Publication Date:
2022-05-26
Description:
© The Author(s), 2019. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Rheuban, J. E., Doney, S. C., McCorkle, D. C., & Jakuba, R. W. Quantifying the effects of nutrient enrichment and freshwater mixing on coastal ocean acidification. Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans, 124, (2019): 9085-9100, doi: 10.1029/2019JC015556.
Description:
The U.S. Northeast is vulnerable to ocean and coastal acidification because of low alkalinity freshwater discharge that naturally acidifies the region, and high anthropogenic nutrient loads that lead to eutrophication in many estuaries. This study describes a combined nutrient and carbonate chemistry monitoring program in five embayments of Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts to quantify the effects of nutrient loading and freshwater discharge on aragonite saturation state (Ω). Monitoring occurred monthly from June 2015 to September 2017 with higher frequency at two embayments (Quissett and West Falmouth Harbors) and across nitrogen loading and freshwater discharge gradients. The more eutrophic stations experienced seasonal aragonite undersaturation, and at one site, nearly every measurement collected was undersaturated. We present an analytical framework to decompose variability in aragonite Ω into components driven by temperature, salinity, freshwater endmember mixing, and biogeochemical processes. We observed strong correlations between apparent oxygen utilization and the portion of aragonite Ω variation that we attribute to biogeochemistry. The regression slopes were consistent with Redfield ratios of dissolved inorganic carbon and total alkalinity to dissolved oxygen. Total nitrogen and the contribution of biogeochemical processes to aragonite Ω were highly correlated, and this relationship was used to estimate the likely effects of nitrogen loading improvements on aragonite Ω. Under nitrogen loading reduction scenarios, aragonite Ω in the most eutrophic estuaries could be raised by nearly 0.6 units, potentially increasing several stations above the critical threshold of 1. This analysis provides a quantitative framework for incorporating ocean and coastal acidification impacts into regulatory and management discussions.
Description:
We thank Kelly Luis, Michaela Fendrock, Will Oesterich, Sheron Luk, Marti Jeglinksi, and Tony Williams for their help with field sample collection and logistical support and Chris Neill, Lindsay Scott, Rich McHorney, and Paul Henderson for laboratory sample analysis. We also thank the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve for loaning their handheld water quality meters and two anonymous reviewers for their feedback on this manuscript. Financial support for this work was provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation (grant no. 14‐106159‐000‐CFP), MIT Sea Grant (subaward 5710004045) and the West Wind Foundation. The data used in this analysis can be found in the NOAA NCEI repository for carbonate chemistry measurements, the Ocean Carbon Data System at the following link: https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/ocads/data/0206206.xml.
Keywords:
Coastal Acidification
;
Eutrophication
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Article
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