Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve

25 Oct, 05 PM - 16 Dec, 04 PM

Proposed work In Fall 2009, we will sample at the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve, Santa Barbara County, CA (hereafter Carpinteria). This remnant wetland is part of the University of California Natural Reserve System, administered by the University of California at Santa Barbara. The PI has previously worked successfully at UCNRS sites in San Bernadino County, CA gathering vegetation and climatic data for discrete and long term monitoring studies (Feakins and Sessions, in prep). At Carpinteria, 120 acres of wetland are bordered by urban development and the heavily-used waters of the SBB, also site of some of the highest resolution ocean sediment records of past climate change. We will measure the biomarker abundances of a representative sample of living plants from the inter-tidal, supra-tidal and, if possible, sub-tidal zone (Hypothesis 1). In addition we will analyze biomarker carbon and hydrogen isotopic composition enabling differentiation of environmental conditions (Hypothesis 2 and 3). We will use gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and isotope ratio mass spectrometry (GC-IRMS) facilities newly established in the PI?s laboratory at USC. Field and laboratory work at Carpinteria will be completed by the end of Fall 2009 enabling analysis of results in Spring 2010 in time for a full proposal submission at the next solicitation. Will the Carpinteria Site meet all the needs of a modern calibration study? We can, if needed, extend the modern study to other remnant salt marsh wetlands on the southern Californian coast, e.g., Mission Bay Complex, Upper Newport Bay, Bolsa Chica wetlands and Ballona Creek, if a wider diversity of species or environmental gradients are needed to represent full range of conditions that may have existed in the past. Full Proposal Development: Characterizing the biomarker abundance and isotopic signature of modern plant communities across ecological and environmental gradients at the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve will provide a reference dataset for follow-on projects of more extensive scope. ? In a subsequent full proposal we intend to apply these techniques and the results of this modern reference dataset to assess changes in salt marsh ecosystems in response to past environmental change. In particular, salt marsh peats are expected to yield a valuable archive of ecological and environmental change in coastal wetland environments during the period of human disturbance. ? Longer-term analysis of coastal ecological dynamics in response to climate change could be explored in the laminated sediments of the Santa Barbara Basin, a valuable, high-resolution archive of past climate change. It is for this reason that we selected a pilot study location on the Santa Barbara Basin section of the southern Californian coastline. ? Scientific Merits and Broader Impacts: The results of this study will enable us to assess the nature and quantity of the biomarker signal that may be detected in coastal peat deposits and offshore sedimentary records. These results will have immediate implications for understanding terrigenous fluxes to sediment trap and seafloor deposition in the SBB. The ultimate goal of the follow-on proposal is to observe past change in wetland plant communities in the face of natural climate variability and past human disturbance. Understanding the resilience of these ecosystems to past climate and human disturbance is essential to project how these systems may respond in the future.

Visit #19376 @Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve

Approved

Under Project # 20639 | Research

Biomarker isotopic signals of ecological responses to environmental change, at the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Reserve, Santa Barbara County, CA

research_scientist - University of Southern California (USC)

Reservation Members(s)

Group of 2 Graduate Student Oct 25 - Dec 16, 2009 (53 days)
Group of 2 Other Oct 25 - Dec 16, 2009 (53 days)
Isabel Romero Oct 25 - Dec 16, 2009 (53 days)

Reserve Resources(s) | Create Invoice

Day Use Only 5 Oct 25 - Dec 16, 2009