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Biological and Physical Controls on Multidecadal Acidification in a Eutrophic Estuary
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Biological and Physical Controls on Multidecadal Acidification in a Eutrophic Estuary

Lena Champlin, Tiara Moore, Rikke Jeppesen, John Haskins, Bronwyn Sayre and Elizabeth Watson
Journal of geophysical research. Oceans, v 129(3)
01 Mar 2024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JC020405
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JC020405View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Acidification Acidity Additives Agricultural pollution Agriculture Anthropogenic factors Aragonite Atmospheric models Brackishwater environment Buffers (chemistry) California Current Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide atmospheric concentrations Climate change Coastal plains Coastal upwelling Economic importance Ecosystems Estuaries Estuarine dynamics Estuarine ecosystems Eutrophic estuaries Eutrophic rivers Eutrophication Fisheries Fishery industry Human influences Inlets Inlets (waterways) Marine organisms Marine pollution Metabolism Monitoring Nutrient loading Nutrient pollution Nutrients Ocean acidification Ocean circulation Oceans pH effects Pollution Runoff Saturation Seasonal variability Seasonal variations Seasons Tidal range Trends Upwelling Vulnerability Water analysis Water quality Water quality measurements Water sampling
Estuaries support ecologically and economically important resources that are vulnerable to ocean acidification from rising anthropogenic CO2. However, complex local processes in estuaries complicate and may disguise long‐term pH trends. For example, terrestrial nutrient runoff and coastal upwelling may exacerbate pH variability and declines. We investigated eutrophication impacts on acidification in a central California estuary, Elkhorn Slough, which receives high nutrient loads from intensive surrounding agriculture and upwelling of the California Current System. We examined drivers of acidification including nutrients, ecosystem metabolism, and upwelling by modeling pH trends over 20 years using a Generalized Additive Mixed Model at four sites from the National Estuarine Research Reserve Systemwide Monitoring Program and collected additional water samples to calculate aragonite saturation. Our models revealed acidification trends over two decades which were more pronounced near the marine inlet. Near the marine inlet, high nutrient levels and lower buffering were associated with the greatest rate of acidification in the estuary, which was four times greater than the trend from anthropogenic CO2 alone. Compared to fully tidal sites, a tidally restricted site showed diminished pH declines over time because of higher mean pH and aragonite saturation levels, but greater diel and seasonal variability associated with cycles of ecosystem metabolism and tidal range. Therefore, short‐term drops of saturation are threats to acidity in this location. The effects of enhanced seasonal cycles or long‐term trends in different zones of the estuary have implications for monitoring estuaries with a temporal frequency and scale to capture coastal acidification risks.

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#14 Life Below Water
#13 Climate Action

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Oceanography
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