That reflector, which is at approximately the depth of methane saturation, is largely obscured beneath an undulating, seismically opaque horizon that results from bubbles of methane gas in the sediments. The methane is the product of anaerobic decomposition of organic matter in the sediments. Studies such as this enhance our understanding of human perturbations of the coastal ocean. Observations and experiments in the system lead to abstractions in the form of budgets and models of material cycling. This diagram illustrates the cycling of carbon in the system, and similar diagrams can be constructed for nitrogen and phosphorus.
Units are in moles of carbon per square meter per year.
The budgets as illustrated represent steady state conditions over about the past 20 years. It is also possible to look over longer timespans or to look at annual or shorter term variations. The purpose of such diagrams is to better understand how coastal marine systems are affected by material inputs, and by variations in those inputs. The information described in this section represents a combination of accumulated historical knowledge about Tomales Bay and research undertaken during this program. This page was last updated by SVS April 13, 1998.