REU: Biogeochemical Cycling in the Organic-Rich Coastal Environment

这项研究的目的是：1)确定与硫酸盐还原和产甲烷相关的控制有机酸循环的过程：2)了解这些过程中对季节性和非稳态变化的控制；以及，3)在接受电子的过程和特定类别的可代谢有机化合物的输入和降解之间建立定量联系。这项研究分为五个部分：i)低分子有机酸周转研究，ii)细菌脂醚作为缺氧沉积物微生物过程的示踪剂，iii)溶解有机碳的粒度类型和组成的表征，iv)有机质输送和降解过程的时间变化研究，v)上坡沉积物的早期成岩作用研究。这项工作将在近岸海洋、河口和上坡沉积环境中进行。

The goals of this research are: 1) to identify processes controlling organic acid cycling associated with sulfate reduction and methanogenesis in organic-rich sediments: 2) to understand controls on seasonal and non-steady state variations in these processes; and, 3) to establish quantitative linkages between the electron accepting processes and the input and degradation of specific classes of metabolizable organic compounds. The research is divided into five sections: i) studies of low molecular weight organic acid turnover, ii) use of bacterial lipid ethers as tracers of microbial processes in anoxic sediments, iii) characterization of size classes and composition of dissolved organic carbon, iv) studies of temporal variations in organic matter delivery and degradation processes; and, v) studies of early diagenesis in upper slope sediments. The work will be carried out in nearshore marine, estuarine and upper slope sedimentary environments.