Acidification of subsurface coastal waters enhanced by eutrophication

US EPA; NSF; NASA; National Natural Science Foundation of China; National Basic Research Program of China; National Science Council of the Republic of ChinaHuman inputs of nutrients to coastal waters can lead to the excessive production of algae, a process known as eutrophication. Microbial consumption of this organic matter lowers oxygen levels in the water(1-3). In addition, the carbon dioxide produced during microbial respiration increases acidity. The dissolution of atmospheric carbon dioxide in ocean waters also raises acidity, a process known as ocean acidification. Here, we assess the combined impact of eutrophication and ocean acidification on acidity in the coastal ocean, using data collected in the northern Gulf of Mexico and the East China Sea-two regions heavily influenced by nutrient-laden rivers. We show that eutrophication in these waters is associated with the development of hypoxia and the acidification of subsurface waters, as expected. Model simulations, using data collected from the northern Gulf of Mexico, however, suggest that the drop in pH since pre-industrial times is greater than that expected from eutrophication and ocean acidification alone. We attribute the additional drop in pH-of 0.05 units-to a reduction in the ability of these carbon dioxide-rich waters to buffer changes in pH. We suggest that eutrophication could increase the susceptibility of coastal waters to ocean acidification

Carbon Dynamics on the Louisiana Continental Shelf and Cross-Shelf Feeding of Hypoxia

Large-scale hypoxia regularly develops during the summer on the Louisiana continental shelf. Traditionally, hypoxia has been linked to the vast winter and spring nutrient inputs from the Mississippi River and its distributary, the Atchafalaya River. However, recent studies indicate that much of the shelf ecosystem is heterotrophic. We used data from five late July shelfwide cruises from 2006 to 2010 to examine carbon and oxygen production and identify net autotrophic areas of phytoplankton growth on the Louisiana shelf. During these summer times of moderate river flows, shelfwide pH and particulate organic carbon (POC) consistently showed strong signals for net autotrophy in low salinity (<25) waters near the river mouths. There was substantial POC removal via grazing and sedimentation in near-river regions, with 66–85 % of POC lost from surface waters in the low and mid-salinity ranges without producing strong respiration signals in surface waters. This POC removal in nearshore environments indicates highly efficient algal retention by the shelf ecosystem. Updated carbon export calculations for local estuaries and a preliminary shelfwide carbon budget agree with older concepts that offshore hypoxia is linked strongly to nutrient loading from the Mississippi River, but a new emphasis on cross-shelf dynamics emerged in this research. Cross-shelf transects indicated that river-influenced nearshore waters <15 m deep are strong sources of net carbon production, with currents and wave-induced resuspension likely transporting this POC offshore to fuel hypoxia in adjacent mid-shelf bottom waters.Griffith Sciences, Griffith School of EnvironmentNo Full Tex