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Subsurface Intertidal Microbes: A Cryptic Source Of Organic Carbon For Beach EcosystemsSome freshwater, marine or hotspring beaches have no visible source of primary production, yet beneath the surface is an interstitial photosynthetic microbial community. To assess the significance of this source of organic carbon, we measured in situ carbon fixation rates in an intertidal marine beach through a diurnal cycle. Gross fixation for a transect (99 x 1 m) perpendicular to the shore was approx. 4041 mg C fixed/ day, or approx. 41 mg C fixed/ sq m day. In contrast, an adjacent well-established cyanobacterial (Lyngbya) mat was approx. 12 x as productive (approx. 490 mg C fixed/sq m day). Thus, subsurface sand mats may be an overlooked, yet important, endogenous source of organic carbon for intertidal ecosystems, as well as a sink in the global carbon cycle.
Document ID
20010122268
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Rothschild, Lynn J.
(TGS Technology, Inc. Moffett Field, CA United States)
Giver, Lorraine J.
(TGS Technology, Inc. Moffett Field, CA United States)
Alvarez, Teresa
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1994
Subject Category
Life Sciences (General)
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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