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- Title
Two decades of tropical cyclone impacts on North Carolina’s estuarine carbon, nutrient and phytoplankton dynamics: implications for biogeochemical cycling and water quality in a stormier world.
- Authors
Paerl, Hans W.; Crosswell, Joseph R.; Van Dam, Bryce; Hall, Nathan S.; Rossignol, Karen L.; Osburn, Christopher L.; Hounshell, Alexandria G.; Sloup, Randolph S.; Harding, Lawrence W.
- Abstract
Coastal North Carolina (USA) has experienced 35 tropical cyclones over the past 2 decades; the frequency of these events is expected to continue in the foreseeable future. Individual storms had unique and, at times, significant hydrologic, nutrient-, and carbon (C)-loading impacts on biogeochemical cycling and phytoplankton responses in a large estuarine complex, the Pamlico Sound (PS) and Neuse River Estuary (NRE). Major storms caused up to a doubling of annual nitrogen and tripling of phosphorus loading compared to non-storm years; magnitudes of loading depended on storm tracks, forward speed, and precipitation in NRE-PS watersheds. With regard to C cycling, NRE-PS was a sink for atmospheric CO2 during dry, storm-free years and a significant source of CO2 in years with at least one storm, although responses were storm-specific. Hurricane Irene (2011) mobilized large amounts of previously-accumulated terrigenous C in the watershed, mainly as dissolved organic carbon, and extreme winds rapidly released CO2 to the atmosphere. Historic flooding after Hurricanes Joaquin (2015) and Matthew (2016) provided large inputs of C from the watershed, modifying the annual C balance of NRE-PS and leading to sustained CO2 efflux for months. Storm type affected biogeochemical responses as C-enriched floodwaters enhanced air-water CO2 exchange during ‘wet’ storms, while CO2 fluxes during ‘windy’ storms were largely supported by previously-accumulated C. Nutrient loading and flushing jointly influenced spatio-temporal patterns of phytoplankton biomass and composition. These findings suggest the importance of incorporating freshwater discharge and C dynamics in nutrient management strategies for coastal ecosystems likely to experience a stormier future.
- Subjects
PAMLICO Sound (N.C.); TROPICAL cyclones; ESTUARINE ecology; PHYTOPLANKTON; WATERSHEDS
- Publication
Biogeochemistry, 2018, Vol 141, Issue 3, p307
- ISSN
0168-2563
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10533-018-0438-x