Project Title: Marsh Total Alkalinity Sample Preservation Experiment
Duration: 6/2026
Funding Source(s): n/a
Principal Investigator(s): Sophie Kuhl, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Email: skuhl@whoi.edu
Project Description: Quantifying alkalinity, or the buffering capacity of natural waters, is important for understanding carbon cycling in a wide range of water bodies. Measurements of alkalinity have well-established best practice guidelines for open ocean samples. However, in productive and organic-rich coastal waters like salt marshes and estuaries, differences in water chemistry cause these typical methods to fail to properly preserve samples. In order to improve the quality of alkalinity measurements conducted in coastal settings, we plan to test alternative preservation for coastal samples to determine the preferred filtration and sample storage methods.
