CAREER: Sources of Organic Matter in the Chesapeake Bay: A Biomarker Approach

CANUEL脂质生物标志物、元素（有机碳%、C/N比率）和同位素（C-13）信息将用于：(1)表征主要来源物质，以便为其输入开发可靠的化学示踪剂；(2)确定切萨皮克湾悬浮POM来源的时空格局；(3)利用沉积物岩心评估有机物质输送的历史变化。由于输送过程的高度可变性，研究将集中在可能最重要的过程上，即淡水流入、浮游植物大量繁殖和微生物药物降解。这一职业发展计划的教育部分有其目标：(1)开发研究生水平的课程，(2)指导研究生和本科生，(3)建立一个暑期项目，鼓励高中女生从事科学研究。“女性科技研究入门计划”（F.I.R.S.T.）将把未上大学的女孩送入实验室，在那里她们将与女性导师密切合作。所有的教育目标都将利用研究经验作为教学工具。本提案中概述的研究和教育计划将共同建立一个框架，以了解近岸环境（包括其他河口、大陆架和斜坡）中控制有机物质输送和命运的关键过程。具体来说，本研究的结果将确定切萨皮克湾水柱和沉积物中有机质的重要来源及其相对丰度。

9521170 CANUEL Lipid biomarkers, elemental (% organic carbon, C/N ratios), and isotopic (C-13) information will be used to: (1) characterize primary source materials in order to develop reliable chemcial tracers for their input, (2) identify temporal and spatial patterns in the sources of suspended POM in the Chesapeake Bay, and (3) evaluate historical changes in the delivery of organic materials using sediments cores. Because of high variability in the delivery processes, the study will focus on processes likely to be most important, namely, freshwater inflow, phytoplankton blooms, and microbially-medicated degradation. The educational component of this career development plan has as its objectives: (1) the development of graduate level courses, (2) mentoring of graduate and undergraduate students, and (3) establishing a summer program to initiate high school girls into scientific research. The Female Initiation into Research in Science and Technology (F.I.R.S.T.) program will place precollege girsl in labs where they will work closely with female mentors. All of the education objectives will utilize research experience as a teaching tool. Together the research and education plans outlined in this proposal will build a framework for understanding key processes controlling the delivery and fate of organic materials in near shore environments, including other estuaries, and the continental shelf and slope. Specifically, results from this study will identify the important sources of organic matter and their relative abundance in the water column and sediments of the Chesapeake Bay.