Regional comparisons of carbon burial within tidal creek marshes in southeastern North Carolina

Salt marshes have large capacities for carbon (C) storage due to their high productivity, but because of large differences in sediment accumulation rates over relatively short distances, these regional variations in regards to carbon burial may be high. One core (&lt;50cm) was collected from salt marshes within six tidal creeks in Carteret (3) and New Hanover (3) counties for a total of six cores. Measurements of organic content and carbon signatures (TOC, TN, C:N, %OM), radiochemical tracers (210Pb, 137Cs), and morphology (porosity, DBD) were used to illustrate differences in fluxes of sediment and organic matter to these sites. While organic C and N remained relatively constant across sites, one site from both counties showed increased organic matter with depth. Sites positioned above oyster beds experienced higher C:N and DBD at shallow depths (<25cm). Trends in excess 210Pb inventories suggest that a shift in land use or sea level rise (SLR) during the early 2000s may have resulted in increased accumulation rates. Recent (