Relative impacts of global changes and regional watershed changes on the inorganic carbon balance of the Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is a large coastal-plain estuary that has experienced considerable anthropogenic changeover the past century. At the regional scale, land-use change has doubled the nutrient input from rivers and led to an increase in riverine carbon and alkalinity. The bay has also experienced global changes, including the rise of atmospheric temperature and CO2. Here we seek to understand the relative impact of these changes on the inorganic carbon balance of the bay between the early 1900s and the early 2000s. We use a linked land–estuarine–ocean modeling system that includes both inorganic and organic carbon and nitrogen cycling. Sensitivity experiments are performed to isolate the effect of changes in (1) atmospheric CO2, (2) temperature,(3) riverine nitrogen loading and (4) riverine carbon and alkalinity loading. Specifically, we find that over the past century global changes have increased ingassing by roughly the same amount (∼30 Gg-C yr−1) as has the increased riverine loadings. While the former is due primarily to increases in atmospheric CO2, the latter results from increased net ecosystem production that enhances ingassing. Interestingly, these increases in ingassing are partially mitigated by increase temperatures and increased riverine carbon and alkalinity in-puts, both of which enhance outgassing. Overall, the bay has evolved over the century to take up more atmospheric CO2 and produce more organic carbon. These results suggest that over the past century, changes in riverine nutrient loads have played an important role in altering coastal carbon budgets, but that ongoing global changes have also substantially affected coastal carbonate chemistry

Mechanisms Driving Decadal Changes in the Carbonate System of a Coastal Plain Estuary

Understanding decadal changes in the coastal carbonate system is essential for predicting how the health of these waters responds to anthropogenic drivers, such as changing atmospheric conditions and riverine inputs. However, studies that quantify the relative impacts of these drivers are lacking. In this study, the primary drivers of decadal trends in the surface carbonate system, and the spatiotemporal variability in these trends, are identified for a large coastal plain estuary: the Chesapeake Bay. Experiments using a coupled three-dimensional hydrodynamic-biogeochemical model highlight that, over the past three decades, the changes in the surface carbonate system of Chesapeake Bay have strong seasonal and spatial variability. The greatest surface pH and aragonite saturation state (ΩAR) reductions have occurred in the summer in the middle (mesohaline) Bay: −0.24 and −0.9 per 30 years, respectively, with increases in atmospheric CO2 and reductions in nitrate loading both being primary drivers. Reductions in nitrate loading have a strong seasonal influence on the carbonate system, with the most pronounced decadal decreases in pH and ΩAR occurring during the summer when primary production is strongly dependent on nutrient availability. Increases in riverine total alkalinity and dissolved inorganic carbon have raised surface pH in the upper oligohaline Bay, while other drivers such as atmospheric warming and input of acidified ocean water through the Bay mouth have had comparatively minor impacts on the estuarine carbonate system. This work has significant implications for estuarine ecosystem services, which are typically most sensitive to surface acidification in the spring and summer seasons

Even Between-Lap Pacing Despite High Within-Lap Variation During Mountain Biking

Purpose: Given the paucity of research on pacing strategies during competitive events, this study examined changes in dynamic high-resolution performance parameters to analyze pacing profiles during a multiple-lap mountain-bike race over variable terrain. Methods: A global-positioning-system (GPS) unit (Garmin, Edge 305, USA) recorded velocity (m/s), distance (m), elevation (m), and heart rate at 1 Hz from 6 mountain-bike riders (mean ± SD age = 27.2 ± 5.0 y, stature = 176.8 ± 8.1 cm, mass = 76.3 ± 11.7 kg, VO2max = 55.1 ± 6.0 mL · kg–1 . min–1) competing in a multilap race. Lap-by-lap (interlap) pacing was analyzed using a 1-way ANOVA for mean time and mean velocity. Velocity data were averaged every 100 m and plotted against race distance and elevation to observe the presence of intralap variation. Results: There was no significant difference in lap times (P = .99) or lap velocity (P = .65) across the 5 laps. Within each lap, a high degree of oscillation in velocity was observed, which broadly reflected changes in terrain, but high-resolution data demonstrated additional nonmonotonic variation not related to terrain. Conclusion: Participants adopted an even pace strategy across the 5 laps despite rapid adjustments in velocity during each lap. While topographical and technical variations of the course accounted for some of the variability in velocity, the additional rapid adjustments in velocity may be associated with dynamic regulation of self-paced exercise

Impacts of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition on Surface Waters of the Western North Atlantic Mitigated by Multiple Feedbacks

The impacts of atmospheric nitrogen deposition (AND) on the chlorophyll and nitrogen dynamics of surface waters in the western North Atlantic (25 degrees N-45 degrees N, 65 degrees W-80 degrees W) are examined with a biogeochemical ocean model forced with a regional atmospheric chemistry model (Community Multiscale Air Quality, CMAQ). CMAQ simulations with year-specific emissions reveal the existence of a hot spot of AND over the Gulf Stream. The impact of the hot spot on the oceanic biogeochemistry is mitigated in three ways by physical and biogeochemical processes. First, AND significantly contributes to surface oceanic nitrogen concentrations only during the summer period, when the stratification is maximal and the background nitrogen inventories are minimal. Second, the increase in summer surface nitrate concentrations is accompanied by a reduction in upward nitrate diffusion at the base of the surface layer. This negative feedback partly cancels the nitrogen enrichment from AND. Third, gains in biomass near the surface force a shoaling of the euphotic layer and a reduction of about 5% in deep primary production and biomass on the continental shelf. Despite these mitigating processes, the impacts of AND remain substantial. AND increases surface nitrate concentrations in the Gulf Stream region by 14% during the summer (2% on average over the year). New primary production increases by 22% in this region during summer (8% on average). Although these changes may be difficult to distinguish from natural variability in observations, the results support the view that AND significantly enhances local carbon export

High effectiveness of the organic-bonding process in reducing the Ni, Cu and Fe dusting in a production environment

Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye

Hypothermic retrograde venous perfusion with adenosine cools the spinal cord and reduces the risk of paraplegia after thoracic aortic clamping

AbstractObjective: We evaluated the utility of retrograde venous perfusion to cool the spinal cord and protect neurologic function during aortic clamping. We hypothesized that hypothermic adenosine would preserve the spinal cord during ischemia. Methods: Six swine (group I) underwent thoracic aortic occlusion for 30 minutes at normothermia. Group II animals underwent spinal cooling by retrograde perfusion of the paravertebral veins with hypothermic (4°C) saline solution during aortic occlusion. The spinal cords of group III animals were cooled with a hypothermic adenosine solution in a similar fashion. Intrathecal temperature was monitored and somatosensory evoked potentials assessed the functional status of spinal pathways. Results: Spinal cooling without systemic hypothermia significantly improved neurologic Tarlov scores in group III (4.8 ± 0.2) and group II (3.8 ± 0.4) when compared with group I scores (1.3 ± 0.6) (P < .001). Furthermore, 5 of the 6 animals in group III displayed completely normal neurologic function, whereas only one animal in group II and no animals in group I did (P = .005). Somatosensory evoked potentials were lost 10.6 ± 1.4 minutes after ischemia in group I. In contrast, spinal cooling caused rapid cessation of neural transmission with loss of somatosensory evoked potentials at 6.9 ± 1.2 minutes in group II and 7.0 ± 0.8 minutes in group III (P = .06). Somatosensory evoked potential amplitudes returned to 85% of baseline in group III and 90% of baseline in group II compared with only 10% of baseline in group I (P = .01). Conclusions: We conclude that retrograde cooling of the spinal cord is possible and protects against ischemic injury and that adenosine enhances this effect. The efficacy of this method may be at least partly attributed to a more rapid reduction in metabolic and electrical activity of the spinal cord during ischemia. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2000;119:588-95

Challenges in Quantifying Air‐Water Carbon Dioxide Flux Using Estuarine Water Quality Data: Case Study for Chesapeake Bay

Estuaries play an uncertain but potentially important role in the global carbon cycle via CO2 outgassing. The uncertainty mainly stems from the paucity of studies that document the full spatial and temporal variability of estuarine surface water partial pressure of carbon dioxide ( p CO2). Here, we explore the potential of utilizing the abundance of pH data from historical water quality monitoring programs to fill the data void via a case study of the mainstem Chesapeake Bay (eastern United States). We calculate p CO2 and the air‐water CO2 flux at monthly resolution from 1998 to 2018 from tidal fresh to polyhaline waters, paying special attention to the error estimation. The biggest error is due to the pH measurement error, and errors due to the gas transfer velocity, temporal sampling, the alkalinity mixing model, and the organic alkalinity estimation are 72%, 27%, 15%, and 5%, respectively, of the error due to pH. Seasonal, interannual, and spatial variability in the air‐water flux and surface p CO2 is high, and a correlation analysis with oxygen reveals that this variability is driven largely by biological processes. Averaged over 1998–2018, the mainstem bay is a weak net source of CO2 to the atmosphere of 1.2 (1.1, 1.4) mol m−2 yr−1 (best estimate and 95% confidence interval). Our findings suggest that the abundance of historical pH measurements in estuaries around the globe should be mined in order to constrain the large spatial and temporal variability of the CO2 exchange between estuaries and the atmosphere

A conceptual model of an Arctic sea

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 117 (2012): C06010, doi:10.1029/2011JC007652.We propose a conceptual model for an Arctic sea that is driven by river runoff, atmospheric fluxes, sea ice melt/growth, and winds. The model domain is divided into two areas, the interior and boundary regions, that are coupled through Ekman and eddy fluxes of buoyancy. The model is applied to Hudson and James Bays (HJB, a large inland basin in northeastern Canada) for the period 1979–2007. Several yearlong records from instruments moored within HJB show that the model results are consistent with the real system. The model notably reproduces the seasonal migration of the halocline, the baroclinic boundary current, spatial variability of freshwater content, and the fall maximum in freshwater export. The simulations clarify the important differences in the freshwater balance of the western and eastern sides of HJB. The significant role played by the boundary current in the freshwater budget of the system, and its sensitivity to the wind-forcing, are also highlighted by the simulations and new data analyses. We conclude that the model proposed is useful for the interpretation of observed data from Arctic seas and model outputs from more complex coupled/climate models.We thank NSERC and the Canada Research Chairs program for funding. FS acknowledges support from NSF OCE–0927797 and ONR N00014-08-10490.2012-12-2

Estuarine Dissolved Organic Carbon Flux From Space: With Application to Chesapeake and Delaware Bays

This study uses a neural network model trained with in situ data, combined with satellite data and hydrodynamic model products, to compute the daily estuarine export of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) at the mouths of Chesapeake Bay (CB) and Delaware Bay (DB) from 2007 to 2011. Both bays show large flux variability with highest fluxes in spring and lowest in fall as well as interannual flux variability (0.18 and 0.27 Tg C/year in 2008 and 2010 for CB; 0.04 and 0.09 Tg C/year in 2008 and 2011 for DB). Based on previous estimates of total organic carbon (TOCexp) exported by all Mid‐Atlantic Bight estuaries (1.2 Tg C/year), the DOC export (CB + DB) of 0.3 Tg C/year estimated here corresponds to 25% of the TOCexp. Spatial and temporal covariations of velocity and DOC concentration provide contributions to the flux, with larger spatial influence. Differences in the discharge of fresh water into the bays (74 billion m3/year for CB and 21 billion m3/year for DB) and their geomorphologies are major drivers of the differences in DOC fluxes for these two systems. Terrestrial DOC inputs are similar to the export of DOC at the bay mouths at annual and longer time scales but diverge significantly at shorter time scales (days to months). Future efforts will expand to the Mid‐Atlantic Bight and Gulf of Maine, and its major rivers and estuaries, in combination with coupled terrestrial‐estuarine‐ocean biogeochemical models that include effects of climate change, such as warming and CO2 increase

Platelet count and transfusion requirements during moderate or severe postpartum haemorrhage

Limited data exist on platelet transfusion during postpartum haemorrhage. We retrospectively analysed a consecutive cohort from a single centre of 347 women with moderate or severe postpartum haemorrhage, transfused according to national guidelines. Twelve (3%) women required a platelet transfusion. There were no differences between women who did and did not receive platelets with respect to age, mode of initiation of labour or mode of delivery. Women receiving a platelet transfusion had a lower median (IQR [range]) platelet count at study entry than women who did not receive platelets before haemorrhage (135 (97–175 [26–259])×109.l−1 vs 224 (186–274 [91–1006])×109.l−1), respectively), and at diagnosis of postpartum haemorrhage (median 114 (78–153 [58–238])×109.l−1 vs 193 (155–243 [78–762])×109.l−1 respectively). Six women were thrombocytopenic pre-delivery. The cause of haemorrhage that was associated with the highest rate of platelet transfusion was placental abruption, with three of 14 women being transfused. If antenatal thrombocytopenia or consumptive coagulopathy were not present, platelets were only required for haemorrhage > 5000 ml. Early formulaic platelet transfusion would have resulted in many women receiving platelets unnecessarily. Using current guidelines, the need for platelet transfusion is uncommon without antenatal thrombocytopenia, consumptive coagulopathy or haemorrhage > 5000 ml. We found no evidence to support early fixed-ratio platelet transfusion