Okefenokee swamp

This chapter presents new information about the physical properties of humic acid fractions from the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia. Specialized techniques of fluorescence depolarization spectroscopy and phase-shift fluorometry allow the nondestructive determination of molar volume and shape in aqueous solutions. The techniques also provide sufficient data to make a reliable estimate of the number of different fluorophores in the molecule their respective excitation and emission spectra, and their phase-resolved emission spectra. These measurements are possible even in instances where two fluorophores have nearly identical emission specta. The general theoretical background of each method is presented first, followed by the specific results of our measurements. Parts of the theoretical treatment of depolarization and phase-shift fluorometry given here are more fully expanded upon in (5,9-ll). Recent work and reviews of these techniques are given by Warner and McGown (72). 

Arnold BS. 2000. Distribution of mercury within different trophic levels of the Okefenokee swamp, within tissues of top level predators, and reproductive effects of methyl mercury in the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). PhD dissertation. University of Georgia. 

Spackman, W. Cohen, A. D. Given, P. H. Casagrande, D. J. "The Comparative Study of the Okefenokee Swamp and the Everglade s-Mangrove Swamp-Marsh Complex of Southern Florida, Field guidebook printed for Geol. Soc. Amer. Pre-convention field trip, 15-17 November 1974 (subsequently published by Coal Research Section, Pennsylvania State University, 1976), 403 pp. 

The Suwannee River was sampled at its origin at the outlet of the Okefenokee Swamp. This fulvic acid, therefore, is likely to be less degraded than a sample from the Calcasieu River that was taken near its mouth on the estuary during a warm, low-flow period in early summer. Metal-ion solubility controls and sorption on mineral surfaces in upland soils also might fractionate the fulvic acid in the Calcasieu River. In contrast, the Suwannee River mineral-soil solubility controls are less significant. 

Figure 3. Percentage of birefringent organics compared with peat types in two cores from the Okefenokee Swamp.

Figure 4 Schematic diagrams of different types of peat-forming environments (a) a planar ortopogenous peat, such as the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia, USA and (b) a domed or ombrogenous peat deposit, sucb as in Kalimantan, Indonesia. Note the much greater peat depth in the domed peat compared to the topogenous peat.

Figure 5 Solid state NMR spectra of peat from the Everglades, and Okefenokee Swamp. Major organic structural components originating from plant biopolymers are identified in the spectra. Note the preferential loss of cellulose with depth (time) in the peats, and the selective preservation of resistant biomolecules, such as hgnin...

Andrejko M. J. and Cohen A. D. (1984) Scanning electron microscopy of silicophytoliths from the Okefenokee swamp-marsh complex. In The Okefenokee Swamp (eds. A. D. Cohen, D. J. Casagrande, M. J. Anderjko, and G. R. Best). Wetland Surveys, pp. 468-491. 

Benner R., Morgan M. A., and Hodson R. E. (1985) Effects of pH and plant source on lignocellulose biodegradation rates in two wetland ecosystems, the Okefenokee Swamp and a Georgia salt marsh. Limnol. Oceanogr. 30, 489-499. 

Casagrande, D.J., Siefert, K., Berschinski, C. and Sutton, N., 1977. Sulfur in peat-forming systems of the Okefenokee Swamp and Florida Everglades origins of coal. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 41 161—167. 

Foams were collected for characterization from two pristine but geographically contrasting areas — Como Creek, a pristine mountain stream near Ward, Colorado, receiving discharge from direct snowmelt, and the Suwannee River draining the organic rich Okefenokee swamp in Georgia which receives 85% of its water from direct precipitation. 

FIGURE 3. C NMR spectra of a cypress log buried in the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia, a Douglas fir tree that had fallen in the rain forest surrounding Mount Ranier, Washington, and lignin isolated from modern spruce wood by the sodium paraperiodate treatment. 

The Okefenokee swamp of south Georgia, USA, is believed to be similar to planar mires existing in the Tertiary. It covers c. 1500 km2 and has peat deposits up to 5m deep, which are accumulating at c.0.5mmyr-1. Beneath the peats are Pleistocene sands and muds, which originally formed the bed of a shallow lagoon at a time when the Atlantic reached much further inland, but the swamp is now 30 m above sea level. There are two distinct environments forests (covering most of the swamp) and open-water marshes (called prairies). 

Giesy, J.P. Jr. and Briese, L.A., 1977. Metals associated with organic carbon extracted from Okefenokee swamp water. Chem. Geol., 20 109—120. 

Use. There is little agricultural development in this peat area, typified by the Dismal Swamp of Virginia and Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia. These areas can best serve as parks, wildlife reservations or for timber production. 

Cohen, A. D. 1974. Petrography and paleoecology of Holocene peats from the Okefenokee swamp- marsh complex of Georgia. Journal of Sedimentary Research. 44 716-726. 

Figure 1.11. Foam masses in the Okefenokee Swamp, showing macroscopic, visible evidence of surface-active DOM. The water is agitated by passing over a sill and further mixed by boat engines. From an original photograph by Alan C, Graham. Reprinted by permission.

Peat core from Okefenokee swamp Pb isotope ratios Q-ICP-MS [72)... 

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