| Title | Competing Roles of Sea Level Rise and Sediment Supply on Sediment Accretion and Carbon Burial in Tidal Wetlands; Northern Oregon, USA |
| Publication Type | Thesis |
| Year of Publication | 2017 |
| Authors | Peck, Erin K. |
| Secondary Title | College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences |
| Volume | M.S. |
| Pagination | 71 p. |
| University | Oregon State University |
| City | Corvallis, Or. |
| Call Number | OSU Libraries: Digital Open Access |
| Keywords | Salmon River estuary, Tillamook Bay, Youngs Bay, Baltic rush = Juncus balticus, Pacific silverweed = Potentilla pacifica, Tufted harigrass = Deschampsia cespitosa, climate change, sea level, salt marsh, sediments, organic carbon, |
| Notes | Estuary wetlands are subject to two competing forces: rising sea levels and sediment accretion. As rivers flow to the sea, they carry sediments that can be deposited in marshes, raising their levels. If the amount of sediment deposited is greater than the rise in sea level, then the marsh will gradually gain a higher elevation. If sediment deposition is less than the sea level rise, then the marsh will gradually become submerged. This Master’s thesis examines marshes in three Oregon estuaries and finds that they have enough sediment deposition to stay ahead of the sea. The author notes that, “despite many of these wetland’s inability to migrate landward, they will likely keep pace with projections of accelerated sea level rise over the coming century.” (from the Abstract) The author also measured carbon deposition in the estuaries, an important factor for carbon sequestration, which affects climate change. This thesis is numbered into Oregon Sea Grant’s ORESU-Y series as ORESU-Y-17-004. |
| URL | https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/graduate_thesis_or_dissertations/mp48sj37f |
