Isotopic and biochemical composition of particulate organic matter in a shallow water estuary (Great Ouse, North Sea, England)

The biogeochemistry of particulate organic matter was studied in the Great Ouse estuary draining to the North Sea embayement known as the Wash from March 1990 to January 1991. Eleven locations were sampled monthly on a 50 km transect across the shallow estuary from the tidal weir to the middle of the Wash. Particulate organic carbon (POC) and total carbohydrate, protein and lipid analyses were combined with the determination of stable carbon isotopes... The proportional importance of the uncharacterized fraction of POC, which is considered as complex organic matter, was high from September to January and low from March to August. During most of the year, the biochemical compositions of particulate matter was high from September to January and low from March to August. During most of the year, the biochemical compositions of particulate organic matter in the turbidity maximum an the rest of the estuary were similar. (D'après résumé d'auteur