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Geochemical mapping of a blue carbon zone: investigation of the influence of riverine input on tidal affected zones in Bull Island

Grey, Anthony orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-2117-1082, Cunningham, Aisling orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-6388-8225, Lee, Alan, Monteys, Xavier orcid logoORCID: 0000-0003-4733-3681, Coveney, Seamus, McCaul, Margaret, Murphy, Brian T., McCloughlin, Thomas orcid logoORCID: 0000-0002-4574-7963 and Hidaka, Brooks (2021) Geochemical mapping of a blue carbon zone: investigation of the influence of riverine input on tidal affected zones in Bull Island. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 45 . ISSN 2352-4855

Abstract
Bull Island (BI) is a coastal sand spit that formed as an unintended consequence of the construction of two walls, built over 200 years ago in Dublin Port, Ireland to alleviate silting of the shipping route. A large lagoon, on the land side of the island was separated in 1964 by the construction of a causeway to produce two separate lagoons that are now impacted by different water sources. Here we investigate the influence of riverine inputs on the two adjacent but unconnected tidal wetland lagoons. The South lagoon (SL) is supplied by tidal water passing through the eutrophic R. Liffey and R. Tolka estuary zones, while the North Lagoon (NL) is supplied by seawater and to a lesser degree, freshwater from the R. Liffey plume. Within each of these zones a clear ecotone exists between the mudflats (MF) and vegetated saltmarshes (SM). We determined the quantity and distributions of bulk geochemical characteristics across BI’s sediments, including total organic carbon (TOC), total nitrogen (TN), metals, and also, 16 individual polyromantic hydrocarbon’s (PAH’s) as an indication of anthropogenic input. Primary focus was placed on studying the blue carbon sediments of the lagoon zones. Significant differences in analytical results showed major influences exerted on sediment geochemistry within each lagoon. This study highlights the ability of a functioning coastal wetland to flourish and sequester elevated levels of carbon, metals and pollutants under the constraints of increasing anthropogenic impact. As the inadvertent result of geo-engineering, BI and its environs is a very important site to investigate the potential of artificially constructed wetlands to act as blue carbon reservoirs.
Metadata
Item Type:Article (Published)
Refereed:Yes
Additional Information:Supplementary material can be found at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2021.101834
Uncontrolled Keywords:Blue carbon; Coastal spit; Geochemical mapping; Artificially constructed wetlands; Mudflats; Salt marshes; Polyaromatic hydrocarbons; Anthropogenic impacts
Subjects:UNSPECIFIED
DCU Faculties and Centres:DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science and Health > School of Chemical Sciences
DCU Faculties and Schools > Institute of Education > School of STEM Education, Innovation, & Global Studies
Research Institutes and Centres > INSIGHT Centre for Data Analytics
Publisher:Elsevier
Official URL:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2021.101834
Copyright Information:© 2021 The Authors. Open Access (CC-BY 4.0)
Funders:Science Foundation Ireland (Investigator Programme, grant number 16/IA/45209), Irish Research Council (grant numbers EPSPD/2015/20 and EPSPG/2015/63)
ID Code:27821
Deposited On:03 Oct 2022 14:43 by Thomas Murtagh . Last Modified 05 Oct 2022 12:50
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