Transport of Gas and Solutes in Permeable Estuarine Sediments
Abstract
The long-term goals of this project are to do the following: (1) quantify gas bubbles and their composition in shallow nearshore marine sand, and (2) to assess the role of gas bubbles in shallow sandy coastal sediment for the transport of solutes through the sand and sediment-water exchange of matter. Due to their compressibility, gas bubbles embedded in shallow water sediments cause interstitial water oscillations under passing surface gravity waves, and these oscillations provide a mechanism for enhanced solute dispersion and flux. The specific objectives of this research were as follows: (1) to detect gas bubbles and in coastal and estuarine sand deposits and to assess temporal and spatial distribution of sedimentary bubbles in sublittoral beds including sands inhabited by microphytobenthos and seagrass; (2) to quantify the size range and composition of the gas bubbles in the sediment and the overlying water, (3) to determine the volume change and migration velocities of interstitial bubbles and the links to pressure oscillations, (4) to assess dispersion and transport of solutes caused by bubble volume change and migration under different pressure conditions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA639807
Entities
People
- Markus Huettel
Organizations
- Florida State University