ENVIRONMENTAL PARAMETERS AND MARSH FORAMINIFERA1

Abstract

Continuous records of the following environmental factors were made in a marine marsh: air and water temperature, light intensity, wind speed, oxygen concentration, pH, Eh, sodium ion, sulfide ion, salinity, and tide height. Vertical changes in p H, Eh , oxygen, and sulfide were relatively large compared to other variations. Horizontal differences in pH and oxygen were due to varying amounts of vegetation. Variations due to tidal action affected all water parameters. At ebb tide, salinities increased from approximately 34‰ to as much as 50‰, while pH decreased from approximately 8.2 at high water to as low as 6.8. Diurnal variations were large, with per cent oxygen saturation values varying from approximately 10% to as high as 270%. Maximum and minimum values as well as the per cent of time these values fall between a given set of conditions are presented and various applications to seasonal occurrences of Foraminifera are discussed.