Date of Award
Spring 5-5-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science (BS)
Department
Marine Science
College
College of Science
First Advisor
Angelos Hannides
Abstract/Description
Productive sandy beaches are one of the most crucial areas serving our ecosystem today. While often overlooked in scientific research, productive beaches have many essential functions that lead to the preservation and protection of many different species as well as ecological wellness and stability. A key factor that is linked to this productivity is the presence of chlorophyll in the sediments. Piston cores of the sediments at the low-tide mark at Waties Island, South Carolina, were collected across multiple years and subsequently analyzed for chlorophyll concentrations through fluorometry after acetone extraction and acidification. Each core profile was processed to calculate maximum and minimum chlorophyll concentrations, the depths at which they occurred, and the integrated concentration of chlorophyll α. These were all plotted against time to determine patterns in the changes of these different factors with time. Findings suggest that chlorophyll α concentrations do vary with depth seasonally and that their levels are higher overall in the upper layers of sediments.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Abel, Sarah (Gray), "The Dynamics of Sedimentary Chlorophyll α at a High-Energy Beach" (2023). Honors Theses. 457.
https://digitalcommons.coastal.edu/honors-theses/457