SS9.01 Ecosystem Science Practiced in an Urbanized Estuary: South San Francisco Bay Canuel, E, A, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, USA, ecanuel@vims.edu   COMPOSITION OF ORGANIC MATTER IN SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO BAY: SEASONAL VARIATIONS AND LINKAGES BETWEEN WATER COLUMN PRODUCTION AND SEDIMENT ORGANIC MATTER Shallow-water coastal and estuarine environments such as South San Francisco Bay provide excellent systems for understanding the benthic response to episodic inputs in the delivery of labile organic matter. In this study, we used lipid biomarker compounds to examine changes in the composition of suspended and sedimentary particulate matter over a bloom event in South San Francisco Bay. The field study was designed around the predictability of the timing of the spring bloom in this system. Using lipid biomarker data, we present a record of changes in particulate matter composition preceding, during and following the Spring phytoplankton bloom. Data collected as part of this study document a rapid coupling between suspended particles and surficial sediments in this shallow estuary and a microbial response to the influx of labile organic matter following the spring bloom. However, over an annual cycle our data indicate a net accumulation of labile organic matter in the southernmost regions.   Return to This Session's Schedule     Abstract Search