Abstract

The extent of water movement across the surface sediment‐water interface of the salt marsh during tidal inundation is of great biochemical importance, because in large part it determines the degree of exchange of nutrients and metabolic products between marsh sediment and estuarine waters. The principles of flow in porous, elastic media lead to an analytical expression for infiltration during tidal inundation of the marsh surface; this analytical model is the basis for inferences of surface seepage using recording piezometers. The magnitudes of infiltration determined by this method in Great Sippewissett Marsh agree well with values obtained by direct active seepage meter techniques and are of the order of a few millimeters per inundation, substantially less than some previous estimates for this marsh. Upper limits on the magnitudes of biogeochemical fluxes of nitrogen, carbon, and sulfur compounds are implied by these data.

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