Research Areas > Wetlands > Wetland Ecology and Biogeochemistry > Estuarine Sediment Biogeochemistry

Project Group: Sediment Biogeochemistry in Estuaries

Sediments are an important component within estuaries because they can uptake, store, and release a variety of different contaminants, including nutrients, over an extended time period. Sediments are also the site for a suite of different biogeochemical processes that determine the ultimate fate of nutrients within the estuary.

SCCWRP and partner organizations have been conducting a series of studies to quantify the magnitude of nutrient exchange between sediments and surface waters,  characterize the factors that control nutrient exchange, and estimate the rates of key biogeochemical processes that occur within sediments (which determine the ultimate fate of nutrients within the estuary). It is expected that nutrient exchange and transformation rates could vary as a function of tidal flushing, benthic infaunal density, dominant primary producer community, and other factors that vary among southern California estuaries. Quantifying these processes can lead to a more realistic calculation of total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) of nutrients that the estuary can sustainably assimilate.

Sediment biogeochemistry projects include:

• Sediments as a Non-Point Source of Nutrients to Malibu Lagoon
• Factors Controlling Biological Response to Nutrient Loads in Five San Diego Lagoons
• Sediments as an Internal Source of Nutrients to Upper Newport Bay California