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  1. Blue carbon habitats, such as mangroves and salt marshes, have been recognized as carbon burial hotspots; however, methods on measuring blue carbon stocks have varied and thus leave uncertainty in global blue carbon stock estimates. This study analyzes blue carbon stocks in northern Florida wetlands along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Carbon measurements within 1–3m length vibracores yield total core stocks of 9.9–21.5 kgC·m −2 and 7.7–10.9 kgC·m −2 for the Atlantic and Gulf coast cores, respectively. Following recent IPCC guidelines, blue carbon stock estimates in the top meter are 7.0 kgC·m −2 –8.0 kgC·m −2 and 6.1 kgC·m −2 –8.6 kgC·m −2 for the Atlantic and Gulf cores, respectively. Changes in stable isotopic (δ 13 C, C/N) and lignin biomarker (C/V) indices suggest both coastlines experienced salt marsh and mangrove transgressions into non-blue carbon habitats during the mid- to late-Holocene following relative sea-level rise. These transgressions impact carbon storage within the cores as the presence of carbon-poor soils, characteristic of non-blue carbon habitats, result in lower 1m carbon stocks in north Florida Gulf wetlands, and a deeper extent of carbon-rich soils, characteristic of blue carbon habitats, drive higher 1m and total carbon stocks in north Florida Atlantic wetlands. Future blue carbon research should assess carbon stocks down to bedrock when possible, as land-cover and/or climate change can impact different depths across localities. Ignoring carbon-rich soil below the top meter of soil may underestimate potential carbon emissions based on these changes. 
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  2. Abstract

    Wax Lake Delta, southern Louisiana, is a coastal delta that formed following the dredging of a river channel in 1941 and is a field model for investigating the geomorphology, ecology, carbon dynamics, and carbon storage capacity in young prograding deltas. However, it is unknown how the transition from subaqueous to subaerial sediments affects the sources and quality of the sequestered carbon. We investigated these variations within the sediments of Wax Lake Delta using amino acid, lignin, and stable carbon isotope compositions of the organic matter (OM). A principal component analysis of these proxies highlighted variability in organic carbon (OC) composition with changes in elevation. The transition from subaqueous to subaerial sediments at 0‐cm mean lower low water is an important component of the OM composition. In addition to the changes observed for OM source and quality, the OC loadings (OC/SA; mg C/m2) also increase as the delta aggrades and accumulates sediments with loadings typical of delta topsets and mobile mud banks (OC/SA < 0.4) to riverine sediments (0.5 < OC/SA < 1) and eventually to highly productive regions (OC/SA > 1). Linking this multiproxy approach with environmental variables such as elevation provides a path for incorporating OM dynamics into geomorphic models.

     
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