Recent increases of rainfall and flooding from tropical cyclones (TCs) in North Carolina (USA): implications for organic matter and nutrient cycling in coastal watersheds

Coastal North Carolina experienced 36 tropical cyclones (TCs), including three floods of historical significance in the past two decades (Hurricanes Floyd-1999, Matthew-2016 and Florence-2018). These events caused catastrophic flooding and major alterations of water quality, fisheries habitat and ecological conditions of the Albemarle-Pamlico Sound (APS), the second largest estuarine complex in the United States. Continuous rainfall records for coastal NC since 1898 reveal a period of unprecedented high precipitation storm events since the late-1990s. Six of seven of the “wettest” storm events in this > 120-year record occurred in the past two decades, identifying a period of elevated precipitation and flooding associated with recent TCs. We examined storm-related freshwater discharge, carbon (C) and nutrient, i.e., nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) loadings, and evaluated contributions to total annual inputs in the Neuse River Estuary (NRE), a major sub-estuary of the APS. These contributions were highly significant, accounting for > 50% of annual loads depending on antecedent conditions and storm-related flooding. Depending on the magnitude of freshwater discharge, the NRE either acted as a “processor” to partially assimilate and metabolize the loads or acted as a “pipeline” to transport the loads to the APS and coastal Atlantic Ocean. Under base-flow, terrestrial sources dominate riverine carbon. During storm events these carbon sources are enhanced through the inundation and release of carbon from wetlands. These findings show that event-scale discharge plays an important and, at times, predominant role in C, N and P loadings. We appear to have entered a new climatic regime characterized by more frequent extreme precipitation events, with major ramifications for hydrology, cycling of C, N and P, water quality and habitat conditions in estuarine and coastal waters

Two decades of tropical cyclone impacts on North Carolina’s estuarine carbon, nutrient and phytoplankton dynamics: implications for biogeochemical cycling and water quality in a stormier world

Coastal North Carolina (USA) has experienced 35 tropical cyclones over the past 2 decades; the frequency of these events is expected to continue in the foreseeable future. Individual storms had unique and, at times, significant hydrologic, nutrient-, and carbon (C)-loading impacts on biogeochemical cycling and phytoplankton responses in a large estuarine complex, the Pamlico Sound (PS) and Neuse River Estuary (NRE). Major storms caused up to a doubling of annual nitrogen and tripling of phosphorus loading compared to non-storm years; magnitudes of loading depended on storm tracks, forward speed, and precipitation in NRE-PS watersheds. With regard to C cycling, NRE-PS was a sink for atmospheric CO2 during dry, storm-free years and a significant source of CO2 in years with at least one storm, although responses were storm-specific. Hurricane Irene (2011) mobilized large amounts of previously-accumulated terrigenous C in the watershed, mainly as dissolved organic carbon, and extreme winds rapidly released CO2 to the atmosphere. Historic flooding after Hurricanes Joaquin (2015) and Matthew (2016) provided large inputs of C from the watershed, modifying the annual C balance of NRE-PS and leading to sustained CO2 efflux for months. Storm type affected biogeochemical responses as C-enriched floodwaters enhanced air–water CO2 exchange during ‘wet’ storms, while CO2 fluxes during ‘windy’ storms were largely supported by previously-accumulated C. Nutrient loading and flushing jointly influenced spatio-temporal patterns of phytoplankton biomass and composition. These findings suggest the importance of incorporating freshwater discharge and C dynamics in nutrient management strategies for coastal ecosystems likely to experience a stormier future

Season 1929, 50th year [catalog] /

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