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Estimating The Spatial Extent Of Bottom-Water Hypoxia And Habitat Degradation In A Shallow Estuary, Cp Buzzelli, Ra Luettich, Sp Powers, Ch Peterson, Je Mcninch, Jl Pinckney, Hw Paerl
Estimating The Spatial Extent Of Bottom-Water Hypoxia And Habitat Degradation In A Shallow Estuary, Cp Buzzelli, Ra Luettich, Sp Powers, Ch Peterson, Je Mcninch, Jl Pinckney, Hw Paerl
VIMS Articles
Bottom-water hypoxia (less than or equal to2 mg l(-1) dissolved oxygen [DO]) greatly modifies the benthic habitat of estuaries, depending upon spatial extent, duration, and frequency. Bottom-water hypoxia often develops under conditions of density stratification, which inhibits vertical mixing, and warm temperatures, which enhance biological oxygen demand. Long-term, mid-channel data from the Neuse River Estuary in North Carolina permitted evaluation of how stratification and temperature combined to affect DO concentrations at the bottom. Salinity stratification (AS) and water temperature (T) explained respectively 30 and 23 % of the variance in bottom-water DO concentrations. The amount of salinity stratification required to …