| Summary: | <p>Weeks Bay, AL is a governmentally protected reserve near Mobile Bay, AL,
while Old Tampa Bay, FL is an urbanized estuary, located along the western coast of
Florida. Estuary health is important to local economies and the health of local marine life,
with an emphasis on low levels of eutrophication. Sediment oxygen demand (SOD) is
usually measured to qualify the environmental health of estuaries, but SOD is timeconsuming
and expensive. Average acid volatile monosulfides (AVS) concentrations
were found to accurately predict SOD variances. The Degree of Pyritization (DOP) is a
measure of long-term sediment oxidation conditions, which indicates normal estuary
state. Despite the urban land use practices of these two bays, the DOP of each bay is
similar.</p>
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