Variability of organic δ13C and C/N in the Mersey Estuary, U.K. and its implications for sea-level reconstruction studies

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

Volumn 64, Issue 4, 2005, Pages 685-698

  Wilson, Graham P ^a,d   Lamb, Angela L ^b   Leng, Melanie J ^b,c   Gonzalez, Silvia ^a   Huddart, David ^a  

^a LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

^b BRITISH GEOLOGICAL SURVEY   (United Kingdom)

^c UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM   (United Kingdom)

^d UNIVERSITY OF HULL   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

13C; C N ratios; Holocene; Mersey Estuary; Relative sea level; Saltmarsh

Indexed keywords

HOLOCENE; SEA LEVEL CHANGE;

EASTERN HEMISPHERE; ENGLAND; EURASIA; EUROPE; MERSEY ESTUARY; UNITED KINGDOM; WESTERN EUROPE; WORLD;

BACILLARIOPHYTA; FORAMINIFERA;

EID: 23744492516     PISSN: 02727714     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.ecss.2005.04.003     Document Type: Article

References (54)

1. Admiralty Tide Tables, 2003. vol. 1 UK Hydrographic Office, UK and Ireland.
2. J.E. Andrews, G. Samways, P.F. Dennis, and B.A. Maher Origin, abundance and storage of organic carbon and sulphur in the Holocene Humber Estuary: emphasizing human impact on storage changes T. Shennan J.E. Andrews Holocene Land-Ocean Interaction and Environmental Change Around the North Sea Special Publications, 166 2000 Geological Society London 145 170
3. J.A.C. Barth, J. Veizer, and B. Mayer Origin of particulate organic carbon in the upper St. Lawrence: isotopic constraints Earth and Planetary Science Letters 162 1998 111 121
4. 13C in lignin and its implications for stable carbon isotope studies Nature 329 1987 708 710
5. R. Benner, M.L. Fogel, and E.K. Sprague Diagenesis of belowground biomass of Spartina alterniflora in salt-marsh sediments Limnology and Oceanography 36 1991 1358 1374
6. R. Byrne, L.B. Ingram, S. Starratt, and F. Malamud-Roam Carbon-isotope, diatom, and pollen evidence for late Holocene salinity change in a brackish marsh in the San Francisco Estuary Quaternary Research 55 2001 66 76
7. G.L. Chmura, and P. Aharon Stable carbon isotope signatures of sedimentary carbon in coastal wetlands as indicators of salinity regime Journal of Coastal Research 11 1995 124 135
8. 13C abundances in coastal wetlands of Louisiana, USA: vegetation and sediments Oecologia 74 1987 264 271
9. J.E. Cloern, E.A. Canuel, and D. Harris Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope composition of aquatic and terrestrial plants of the San Francisco Bay estuarine system Limnology and Oceanography 47 2002 713 729
10. R.M.M. Crawford Studies in Plant Survival: Ecological Case Histories of Plant Adaptation to Adversity 1989 Blackwell Oxford 296 pp.
11. P. Deines The isotopic composition of reduced organic carbon P. Fritz J.C. Fontes Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry 1980 Gisewir Amsterdam 329 406
12. 4 plants in determining past depositional environments in rapidly accreting marshes of the Mississippi River deltaic plain, Louisiana U.S.A. Chemical Geology 59 1986 315 320
13. L.M. Ember, D.F. Williams, and J.T. Morris Processes that influence carbon isotope variations in salt marsh sediments Marine Ecology Progress Series 36 1987 33 42
14. R. Fichez, P. Dennis, M.F. Fontaine, and T.D. Jickells Isotopic and biochemical composition of particulate organic matter in a shallow water estuary (Great Ouse, North Sea, England) Marine Chemistry 43 1993 263 276
15. M.L. Fogel, K.E. Sprague, A.P. Gize, and R.W. Frey Diagenesis of organic matter in Georgia salt marshes Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 28 1989 211 230
16. 13C measurements as indicators of carbon flow in marine and freshwater ecosystems P.W. Rundel J.R. Ehleringer K.A. Nagy Stable Isotopes in Ecological Research 1989 Springer-Verlag New York 196 229
17. B. Fry, R.S. Scalan, and P.L. Parker Stable carbon isotope evidence for two sources of organic matter in coastal sediments: seagrass and plankton Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 41 1977 1875 1877
18. M.A. Goñi, M.J. Teixeira, and D.W. Perkey Sources and distribution of organic matter in a river-dominated estuary (Winyah Bay, SC, USA) Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 57 2003 1023 1048
19. S. Gonzalez, J. Innes, D. Huddart, P. Davey, and A.J. Plater Holocene coastal change in the north of the Isle of Man: stratigraphy, palaeoenvironment and archaeological evidence K. Pye J.R.L. Allen Coastal and Estuarine Environments: Sedimentology, Geomorphology And Geoarchaeology Special Publications, 175 2000 Geological Society London 343 363
20. M.C. Graham, M.A. Eaves, J.G. Farmer, J. Dobson, and A.E. Fallick A study of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope and elemental ratios as potential indicators of source and fate of organic matter in sediments of the Forth Estuary, Scotland Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 51 2001 375 380
21. E.B. Haines Stable carbon isotope ratios in biota, soils and tidal water of a Georgia salt marsh Estuarine and Coastal Marine Science 4 1976 609 616
22. B.P. Horton The distribution of contemporary intertidal foraminifera at Cowpen Marsh, Tees Estuary, UK: implications for studies of Holocene sea-level changes Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 149 1999 127 149
23. R.W.P.M. Laane, E. Turkstra, and W.G. Mook Stable carbon isotope composition of pelagic and benthic organic matter in the North Sea and adjacent estuaries V. Ittekkot S. Kempe W. Michaelis A. Spitzy Facets of Modern Biogeochemistry 1990 Springer-Verlag Berlin 214 224
24. J.M. Lloyd, I. Shennan, J.R. Kirby, and M.M. Rutherford Holocene relative sea-level changes in the inner Solway Firth Quaternary International 60 1999 83 105
25. A.E. Maccubbin, and R.E. Hodson Mineralization of detrital lignocelluloses by salt marsh sediment microflora Applied and Environmental Microbiology 40 1980 735 740
26. F. Malamud-Roam, and B.L. Ingram Carbon isotopic compositions of plants and sediments of tide marshes in the San Francisco Estuary Journal of Coastal Research 17 2001 17 29
27. 13C and pollen records of paleosalinity from tidal marshes in the San Francisco Bay estuary, California Quaternary Research 62 2004 134 145
28. L. Megens, J. van der Plicht, J.W. de Leeuw, and F. Smedes Stable carbon and radiocarbon isotope compositions of particle size fractions to determine origins of sedimentary organic matter in an estuary Organic Geochemistry 33 2002 945 952
29. J.M. Melillo, J.D. Aber, A.E. Linkins, A. Ricca, B. Fry, and K.J. Nadelhoffer Carbon and nitrogen dynamics along the decay continuum: plant litter to soil organic matter Plant and Soil 115 1989 189 198
30. J.J. Middelburg, and J. Nieuwenhuize Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in suspended matter and sediments from the Schelde Estuary Marine Chemistry 60 1998 217 225
31. J.J. Middelburg, J. Nieuwenhuize, R.K. Lubberts, and O. van de Plassche Organic carbon isotope systematics of coastal marshes Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 45 1997 681 687
32. B.J. Peterson, B. Fry, M. Hullar, S. Saupe, and R. Wright The distribution and stable carbon isotope composition of dissolved organic carbon in estuaries Estuaries 17 1994 111 121
33. O. van de Plassche Sea-level Research: A Manual for the Collection and Evaluation of Data 1986 Geo Books Norwich 644 pp.
34. C.D. Preston, D.A. Pearman, and T.D. Dines New Atlas of the British and Irish Flora 2002 Oxford University Press Oxford 910 pp.
35. O. Rackham The History of the Countryside 1986 Dent London 445 pp.
36. 13C natural abundances for evaluating riverine, estuarine, and coastal DOC and POC sources and cycling: a review and synthesis Organic Geochemistry 32 2001 469 485
37. W. Salomons, and W.G. Mook Field observations of the isotopic composition of particulate organic carbon in the southern North Sea and adjacent estuaries Marine Geology 41 1981 M11 M20
38. D.F. Shaw Water inputs to Liverpool Bay Liverpool Bay Study Group Liverpool Bay: An Assessment of Present Knowledge vol. 14 1975 Natural Environmental Research Council London 11 12 (Series C)
39. I. Shennan Flandrian sea-level changes in the Fenland. II: tendencies of sea-level movement, altitudinal changes, and local and regional factors Journal of Quaternary Science 1 1986 155 179
40. I. Shennan, M.J. Tooley, F. Green, J. Innes, K. Kennington, J. Lloyd, and M. Rutherford Sea level, climate change and coastal evolution in Morar, northwest Scotland Geologie en Mijnbouw 77 1999 247 262
41. E.B. Sherr Carbon isotope composition of organic seston and sediments in a Georgia salt marsh estuary Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 46 1982 1227 1232
42. 12C variations in estuarine sediments Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 40 1976 381 385
43. TAPPI Acid-Insoluble Lignin in Wood and Pulp 1988 Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry T 222 om-88
44. TAPPI Solvent Eextractives of Wood and Pulp 1997 Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry T 204 cm-97
45. S.F. Thornton, and J. McManus Applications of organic carbon and nitrogen stable isotope and C/N ratios as source indicators of organic matter provenance in estuarine systems: evidence from the Tay Estuary, Scotland Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 38 1994 219 233
46. M.J. Tooley Sea-level changes in northern England Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 93 1982 43 51
47. Twiddy, E.J., 1996. Applications of stable carbon and oxygen isotope analysis to some aspects of coastal environmental change. Ph.D. thesis, University of Durham, U.K., unpublished.
48. R.V. Tyson Sedimentary Organic Matter: Organic Facies and Palynofacies 1995 Chapman and Hall London 640 pp.
49. P.C. Vos, and H. De Wolf Diatoms as a tool for reconstructing sedimentary environments in coastal wetlands; methodological aspects Hydrobiologia 269/270 1993 285 296
50. Wilson, G.P., 2004. Microfossil and isotopic evidence for Holocene sea-level change in the Mersey Estuary. Ph.D. thesis, Liverpool John Moores University, U.K., unpublished.
51. 13C and C/N as potential coastal palaeoenvironment indicators in the Mersey Estuary, U.K. Quaternary Science Reviews, in press.
52. WPRL, 1974. Effect of Polluting Discharges on the Mersey Estuary. Report of Investigations on behalf of the Steering Committee on Pollution of the Mersey Estuary. WPRL Report 447R.
53. Y. Zong, and B.P. Horton Diatom zones across intertidal flats and coastal saltmarshes in Britain Diatom Research 13 1998 375 394
54. Y. Zong, and M.J. Tooley Holocene sea-level changes and crustal movements in Morecambe Bay, northwest England Journal of Quaternary Science 11 1996 43 58