Elizabeth A. Canuel

Professor of Marine Science

Email: [[ecanuel]]
Phone: (804) 684-7134
Office: Chesapeake Bay Hall N310
Department: Physical Sciences

Education

• B.S., 1981, Stonehill College, North Easton, MA, Chemistry

• Ph.D., 1992, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, Marine Sciences

Research Interests

My training and research interests lie in the area of marine organic geochemistry. Using chemical "signatures" present in environmental samples we can obtain information about the sources of organic matter important to freshwater, estuarine and marine ecosystems. This information can be present in elemental ratios, the presence of specific organic compounds, and the natural isotopic ratios of both biologically-important elements (C, N, S) and organic compounds. Collectively, these geochemical tools are termed "biomarkers". Important characteristics of biomarkers are: (1) their source specificity and (2) the stability of the compounds. Data obtained through these studies can provide insights into the sources and reactivity of organic materials produced within complex marine and freshwater ecosystems. This information can tell us, for example, whether production is primarily supported by phytoplankton, terrigenous or marsh vascular plants, submerged aquatic vegetation (e.g., seagrass), or inputs from the rivers draining into the estuary. The over-arching goal in my use of these geochemical tracers has been to identify key processes important in controlling the composition and cycling of particulate and sedimentary organic matter.

Current Projects

• Collaborative Research: Benthic Microalgal Regulation of Carbon and Nitrogen Turnover in Land margin Ecosystems: A Dual Stable Isotope Tracer Approach. Supported by: NSF DEB Ecosystems Program. C. Tobias (PI), J. Vallino, I. Anderson, E. Canuel.
• Modeling Atlantic Menhaden in Support of Nutrient and Multispecies Management. R. Latour (PI), M. Brush and E. Canuel. Supported by: US EPA Chesapeake Bay Program.
• Collaborative Research: Anthropogenic Impacts on Carbon Cycling in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta: Changes in Source, Nature, and Age of Organic Carbon. Supported by: NSF DEB Ecosystems Program, E. Canuel (PI), S. Wakeham and T. Bianchi.
• Collaborative Research: How Temporal Changes in River Discharge and Storms Affect the Source and Age Distribution of Sedimentary Organic Carbon Across a River-Dominated Margin. Supported by: NSF Ocean Sciences. T. Bianchi, B. McKee, M. Allison, E. Canuel, and S. Wakeham

Selected Publications

• Wakeham, S.G. and E.A. Canuel (2005) Degradation and preservation of organic matter in marine sediments. In: The Handbook of Environmental Chemistry. Vol 2 Series: Reactions and Processes: Bio and Chemical Markers in Environmental Chemistry. John Volkman (Ed.), Springer-Verlag.
• Pourmand, A., Marcantonio, F., Bianchi, T.S, Canuel, E., Waterson, E. and Schulz, H. (2005) Tracing Climate-Related Changes in Planktonic Community Structure and Deep-Ocean Circulation Patterns in the Arabian Sea. Geophysical Res. Letters. 32, L10610, doi:10.1029/2005GL022612.
• Pohlman, J.W., E. A. Canuel, N. R. Chapman, G. D. Spence, M. J. Whiticar, R. B. Coffin (2005) The origin of thermogenic gas hydrates on the northern Cascadia Margin as inferred from isotopic (13C/12C and D/H) and molecular composition of hydrate and vent gas. Org. Geochem. 36: 703-716.
• Arzayus, K. and E.A. Canuel (2005) Organic matter degradation in sediments of the York River estuary: effects of biological vs. physical mixing. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 69: 455-463.
• Duffy, J.E., J.P. Richardson and E.A. Canuel (2003) Grazer diversity effects on ecosystem functioning in seagrass beds. Ecology Letters 6:637-645.
• Zimmerman, A.R. and E.A. Canuel (2002) Historical progression of eutrophication in the mesohaline Chesapeake Bay: A sediment geochemical record. Limnology & Oceanography, 47:1084-1093.
• Marcantonio, F., A. Zimmerman, Y. Xu and E. Canuel (2002) A Pb isotope record of mid-Atlantic US atmospheric Pb emissions in Chesapeake Bay sediments. Marine Chemistry, 77: 123- 132.
• Cloern, J.E., E.A. Canuel and D. Harris (2002) Stable-isotopes of C and N in aquatic and terrestrical plants of the San Francisco Bay estuarine system. Limnology & Oceanography, 47:713-729.
• Canuel, E.A. (2001) Relations between river flow, primary production and fatty acid composition of particulate organic matter in San Francisco and Chesapeake Bays: A multivariate approach. Organic Geochemistry, 32: 563-583.
• Zimmerman, A.R. and E.A. Canuel. (2000) A geochemical record of eutrophication and anoxia in Chesapeake Bay sediments: anthropogenic influence on organic matter composition. Marine Chemistry, 69: 117-137.

Current Students

• 2002-present   John Pohlman (Ph.D. candidate) Co-Advised with J. Bauer. Methane Biogeochemistry and Sulfate Reducing Bacteria Chemotaxonomy at Biogenic and Thermogenic Gas Hydrate Sites on the Northern Cascadia Margin off Vancouver Island.
• 2002-present   Amanda Spivak (Ph.D. candidate) Co-advised with J. Emmett Duffy. The Effect of Trophic Structure and Biodiversity on Sediment Organic Carbon.
• 2003-present   Amber Kozak (M.S.) Co-advised with I. Anderson. Fate of Macroalgal Organic Matter in a Shallow Coastal Lagoon: A Dual Isotope Tracer and Biomarker Approach.

Past Students

• 2006   Vicki Pilon (Ph.D.) Sources and Composition of Particulate Organic Matter in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, CA.
• 2005   Elizabeth Waterson (M.S.) Sources of Sedimentary Organic Matter in the Mississippi River and Adjacent Gulf of Mexico. Present Position: VIMS Laboratory & Research Specialist.
• 2005   Christine Conrad (Ph.D.). Co-advised with Michael Kelly. Using Planar Oxides as a Novel Approach to Metal Ion Sorption Studies: From the Lab to the Field.  Present Position: Postdoctoral Fellow, Penn State University.
• 2002   Krisa Arzayus (Ph.D.) Association and Partitioning of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons With Bound and Extractable Phases of Estuarine Sediments: A Lipid Biomarker Approach.  Present Position: Program Manager, NOAA, Office of Scientific Support, Climate Team.
• 2000   Andrew Zimmerman (Ph.D.) Organic Matter Composition of Sediments and the History of Eutrophication and Anoxia in the Mesohaline Chesapeake Bay.  Present Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida.
• 1999   Craig Tobias (Ph.D.) Co-advised with I. Anderson. Nitrate Reduction at the Groundwater Saltmarsh Interface. Present Position: Assistant Professor, Department of Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Courses Taught/Teaching

• MSCI 501L.  Fundamentals of Marine Science Lab, Coordinator and Instructor
• MSCI 503.   Field and Laboratory Methods in Marine Science, Co-Instructor
• MSCI 548.   Experimental Design in the Marine Science Laboratory, Co-Instructor
• MSCI 524.   Principles of Chemical Oceanography (with J. Bauer)
• MSCI 627.   Marine Organic Geochemistry
• MSCI 698.   Global Change (with J. Bauer)
• MSCI 698.   Advanced Readings in Sediment Biogeochemistry (with I. Anderson)
• MSCI 698.   Biogeochemistry (with I. Anderson, J. Bauer, H. Ducklow)