lee Guthrie A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Mississippi State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geoscience in the Department of Geosciences Mississippi State, Mississippi May 2013 Copyright by Calista Lee Guthrie 2013 Salt marsh sediment biogeochemical response to the BP Deepwater Horizon blowout (Skiff Island, LA, and Cat Island, Marsh Point and Saltpan Island, MS) By Calista Lee Guthrie Approved: _________________________________ _________________________________ Karen S. McNeal Brenda Kirkland Associate Professor of Geoscience Associate Professor of Geoscience (Committee Chair) (Committee Member) _________________________________ _________________________________ Darrel Schmitz Deepak Mishra Professor of Geoscience Committee Participant Department of (Committee Member) Geosciences (Committee Participant) _________________________________ _________________________________ Mike Brown R. Gregory Dunaway Associate Professor of Geoscience Professor and Interim Dean (Graduate Coordinator) College of Arts & Sciences Name: Calista Lee Guthrie Date of Degree: May 11, 2013 Institution: Mississippi State University Major Field: Geoscience Major Professor: Karen S. McNeal Title of Study: Salt marsh sediment biogeochemical response to the BP Deepwater Horizon blowout (Skiff Island, LA, and Cat Island, Marsh Point and Saltpan Island, MS) Pages in Study: 188 Candidate for Degree of Master of Science The impact of the Deepwater Horizon blowout on coastal wetlands can be understood through investigating carbon loading and microbial activity in salt marsh sediments. Carbon influx causes pore water sulfide to increase in wetland sediment, making it toxic and inhospitable to marsh vegetation. High sulfide levels due to increased microbial activity can lead to plant browning and mortality. Preliminary analyses at Marsh Point, Mississippi indicated that sulfate reducing bacteria are more active in contaminated marsh, producing sulfide concentrations 100x higher than in non- contaminated marsh. Sediment electrode profiles, hydrocarbon contamination, and microbial community profiles were measured at three additional locations to capture the spatial sedimentary geochemical processes impacting salt marsh dieback. Findings indicate that response to contamination is variable due to physical and biogeochemical processes specific to each marsh. Temporal evaluation indicates that there is a lag in maximum response to contamination due to seasonal effects on microbial activity. DEDICATION To my Lord, my family, Funnyface, Austin, and my friends. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I want to acknowledge Dr. Karen McNeal for supporting me in my research and all other endeavors. Though I may complain, I really appreciate her pushing me to do my best. An extra special thanks to Alon Blakeney for his hard work, long hours and dealing with my bossy nature in the field and the lab. Research would have been more difficult and less enjoyable without him. Thanks to Chris Downs for getting us safely to all our destinations and for his eagerness to help in any way. Also, to Henry Stauffenburg, Jonathon Geroux, Kendra Wright, Erin Anderson, and Curry Templeton for the extra hands in the field and the lab. I appreciate all the support I have received from my professors and the Department of Geosciences at Mississippi State University since I became a student here. I want to acknowledge INSPIRE, CLiPSE, BP- America Grant No. 013145-008 and Geosystems Research Institute Grant No. 0012 at Mississippi State University for funding my research and schooling over the last two years. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant No. DGE-0947419. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NSF. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION.................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................... iii LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................x I. INTRODUCTION TO SALT MARSH SIGNIFICANCE AND BIOGEOCHEMISTRY .........................................................................1 Introduction........................................................................................................1 Hypotheses:..................................................................................................2 Literature Review...............................................................................................2 Concern for salt marshes ..............................................................................3 Carbon and sulfur cycling............................................................................5 Sulfur and microbes .....................................................................................7 Redox potential and pH ...............................................................................8 Sulfur and metals .......................................................................................11 Sulfur and salt marsh .................................................................................11 Hydrocarbon contamination in salt marshes ..............................................13 Marshes in the Gulf of Mexico ..................................................................15 II. SPATIAL SALT MARSH SEDIMENT RESPONSE TO DWH OIL SPILL...................................................................................................17 Introduction......................................................................................................17 Research Questions ..........................................................................................20 Methodology....................................................................................................20 Study locations...........................................................................................20 Sample collection and field laboratory methods ........................................22 Laboratory methods ...................................................................................23 Preliminary study method deviations .........................................................25 Spatial study method deviations ................................................................26 Statistical analyses .....................................................................................27 Results..............................................................................................................28 Preliminary study .......................................................................................28 Preliminary electrode results ................................................................28 iv Preliminary Biolog results ...................................................................31 Contamination results ..........................................................................36 Spatial study...............................................................................................36 Spatial electrode results .......................................................................37 Spatial Biolog results ...........................................................................43 Contamination results ..........................................................................46 Particle size results...............................................................................47 Discussion........................................................................................................49 III. TEMPORAL SALT MARSH SEDIMENT RESPONSE TO DWH BLOWOUT..........................................................................................54 Introduction......................................................................................................54 Research Question ...........................................................................................57 Methodology....................................................................................................57