Spatial distribution of benthic-pelagic coupling

沿海河口和海湾是潮汐、风和河流造成的强烈环境梯度的场所。海底沉积物是这种变化的一种表现，海底生境（沙、泥、植物）反映了环境的能量和动物群落的发展。浅的混合良好的水柱确保底部通过沉积物和有机碎片的再悬浮以及分解释放营养物来影响上覆的沃茨。在水柱中产生的物质（浮游植物）沉到底部，在那里为这些过程提供燃料。物质在海底、水柱和沿海海洋之间循环的速率决定了河口如何处理污染、过剩的营养物质和各种压力。尽管人们对不同栖息地类型的范围有了一些了解，但它们的相对重要性并不为人所知。例如，预计在富含有机物的淤泥中的分解程度将大于在干净的沙子中的分解程度，但这种空间分辨率水平很少被纳入用于预测沿海生态系统功能的模型中。拟议的研究将记录沿海栖息地的变化以及这些栖息地中发生的物理交换，分解和初级生产（植物，微藻）的速度。我将使用远程探测技术，如海底声学测绘，以确定栖息地的变化。将在多个地点对分解、植物生长和其他过程进行一系列详细的测量，从而使环境条件与其在生态系统功能中的作用相匹配。然后，这些信息将被输入到改进的生态系统模型中，以提高预测营养负荷、资源开采、渔业、商业开发和气候变化影响的能力。

Coastal estuaries and bays are sites of strong environmental gradients caused by tides, winds and river flow. Bottom sediments are a manifestation of this variation, with bottom habitat (sand, mud, plants) reflecting the energy of the environment and development of animal communities. The shallow well-mixed water column insures that the bottom influences overlying waters by resuspension of sediments and organic debris, and release of nutrients from decomposition. Material produced in the water column (phytoplankton) sinks to the bottom where it fuels these processes. The rate at which material is cycled between the bottom, water column, and coastal ocean determines how estuaries deal with pollution, excess nutrients, and a variety of stresses. Although there is some understanding of the range of different habitat types, their relative importance is not well known. For example, it is expected that decomposition will be greater in organic-rich mud than in clean sand, but this level of spatial resolution is rarely included in the models that are used to make predictions about the functioning of coastal ecosystems. The proposed research will document variation in coastal habitats as well as the rate at which physical exchange, decomposition, and primary production (plants, microalgae) occur in these habitats. I will use remote detection techniques such as acoustic seabed mapping to define habitat variation. A series of detailed measurements on decomposition, plant growth, and other processes will be measured in multiple locations, allowing a match between environmental conditions and their role in ecosystem functioning. This information will then be input to improved ecosystem models to allow greater capability in prediction of effects from nutrient loading, resource extraction, fisheries, commercial development, and climate change.