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Articles 1 - 30 of 52
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Influence Of Salinity On Sav Distribution In A Series Of Intermittently Connected Coastal Lakes, A. Challen Hyman, Rom Lipcius, R. Gray, D. B. Stephens
Influence Of Salinity On Sav Distribution In A Series Of Intermittently Connected Coastal Lakes, A. Challen Hyman, Rom Lipcius, R. Gray, D. B. Stephens
VIMS Articles
Intermittently closed and open lakes and lagoons (ICOLLs) are coastal lakes that intermittently exchange water with the sea and experience saline intrusions. Understanding effects of seawater exchange on local biota is important to preserve ecosystem functioning and ecological integrity. Coastal dune lakes of northwest Florida are an understudied group of ICOLLs in close geographic proximity and with entrance regimes operating along a frequency continuum. We exploited this natural continuum and corresponding water chemistry gradient to determine effects of water chemistry on resident submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) distributions in these ecosystems. SAV distribution decreased with increases in salinity, but was unaffected …
Leveraging The Interdependencies Between Barrier Islands And Backbarrier Saltmarshes To Enhance Resilience To Sea-Level Rise, Christopher J. Hein, Michael S. Fenster, Keryn B. Gedan, Jeff R. Tabar, Emily A. Hein, Todd Demunda
Leveraging The Interdependencies Between Barrier Islands And Backbarrier Saltmarshes To Enhance Resilience To Sea-Level Rise, Christopher J. Hein, Michael S. Fenster, Keryn B. Gedan, Jeff R. Tabar, Emily A. Hein, Todd Demunda
VIMS Articles
Barrier islands and their backbarrier saltmarshes have a reciprocal relationship: aeolian and storm processes transport sediment from the beaches and dunes to create and build marshes along the landward fringe of the island. In turn, these marshes exert a stabilizing influence on the barrier by widening the barrier system and forming a platform onto which the island migrates, consequently slowing landward barrier migration and inhibiting storm breaching. Here, we present a novel framework for applying these natural interdependencies to managing coastal systems and enhancing barrier-island resilience. Further, we detail application of these principles through a case study of the design …
Effects Of Tidal Flooding On Estuarine Biogeochemistry: Quantifying Flood-Driven Nitrogen Inputs In An Urban, Lower Chesapeake Bay Sub-Tributary, Alfonso Macías-Tapia, Margaret R. Mulholland, Corday R. Selden, Jon Derek Loftis, Peter W. Bernhardt
Effects Of Tidal Flooding On Estuarine Biogeochemistry: Quantifying Flood-Driven Nitrogen Inputs In An Urban, Lower Chesapeake Bay Sub-Tributary, Alfonso Macías-Tapia, Margaret R. Mulholland, Corday R. Selden, Jon Derek Loftis, Peter W. Bernhardt
VIMS Articles
Sea level rise has increased the frequency of tidal flooding even without accompanying precipitation in many coastal areas worldwide. As the tide rises, inundates the landscape, and then recedes, it can transport organic and inorganic matter between terrestrial systems and adjacent aquatic environments. However, the chemical and biological effects of tidal flooding on urban estuarine systems remain poorly constrained. Here, we provide the first extensive quantification of floodwater nutrient concentrations during a tidal flooding event and estimate the nitrogen (N) loading to the Lafayette River, an urban tidal sub-tributary of the lower Chesapeake Bay (USA). To enable the scale of …
Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometry Method (Reox/Mims) To Measure 15n-Nitrate In Isotope-Enrichment Experiments, Xianbiao Lin, Kaijun Lu, Amber K. Hardison, Et Al
Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometry Method (Reox/Mims) To Measure 15n-Nitrate In Isotope-Enrichment Experiments, Xianbiao Lin, Kaijun Lu, Amber K. Hardison, Et Al
VIMS Articles
Using 15N stable isotope as a tracer to quantify N transformation rates in isotope-enrichment experiments improves understanding of the N cycle in various ecosystems. However, measuring 15N-nitrate (15NO3−) in small volumes of water for these experiments is a major challenge due to the inconvenience of preparing samples by traditional techniques. We developed a “REOX/MIMS” method by applying membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS) to determining 15NO3− concentrations in a small volumes of water from isotope-enrichment experiments after converting the dissolved inorganic N to N2. The nitrates (NO3− …
Extent And Causes Of Chesapeake Bay Warming, Kyle E. Hinson, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Pierre St-Laurent, Fei Da, Raymond G. Najjar
Extent And Causes Of Chesapeake Bay Warming, Kyle E. Hinson, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Pierre St-Laurent, Fei Da, Raymond G. Najjar
VIMS Articles
Coastal environments such as the Chesapeake Bay have long been impacted by eutrophication stressors resulting from human activities, and these impacts are now being compounded by global warming trends. However, there are few studies documenting long-term estuarine temperature change and the relative contributions of rivers, the atmosphere, and the ocean. In this study, Chesapeake Bay warming, since 1985, is quantified using a combination of cruise observations and model outputs, and the relative contributions to that warming are estimated via numerical sensitivity experiments with a watershed–estuarine modeling system. Throughout the Bay’s main stem, similar warming rates are found at the surface …
Light Regulation Of Phytoplankton Growth In San Francisco Bay Studied Using A 3d Sediment Transport Model, Zhengui Wang, Fei Chai, (...), Yinglong J. Zhang, Et Al
Light Regulation Of Phytoplankton Growth In San Francisco Bay Studied Using A 3d Sediment Transport Model, Zhengui Wang, Fei Chai, (...), Yinglong J. Zhang, Et Al
VIMS Articles
In San Francisco Bay (SFB), light availability is largely determined by the concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the water column. SPM exhibits substantial variation with time, depth, and location. To study how SPM influences light and phytoplankton growth, we coupled a sediment transport model with a hydrodynamic model and a biogeochemical model. The coupled models were used to simulate conditions for the year of 2011 with a focus on northern SFB. For comparison, two simulations were conducted with ecosystem processes driven by SPM concentrations supplied by the sediment transport model and by applying a constant SPM concentration of …
Nonlinearity Of Subtidal Estuarine Circulation In The Pearl River Estuary, China, Hongzhou Xu, Jian Shen, Dongxiao Wang, Lin Luo, Bo Hong
Nonlinearity Of Subtidal Estuarine Circulation In The Pearl River Estuary, China, Hongzhou Xu, Jian Shen, Dongxiao Wang, Lin Luo, Bo Hong
VIMS Articles
The Pearl River Estuary (PRE) is a bell-shaped estuary with a narrow deep channel and wide shoals. This unique topographic feature leads to different dynamics of the subtidal estuarine circulation (SEC) in the PRE compared with a narrow and straight estuary. In this study, the nonlinear dynamics of the SEC in the PRE under mean circumstance are analyzed by using a validated 3D numerical model. Model results show that the nonlinear advections reach leading order in the along-channel momentum balance. Modulated by tide, the nonlinear advections show significant temporal variations as they have much larger values during spring tide than …
Impacts Of Multiple Environmental Changes On Long- Term Nitrogen Loading From The Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Shufen Pan, Zihao Bian, (...), Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Et Al
Impacts Of Multiple Environmental Changes On Long- Term Nitrogen Loading From The Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Shufen Pan, Zihao Bian, (...), Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Et Al
VIMS Articles
Excessive nitrogen can enter estuarine and coastal areas from land, disturbing coastal ecosystems and causing serious environmental problems. The Chesapeake Bay is one of the regions that have experienced hypoxia and harmful algal blooms in recent decades. This study estimated nitrogen export from the Chesapeake Bay watershed (CBW) to the estuary from 1900 to 2015 by applying a state-of-the-art numerical model. Nitrogen loading from the CBW continually increased from the 1900s to the 1990s and has declined since then. The key contributors to nitrogen export have shifted from atmospheric nitrogen deposition (before the 1960s) to synthetic nitrogen fertilizer (after the …
Formation Of Oil-Particle-Aggregates: Numerical Model Formulation And Calibration, Linlin Cui, Courtney K. Harris, Danielle R.N. Tarpley
Formation Of Oil-Particle-Aggregates: Numerical Model Formulation And Calibration, Linlin Cui, Courtney K. Harris, Danielle R.N. Tarpley
VIMS Articles
When oil spills occur in turbid waters, the oil droplets and mineral grains can combine to form oil-particle aggregates (OPAs). The formation of OPAs impacts the vertical transport of both the oil and the mineral grains; especially increasing deposition of oil to the seabed. Though the coastal oceans can be very turbid, to date, few numerical ocean models have accounted for aggregation processes that form OPAs. However, interactions between oil and mineral aggregates may be represented using techniques developed to account for sediment aggregation. As part of Consortium for Simulation of Oil Microbial Interactions in the Ocean (CSOMIO), we modified …
Riverine Carbon Cycling Over The Past Century In The Mid-Atlantic Region Of The United States, Yuanzi Yao, Hanqin Tian, Shufen Pan, Raymond G. Najjar, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Et Al
Riverine Carbon Cycling Over The Past Century In The Mid-Atlantic Region Of The United States, Yuanzi Yao, Hanqin Tian, Shufen Pan, Raymond G. Najjar, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Et Al
VIMS Articles
Rivers are an important component of the terrestrial-aquatic ocean continuum as they serve as a conduit for transporting carbon from the land to the coastal ocean. It is essential to track the fate of this carbon, including how much carbon is buried in the riverbed, outgassed to the atmosphere, and exported to the ocean. However, it is often difficult to quantify these carbon transport processes on the watershed scale because observational data obtained by field surveys can only be used to estimate the magnitude of these processes at distinct points. In this study, we used a coupled terrestrial-aquatic ecosystem model …
Vegetation Type And Decomposition Priming Mediate Brackish Marsh Carbon Accumulation Under Interacting Facets Of Global Change, Anthony J. Rietl, J. Patrick Megonigal, Ellen R. Herbert, Matthew L. Kirwan
Vegetation Type And Decomposition Priming Mediate Brackish Marsh Carbon Accumulation Under Interacting Facets Of Global Change, Anthony J. Rietl, J. Patrick Megonigal, Ellen R. Herbert, Matthew L. Kirwan
VIMS Articles
Coastal wetland carbon pools are globally important, but their response to interacting facets of global change remain unclear. Numerical models neglect species-specific vegetation responses to sea level rise (SLR) and elevated CO2 (eCO2) that are observed in field experiments, while field experiments cannot address the long-term feedbacks between flooding and soil growth that models show are important. Here, we present a novel numerical model of marsh carbon accumulation parameterized with empirical observations from a long-running eCO2 experiment in an organic rich, brackish marsh. Model results indicate that eCO2 and SLR interact …
The Geomorphic Impact Of Mangrove Encroachment In An Australian Salt Marsh, Daniel J. Coleman, Kerrylee Rogers, D. Reide Corbett, Christopher J. Owers, Matthew L. Kirwan
The Geomorphic Impact Of Mangrove Encroachment In An Australian Salt Marsh, Daniel J. Coleman, Kerrylee Rogers, D. Reide Corbett, Christopher J. Owers, Matthew L. Kirwan
VIMS Articles
Mangroves are encroaching into salt marshes throughout the world as a result of environmental change. Previous studies suggest mangroves trap sediment more efficiently than adjacent salt marshes, providing mangroves greater capacity to adapt to sea level rise; this may occur by displacing salt marshes. However, sediment transport in adjacent marsh-mangrove systems and its role in mangrove encroachment upon salt marsh remain poorly understood. Here we directly test the hypothesis that mangroves reduce the ability of adjacent marsh to adjust to sea level rise by measuring sediment transport across salt marsh platforms, with and without 6 m of fringing mangroves at …
Impact Assessment And Management Challenges Of Key Rural Human Health Infrastructure Under Sea Level Rise, Molly Mitchell, Robert Isdell, Julie Herman, Christine Tombleson
Impact Assessment And Management Challenges Of Key Rural Human Health Infrastructure Under Sea Level Rise, Molly Mitchell, Robert Isdell, Julie Herman, Christine Tombleson
VIMS Articles
Accelerating sea level rise in Virginia, United States, will significantly increase the flooding threat to low-lying roads, residences, and critical infrastructure as well as raise the water table, allowing saltwater intrusion into well water and threatening the function of septic fields. Although most of the adaptation work in Virginia has focused on urban economic centers, the majority of the coastline is rural and faces different threats and opportunities to address them compared to urban areas due to their reduced economic assets and their reliance on private infrastructure. In this case study, we assess the potential for geospatially quantifying impact to …
Quantifying Thresholds Of Barrier Geomorphic Change In A Cross-Shore Sediment-Partitioning Model, Daniel J. Ciarletta, Jennifer L. Miselis, Justin L. Shawler, Christopher J. Hein
Quantifying Thresholds Of Barrier Geomorphic Change In A Cross-Shore Sediment-Partitioning Model, Daniel J. Ciarletta, Jennifer L. Miselis, Justin L. Shawler, Christopher J. Hein
VIMS Articles
Barrier coasts, including barrier islands, beach-ridge plains, and associated landforms, can assume a broad spectrum of morphologies over multi-decadal scales that reflect conditions of sediment availability, accommodation, and relative sea-level rise. However, the quantitative thresholds of these controls on barrier-system behavior remain largely unexplored, even as modern sea-level rise and anthropogenic modification of sediment availability increasingly reshape the world's sandy coastlines. In this study, we conceptualize barrier coasts as sediment-partitioning frameworks, distributing sand delivered from the shoreface to the subaqueous and subaerial components of the coastal system. Using an idealized morphodynamic model, we explore thresholds of behavioral and morphologic change …
Development Of The Csomio Coupled Ocean-Oil-Sediment- Biology Model, Dmitry S. Dukhovskoy, Steven L. . Morey, (...), Courtney K. Harris, Et Al
Development Of The Csomio Coupled Ocean-Oil-Sediment- Biology Model, Dmitry S. Dukhovskoy, Steven L. . Morey, (...), Courtney K. Harris, Et Al
VIMS Articles
The fate and dispersal of oil in the ocean is dependent upon ocean dynamics, as well as transformations resulting from the interaction with the microbial community and suspended particles. These interaction processes are parameterized in many models limiting their ability to accurately simulate the fate and dispersal of oil for subsurface oil spill events. This paper presents a coupled ocean-oil-biology-sediment modeling system developed by the Consortium for Simulation of Oil-Microbial Interactions in the Ocean (CSOMIO) project. A key objective of the CSOMIO project was to develop and evaluate a modeling framework for simulating oil in the marine environment, including its …
Different Coastal Marsh Sites Reflect Similar Topographic Conditions Under Which Bare Patches And Vegetation Recovery Occur, Chen Wang, Lennert Schepers, Matthew L. Kirwan, Et Al
Different Coastal Marsh Sites Reflect Similar Topographic Conditions Under Which Bare Patches And Vegetation Recovery Occur, Chen Wang, Lennert Schepers, Matthew L. Kirwan, Et Al
VIMS Articles
The presence of bare patches within otherwise vegetated coastal marshes is sometimes considered to be a symptom of marsh dieback and the subsequent loss of important ecosystem services. Here we studied the topographical conditions determining the presence and revegetation of bare patches in three marsh sites with contrasting tidal range, sediment supply, and plant species: the Scheldt estuary (the Netherlands), Venice lagoon (Italy), and Blackwater marshes (Maryland, USA). Based on GIS (geographic information system) analyses of aerial photos and lidar imagery of high resolution (≤2×2 m pixels), we analyzed the topographic conditions under which bare patches occur, including their surface …
A Regional, Early Spring Bloom Of Phaeocystis Pouchetii On The New England Continental Shelf, Walker O. Smith Jr., Weifeng G. Zhang, Andrew Hirzel, Et Al
A Regional, Early Spring Bloom Of Phaeocystis Pouchetii On The New England Continental Shelf, Walker O. Smith Jr., Weifeng G. Zhang, Andrew Hirzel, Et Al
VIMS Articles
The genus Phaeocystis is distributed globally and has considerable ecological, biogeochemical, and societal impacts. Understanding its distribution, growth and ecological impacts has been limited by lack of extensive observations on appropriate scales. In 2018, we investigated the biological dynamics of the New England continental shelf and encountered a substantial bloom of Phaeocystis pouchetii. Based on satellite imagery during January through April, the bloom extended over broad expanses of the shelf; furthermore, our observations demonstrated that it reached high biomass levels, with maximum chlorophyll concentrations exceeding 16 μg L−1 and particulate organic carbon levels > 95 μmol L−1. Initially, the bloom was …
Coastal Forest Seawater Exposure Increases Stem Methane Concentration, Matthew J. Norwood, Nicholas Ward, (......), Matthew L. Kirwan, Anya Hopple, J. Patrick Megonigal
Coastal Forest Seawater Exposure Increases Stem Methane Concentration, Matthew J. Norwood, Nicholas Ward, (......), Matthew L. Kirwan, Anya Hopple, J. Patrick Megonigal
VIMS Articles
Methane (CH4) exchange between trees and the atmosphere has recently emerged as an important, but poorly quantified process regulating global climate. The sources (soil and/or tree) and mechanisms driving the increase of CH4 in trees and degassing to the atmosphere are inadequately understood, particularly for coastal forests facing increased exposure to seawater. We investigated the eco‐physiological relationship between tree stem wood density, soil and stem oxygen saturation (an indicator of redox state), soil and stem CH4 concentrations, soil and stem carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, and soil salinity in five forests along the United States …
Effects Of Reduced Shoreline Erosion On Chesapeake Bay Water Clarity, Jessica S. Turner, Pierre St-Laurent, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Carl T. Friedrichs
Effects Of Reduced Shoreline Erosion On Chesapeake Bay Water Clarity, Jessica S. Turner, Pierre St-Laurent, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Carl T. Friedrichs
VIMS Articles
Shoreline erosion supplies sediments to estuaries and coastal waters, influencing water clarity and primary production. Globally, shoreline erosion sediment inputs are changing with anthropogenic alteration of coastlines in populated regions. Chesapeake Bay, a prime example of such a system where shoreline erosion accounts for a large proportion of sediments entering the estuary, serves here as a case study for investigating the effects of changing sediment inputs on water clarity. Long-term increases in shoreline armoring have contributed to decreased erosional sediment inputs to the estuary, changing the composition of suspended particles in surface waters. This study examined the impact of shoreline …
Diatom Hotspots Driven By Western Boundary Current Instability, Hilde Oliver, Weifeng G. Zhang, Walker O. Smith Jr., Et Al
Diatom Hotspots Driven By Western Boundary Current Instability, Hilde Oliver, Weifeng G. Zhang, Walker O. Smith Jr., Et Al
VIMS Articles
Climatic changes have decreased the stability of the Gulf Stream (GS), increasing the frequency at which its meanders interact with the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) continental shelf and slope region. These intrusions are thought to suppress biological productivity by transporting low-nutrient water to the otherwise productive shelf edge region. Here we present evidence of widespread, anomalously intense subsurface diatom hotspots in the MAB slope sea that likely resulted from a GS intrusion in July 2019. The hotspots (at ∼50 m) were associated with water mass properties characteristic of GS water (∼100 m); it is probable that the hotspots resulted from the …
Onset Of Runaway Fragmentation Of Salt Marshes, Orencio Duran Vinent, Ellen R. Herbert, Daniel J. Coleman, Joshua D. Himmelstein, Matthew L. Kirwan
Onset Of Runaway Fragmentation Of Salt Marshes, Orencio Duran Vinent, Ellen R. Herbert, Daniel J. Coleman, Joshua D. Himmelstein, Matthew L. Kirwan
VIMS Articles
Salt marshes are valuable but vulnerable coastal ecosystems that adapt to relative sea level rise (RSLR) by accumulating organic matter and inorganic sediment. The natural limit of these processes defines a threshold rate of RSLR beyond which marshes drown, resulting in ponding and conversion to open waters. We develop a simplified formulation for sediment transport across marshes to show that pond formation leads to runaway marsh fragmentation, a process characterized by a self-similar hierarchy of pond sizes with power-law distributions. We find the threshold for marsh fragmentation scales primarily with tidal range and that sediment supply is only relevant where …
Connectivity: Insights From The U.S. Long Term Ecological Research Network, David M. Iwaniec, Michael Gooseff, Katherine N. Suding, David S. Johnson, Et Al
Connectivity: Insights From The U.S. Long Term Ecological Research Network, David M. Iwaniec, Michael Gooseff, Katherine N. Suding, David S. Johnson, Et Al
VIMS Articles
Ecosystems across the United States are changing in complex and surprising ways. Ongoing demand for critical ecosystem services requires an understanding of the populations and communities in these ecosystems in the future. This paper represents a synthesis effort of the U.S. National Science Foundation-funded Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) network addressing the core research area of “populations and communities.” The objective of this effort was to show the importance of long-term data collection and experiments for addressing the hardest questions in scientific ecology that have significant implications for environmental policy and management. Each LTER site developed at least one compelling case …
Estuaries As Filters For Riverine Microplastics: Simulations In A Large, Coastal-Plain Estuary, Alexander G. Lopez, Raymond G. Najjar, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Michael A. Hickner, Denice H. Wardrop
Estuaries As Filters For Riverine Microplastics: Simulations In A Large, Coastal-Plain Estuary, Alexander G. Lopez, Raymond G. Najjar, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Michael A. Hickner, Denice H. Wardrop
VIMS Articles
Public awareness of microplastics and their widespread presence throughout most bodies of water are increasingly documented. The accumulation of microplastics in the ocean, however, appears to be far less than their riverine inputs, suggesting that there is a “missing sink” of plastics in the ocean. Estuaries have long been recognized as filters for riverine material in marine biogeochemical budgets. Here we use a model of estuarine microplastic transport to test the hypothesis that the Chesapeake Bay, a large coastal-plain estuary in eastern North America, is a potentially large filter, or “sink,” of riverine microplastics. The 1-year composite simulation, which tracks …
Anticipating And Adapting To The Future Impacts Of Climate Change On The Health, Security And Welfare Of Low Elevation Coastal Zone (Lecz) Communities In Southeastern Usa, T. Allen, J. Behr, (...), Jon Derek Loftis, Molly Mitchell, Karinna Nunez, Et Al
Anticipating And Adapting To The Future Impacts Of Climate Change On The Health, Security And Welfare Of Low Elevation Coastal Zone (Lecz) Communities In Southeastern Usa, T. Allen, J. Behr, (...), Jon Derek Loftis, Molly Mitchell, Karinna Nunez, Et Al
VIMS Articles
Low elevation coastal zones (LECZ) are extensive throughout the southeastern United States. LECZ communities are threatened by inundation from sea level rise, storm surge, wetland degradation, land subsidence, and hydrological flooding. Communication among scientists, stake-holders, policy makers and minority and poor residents must improve. We must predict processes spanning the ecological, physical, social, and health sciences. Communities need to address linkages of (1) human and socioeconomic vulnerabilities; (2) public health and safety; (3) economic concerns; (4) land loss; (5) wetland threats; and (6) coastal inundation. Essential capabilities must include a network to assemble and distribute data and model code to …
Preparing Scientists, Policy-Makers, And Managers For A Fast-Forward Future, Richard B. Norgaard, John A. Wiens, (...), Elizabeth A. Canuel, Et Al
Preparing Scientists, Policy-Makers, And Managers For A Fast-Forward Future, Richard B. Norgaard, John A. Wiens, (...), Elizabeth A. Canuel, Et Al
VIMS Articles
Ecosystems in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta are changing rapidly, as are ecosystems around the world. Extreme events are becoming more frequent and thresholds are likely to be crossed more often, creating greater uncertainty about future conditions. The accelerating speed of change means that ecological systems may not remain stable long enough for scientists to understand them, much less use their research findings to inform policy and management. Faced with these challenges, those involved in science, policy, and management must adapt and change and anticipate what the ecosystems may be like in the future. We highlight several ways of looking ahead—scenario …
Long-Term Trends In Chesapeake Bay Remote Sensing Reflectance: Implications For Water Clarity, Jessica S. Turner, Carl T. Friedrichs, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs
Long-Term Trends In Chesapeake Bay Remote Sensing Reflectance: Implications For Water Clarity, Jessica S. Turner, Carl T. Friedrichs, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs
VIMS Articles
While ecosystem health is improving in many estuaries worldwide following nutrient reductions, inconsistent trends in water clarity often remain. The Chesapeake Bay, a eutrophic estuary with a highly populated watershed, is a crucial testbed for these concerns. Improved efforts are needed to understand why some measurements of downstream estuarine water clarity appear to be uncorrelated with watershed management actions, and multiple metrics of clarity are needed to address this issue. To complement in situ measurements, satellite remote sensing provides an additional tool with which to assess long-term change in water clarity. In this study, remote sensing reflectance (Rrs) from the …
Real-Time Environmental Forecasts Of The Chesapeake Bay: Model Setup, Improvements, And Online Visualization, Aaron Bever, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Pierre St-Laurent
Real-Time Environmental Forecasts Of The Chesapeake Bay: Model Setup, Improvements, And Online Visualization, Aaron Bever, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Pierre St-Laurent
VIMS Articles
Daily real-time nowcasts (current conditions) and 2-day forecasts of environmental conditions in the Chesapeake Bay have been continuously available for 4 years. The forecasts use a 3-D hydrodynamic-biogeochemical model with 1–2 km resolution and 3-D output every 6 h that includes salinity, water temperature, pH, aragonite saturation state, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, and hypoxic volume. Visualizations of the forecasts are available through a local institutional website (www.vims.edu/hypoxia) and the MARACOOS Oceans Map portal (https://oceansmap.maracoos.org/chesapeake-bay/). Modifications to real-time graphics on the local website are routinely made based on stakeholder input and are formatted for use on a mobile …
Mechanisms Driving Decadal Changes In The Carbonate System Of A Coastal Plain Estuary, Fei Da, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Pierre St-Laurent, Elizabeth Shadwick, Raymond G. Najjaar, Kyle E. Hinson
Mechanisms Driving Decadal Changes In The Carbonate System Of A Coastal Plain Estuary, Fei Da, Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs, Pierre St-Laurent, Elizabeth Shadwick, Raymond G. Najjaar, Kyle E. Hinson
VIMS Articles
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 …
Experimental Tree Mortality Does Not Induce Marsh Transgression In A Chesapeake Bay Low-Lying Coastal Forest, David C. Walters, Joel A. Carr, (...), Matthew L. Kirwan, Et Al
Experimental Tree Mortality Does Not Induce Marsh Transgression In A Chesapeake Bay Low-Lying Coastal Forest, David C. Walters, Joel A. Carr, (...), Matthew L. Kirwan, Et Al
VIMS Articles
Transgression into adjacent uplands is an important global response of coastal wetlands to accelerated rates of sea level rise. “Ghost forests” mark a signature characteristic of marsh transgression on the landscape, as changes in tidal inundation and salinity cause bordering upland tree mortality, increase light availability, and the emergence of tidal marsh species due to reduced competition. To investigate these mechanisms of the marsh migration process, we conducted a field experiment to simulate a natural disturbance event (e.g., storm-induced flooding) by inducing the death of established trees (coastal loblolly pine, Pinus taeda) at the marsh-upland forest ecotone. After this simulated …
Sea Ice Suppression Of Co2 Outgassing In The West Antarctic Peninsula: Implications For The Evolving Southern Ocean Carbon Sink, E.H. Shadwick, O.A. De Meo, S. Schroeter, M.C. Arroyo, D.G. Martinson, H. Ducklow
Sea Ice Suppression Of Co2 Outgassing In The West Antarctic Peninsula: Implications For The Evolving Southern Ocean Carbon Sink, E.H. Shadwick, O.A. De Meo, S. Schroeter, M.C. Arroyo, D.G. Martinson, H. Ducklow
VIMS Articles
The Southern Ocean plays an important role in the uptake of atmospheric CO2. In seasonally ice-covered regions, estimates of air-sea exchange remain uncertain in part because of a lack of observations outside the summer season. Here we present new estimates of air-sea CO2 flux in the West Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) from an autonomous mooring on the continental shelf. In summer, the WAP is a sink for atmospheric CO2 followed by a slow return to atmospheric equilibrium in autumn and winter. Outgassing is almost entirely suppressed by ice cover from June through October, resulting in a modest …