Chapters authored
Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes in Hydrocarbon and Nitrogenous Nutrient Assessment of S and E Gulf of Mexico Marine Environments: Four Isotope Stories
Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes were sampled in representative environments of southern and eastern Gulf of Mexico to trace carbon and nitrogen sources and processes affecting them. Sampled sites include a hydrocarbon seep area, a coastal zone influenced by terrestrial discharge, a productive oil field, a coral reef, and a deepwater environment. In Cantarell oil field, δ13C and δ15N values of suspended particulate matters, sediments, and benthic organisms show that the principal carbon source to the benthic food web is the downward flux of upper-layer primary production. In the coastal zone, the isotopic terrestrial signature of suspended particles across the low salinity plume indicates that the terrestrial contribution in nearshore waters is progressively diluted by marine organic matter. Hydrocarbon concentrations and δ13C values from a Bay of Campeche hydrocarbon seep sediment core suggest that the seep contributes to about 72.4% petrogenic carbon to its surface sediment layer. The δ13C values in corals suggest a carbon source from fixation by zooxanthellae. In the eastern Gulf, organic carbon (Corg) and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations and isotopes are indicative of low terrestrial contribution, and the principal long-term nitrogen source to primary producers appears to be nitrate diffusing from the thermocline into the photic zone.
Part of the book: Advances in the Studies of the Benthic Zone