Composition of particulate organic matter in the southern Chesapeake Bay: Sources and reactivity

The distribution of two classes of lipid biomarker compounds (fatty acids and sterols) was used in conjunction with several bulk parameters (total suspended solids, chlorophyll a, and particulate carbon and nitrogen concentrations) to examine spatial and temporal variability in the sources of particulate organic matter (POM) important to southern Chesapeake Bay. Based on these geochemical parameters, we found that suspended and sedimentary organic matter in the southern Chesapeake Bay is derived from autochthonous sources including a mixture of fresh and detrital phytoplankton, zooplankton, and bacteria. The dominant factor contributing to temporal variability during our study was phytoplankton productivity. Enrichments in particulate organic carbon, chlorophyll a, total fatty acids, total sterols, and a number of biomarkers specific to phytoplankton sources were found in particles collected from surface (1 m) and deep (1 m above the bottom) portions of the water column at several sites during the spring bloom in March 1996 and during a localized bloom in July 1995. Comparison of sites at the mouths of two tributaries (York and Rappahannock rivers) to southern Chesapeake Bay with two sites located in the bay mainstem indicates spatial variation in the composition of POM was not significant in this region of the bay. The energetic nature of this region of the Chesapeake Bay most likely contributes to the observed homogeneity. Comparison with biomarker studies conducted in other estuaries suggests the high levels of productivity characteristic of the Chesapeake Bay contribute to high background levels of POM.