Aragonite saturation states in estuaries along a climate gradient in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico
In the northwestern Gulf of Mexico (nwGOM), the coastal climate shifts abruptly from the humid northeast to the semiarid southwest within a narrow latitudinal range. The climate effect plays an important role in controlling freshwater discharge into the shallow estuaries in this region. In addition...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:14d24398b09a4366b391c731fa0dc1fd 2023-05-15T17:52:00+02:00 Aragonite saturation states in estuaries along a climate gradient in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico Xinping Hu Hongming Yao Melissa R. McCutcheon Larissa Dias Cory J. Staryk Michael S. Wetz Paul A. Montagna 2022-10-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.951256 https://doaj.org/article/14d24398b09a4366b391c731fa0dc1fd EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2022.951256/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-665X 2296-665X doi:10.3389/fenvs.2022.951256 https://doaj.org/article/14d24398b09a4366b391c731fa0dc1fd Frontiers in Environmental Science, Vol 10 (2022) aragonite saturation state freshwater inflow subtropical estuaries ocean acidification (OA) time of emergence Environmental sciences GE1-350 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.951256 2022-12-30T20:21:57Z In the northwestern Gulf of Mexico (nwGOM), the coastal climate shifts abruptly from the humid northeast to the semiarid southwest within a narrow latitudinal range. The climate effect plays an important role in controlling freshwater discharge into the shallow estuaries in this region. In addition to diminishing freshwater runoff down the coast, evaporation also increases substantially. Hence, these estuaries show increasing salinity along the coastline due to the large difference in freshwater inflow balance (river runoff and precipitation minus evaporation and diversion). However, this spatial gradient can be disrupted by intense storm events as a copious amount of precipitation leads to river flooding, which can cause temporary freshening of these systems in extreme cases, in addition to freshwater-induced ephemeral stratification. We examined estuarine water aragonite saturation state (Ωarag) data collected between 2014 and 2018, covering a period of contrasting hydrological conditions, from the initial drought to multiple flooding events, including a brief period that was influenced by a category 4 hurricane. Based on freshwater availability, these estuaries exhibited a diminishing Ωarag fluctuation from the most freshwater enriched Guadalupe Estuary to the most freshwater-starved Nueces Estuary. While Ωarag values were usually much higher than the threshold level (Ωarag = 1), brief freshwater discharge events and subsequent low oxygen levels in the lower water column led to episodic corrosive conditions. Based on previously obtained Ωarag temporal trends and Ωarag values obtained in this study, we estimated the time of emergence (ToE) for Ωarag. Not only did estuaries show decreasing ToE with diminishing freshwater availability but the sub-embayments of individual estuaries that had a less freshwater influence also had shorter ToE. This spatial pattern suggests that planning coastal restoration efforts, especially for shellfish organisms, should emphasize areas with longer ToE. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Frontiers in Environmental Science 10 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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language |
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topic |
aragonite saturation state freshwater inflow subtropical estuaries ocean acidification (OA) time of emergence Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
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aragonite saturation state freshwater inflow subtropical estuaries ocean acidification (OA) time of emergence Environmental sciences GE1-350 Xinping Hu Hongming Yao Melissa R. McCutcheon Larissa Dias Cory J. Staryk Michael S. Wetz Paul A. Montagna Aragonite saturation states in estuaries along a climate gradient in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico |
topic_facet |
aragonite saturation state freshwater inflow subtropical estuaries ocean acidification (OA) time of emergence Environmental sciences GE1-350 |
description |
In the northwestern Gulf of Mexico (nwGOM), the coastal climate shifts abruptly from the humid northeast to the semiarid southwest within a narrow latitudinal range. The climate effect plays an important role in controlling freshwater discharge into the shallow estuaries in this region. In addition to diminishing freshwater runoff down the coast, evaporation also increases substantially. Hence, these estuaries show increasing salinity along the coastline due to the large difference in freshwater inflow balance (river runoff and precipitation minus evaporation and diversion). However, this spatial gradient can be disrupted by intense storm events as a copious amount of precipitation leads to river flooding, which can cause temporary freshening of these systems in extreme cases, in addition to freshwater-induced ephemeral stratification. We examined estuarine water aragonite saturation state (Ωarag) data collected between 2014 and 2018, covering a period of contrasting hydrological conditions, from the initial drought to multiple flooding events, including a brief period that was influenced by a category 4 hurricane. Based on freshwater availability, these estuaries exhibited a diminishing Ωarag fluctuation from the most freshwater enriched Guadalupe Estuary to the most freshwater-starved Nueces Estuary. While Ωarag values were usually much higher than the threshold level (Ωarag = 1), brief freshwater discharge events and subsequent low oxygen levels in the lower water column led to episodic corrosive conditions. Based on previously obtained Ωarag temporal trends and Ωarag values obtained in this study, we estimated the time of emergence (ToE) for Ωarag. Not only did estuaries show decreasing ToE with diminishing freshwater availability but the sub-embayments of individual estuaries that had a less freshwater influence also had shorter ToE. This spatial pattern suggests that planning coastal restoration efforts, especially for shellfish organisms, should emphasize areas with longer ToE. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Xinping Hu Hongming Yao Melissa R. McCutcheon Larissa Dias Cory J. Staryk Michael S. Wetz Paul A. Montagna |
author_facet |
Xinping Hu Hongming Yao Melissa R. McCutcheon Larissa Dias Cory J. Staryk Michael S. Wetz Paul A. Montagna |
author_sort |
Xinping Hu |
title |
Aragonite saturation states in estuaries along a climate gradient in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico |
title_short |
Aragonite saturation states in estuaries along a climate gradient in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico |
title_full |
Aragonite saturation states in estuaries along a climate gradient in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico |
title_fullStr |
Aragonite saturation states in estuaries along a climate gradient in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico |
title_full_unstemmed |
Aragonite saturation states in estuaries along a climate gradient in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico |
title_sort |
aragonite saturation states in estuaries along a climate gradient in the northwestern gulf of mexico |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.951256 https://doaj.org/article/14d24398b09a4366b391c731fa0dc1fd |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_source |
Frontiers in Environmental Science, Vol 10 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2022.951256/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-665X 2296-665X doi:10.3389/fenvs.2022.951256 https://doaj.org/article/14d24398b09a4366b391c731fa0dc1fd |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.951256 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Environmental Science |
container_volume |
10 |
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1766159309591281664 |