Seasonal patterns of estuarine acidification in seagrass beds of the Snohomish Estuary, WA

Recent studies have begun to explore physical and biogeochemical mechanisms of carbonate chemistry variability in a variety of coastal habitats, including coral reefs, upwelling margins, and inland seas. To our knowledge, there have been limited mechanistic studies of annual carbonate chemistry variability in nearshore estuarine environments. Here, we present autonomous sensor and grab sample data of carbonate chemistry covering a 10 month period from two subtidal seagrass bed sites in Possession Sound, WA. Simple mass balance stoichiometric models are used to evaluate seasonal drivers of carbonate system parameters in the seagrass beds. Simulations of increasing anthropogenic carbon (Canth) burdens in the habitats reveal seasonal differences in the magnitude of carbonate system responses. The addition of Canth alters the thermodynamic buffer factors (e.g. the Revelle factor) of the carbonate system, decreasing the system’s ability to buffer natural variability in the seagrass habitat on high-frequency (e.g. tidal, diel) and seasonal timescales. As a result, the most harmful carbonate system indices for many estuarine organisms (minimum pHT, minimum Ωarag, and maximum pCO2(s.w.)) change most rapidly with increasing Canth. We highlight how the observed seasonal climatology and non-linear response of the carbonate system to increasing Canth drive the timing of the crossing of established physiological stress thresholds for endemic organisms, as well as thresholds relevant for water quality management. In this system, the relative benefits of the seagrass beds in locally mitigating ocean acidification during the growing season increase with the higher atmospheric CO2 levels predicted toward 2100. Presently however, these mitigating effects are mixed due to intense diel cycling of CO2 driven by community metabolism

Quantifying the combined impacts of anthropogenic CO2 emissions and watershed alteration on estuary acidification at biologically-relevant time scales: a case study from Tillamook Bay, OR, USA

The impacts of ocean acidification (OA) on coastal water quality have been subject to intensive research in the past decade, but how emissions-driven OA combines with human modifications of coastal river inputs to affect estuarine acidification dynamics is less well understood. This study presents a methodology for quantifying the synergistic water quality impacts of OA and riverine acidification on biologically-relevant timescales through a case study from a small, temperate estuary influenced by coastal upwelling and watershed development. We characterized the dynamics and drivers of carbonate chemistry in Tillamook Bay, OR (USA), along with its coastal ocean and riverine end-members, through a series of synoptic samplings and continuous water quality monitoring from July 2017 to July 2018. Synoptic river sampling showed acidification and increased CO2 content in areas with higher proportions of watershed anthropogenic land use. We propagated the impacts of 1). the observed riverine acidification, and 2). modeled OA changes to incoming coastal ocean waters across the full estuarine salinity spectrum and quantified changes in estuarine carbonate chemistry at a 15-minute temporal resolution. The largest magnitude of acidification (-1.4 pHT units) was found in oligo- and mesohaline portions of the estuary due to the poor buffering characteristics of these waters, and was primarily driven by acidified riverine inputs. Despite this, emissions-driven OA is responsible for over 94% of anthropogenic carbon loading to Tillamook Bay and the dominant driver of acidification across most of the estuary due to its large tidal prism and relatively small river discharges. This dominance of ocean-sourced anthropogenic carbon challenges the efficacy of local management actions to ameliorate estuarine acidification impacts. Despite the relatively large acidification effects experienced in Tillamook Bay (-0.16 to -0.23 pHT units) as compared with typical open ocean change (approximately -0.1 pHT units), observations of estuarine pHT would meet existing state standards for pHT. Our analytical framework addresses pressing needs for water quality assessment and coastal resilience strategies to differentiate the impacts of anthropogenic acidification from natural variability in dynamic estuarine systems

Dataset: Accretion rates and carbon sequestration in Oregon salt marshes

Blue Carbon is the carbon captured and stored in coastal ecosystems, such as seagrass meadows, and salt marsh habitat. As part of an EPA study focused on ecosystem services of tidal wetlands, we quantified the carbon sequestration and accretion rates in salt marsh habitat in eight Oregon estuaries (Alsea, Coos, Coquille, Nestucca, Netarts, Salmon, Tillamook, and Yaquina). Carbon sequestration rates were quantified using Cs-137 radioisotope, combined with bulk density and carbon content. This EPA dataset will be incorporated into products of the PNW Blue Carbon Working group, including the Pacific Northwest Blue Carbon Database and synthesis reports and manuscripts.</p

Table_1_Quantifying the combined impacts of anthropogenic CO2 emissions and watershed alteration on estuary acidification at biologically-relevant time scales: a case study from Tillamook Bay, OR, USA.docx

The impacts of ocean acidification (OA) on coastal water quality have been subject to intensive research in the past decade, but how emissions-driven OA combines with human modifications of coastal river inputs to affect estuarine acidification dynamics is less well understood. This study presents a methodology for quantifying the synergistic water quality impacts of OA and riverine acidification on biologically-relevant timescales through a case study from a small, temperate estuary influenced by coastal upwelling and watershed development. We characterized the dynamics and drivers of carbonate chemistry in Tillamook Bay, OR (USA), along with its coastal ocean and riverine end-members, through a series of synoptic samplings and continuous water quality monitoring from July 2017 to July 2018. Synoptic river sampling showed acidification and increased CO2 content in areas with higher proportions of watershed anthropogenic land use. We propagated the impacts of 1). the observed riverine acidification, and 2). modeled OA changes to incoming coastal ocean waters across the full estuarine salinity spectrum and quantified changes in estuarine carbonate chemistry at a 15-minute temporal resolution. The largest magnitude of acidification (-1.4 pHT units) was found in oligo- and mesohaline portions of the estuary due to the poor buffering characteristics of these waters, and was primarily driven by acidified riverine inputs. Despite this, emissions-driven OA is responsible for over 94% of anthropogenic carbon loading to Tillamook Bay and the dominant driver of acidification across most of the estuary due to its large tidal prism and relatively small river discharges. This dominance of ocean-sourced anthropogenic carbon challenges the efficacy of local management actions to ameliorate estuarine acidification impacts. Despite the relatively large acidification effects experienced in Tillamook Bay (-0.16 to -0.23 pHT units) as compared with typical open ocean change (approximately -0.1 pHT units), observations of estuarine pHT would meet existing state standards for pHT. Our analytical framework addresses pressing needs for water quality assessment and coastal resilience strategies to differentiate the impacts of anthropogenic acidification from natural variability in dynamic estuarine systems.</p