1
|
Duvall MS, Hagy JD, Ammerman JW, Tedesco MA. High-frequency dissolved oxygen dynamics in an urban estuary, the Long Island Sound. ESTUARIES AND COASTS : JOURNAL OF THE ESTUARINE RESEARCH FEDERATION 2023; 47:415-430. [PMID: 38993945 PMCID: PMC11235145 DOI: 10.1007/s12237-023-01278-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 07/13/2024]
Abstract
The seasonal occurrence of deep-water hypoxia in western Long Island Sound (LIS) has been documented for decades by water quality cruise surveys and fixed mooring buoys. While previous studies have focused on factors modulating bottom dissolved oxygen (DO) at subtidal timescales, here we analyze continuous timeseries data from a moored buoy during summers 2021 and 2022 to examine factors controlling high-frequency fluctuations in surface and bottom DO at diurnal and semidiurnal timescales. Fluctuations in surface DO at diurnal timescales are associated with biological production, while fluctuations in bottom DO near semidiurnal timescales are associated with horizontal advection of DO by tides from the upper East River tidal strait into western LIS. Results from timeseries analysis are supported by weekly cruise surveys that resolve horizontal and vertical DO gradients in the western narrows. However, inferences regarding the duration of hypoxia during a given summer vary across datasets in part because weekly survey data do not resolve dominant timescales of variability within a particular summer. While prior studies have illustrated the importance of nutrient loading, stratification, and wind in controlling the development of hypoxia, the results presented here demonstrate the role of tidal advection in modulating hypoxia in far western LIS. Despite stronger stratification in 2021, the duration of hypoxia was 11.1 days shorter compared to 2022 in part due to greater advection of DO by tidal currents that intermittently increased bottom DO near the buoy. Furthermore, five-year averaged hypoxic area in the western narrows has increased since 2017, which highlights the spatially variable response of DO to nutrient load reductions. Future analysis of hypoxia in LIS should focus on leveraging high-frequency information contained in continuous datasets to improve estimates of hypoxia based on less temporally resolved water quality surveys.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Melissa S Duvall
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Long Island Sound Office, 888 Washington Blvd., Stamford, CT 06904 USA
| | - James D Hagy
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, 27 Tarzwell Dr., Narragansett, RI 02882 USA
| | - James W Ammerman
- Long Island Sound Study/NEIWPCC, 888 Washington Blvd., Stamford, CT 06904 USA
- School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794
| | - Mark A Tedesco
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Long Island Sound Office, 888 Washington Blvd., Stamford, CT 06904 USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Rose JM, Gosnell JS, Bricker S, Brush MJ, Colden A, Harris L, Karplus E, Laferriere A, Merrill NH, Murphy TB, Reitsma J, Shockley J, Stephenson K, Theuerkauf S, Ward D, Fulweiler RW. Opportunities and Challenges for Including Oyster-Mediated Denitrification in Nitrogen Management Plans. ESTUARIES AND COASTS : JOURNAL OF THE ESTUARINE RESEARCH FEDERATION 2021; 44:2041-2055. [PMID: 35340553 PMCID: PMC8942081 DOI: 10.1007/s12237-021-00936-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2020] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen pollution is one of the primary threats to coastal water quality globally, and governmental regulations and marine policy are increasingly requiring nitrogen remediation in management programs. Traditional mitigation strategies (e.g., advanced wastewater treatment) are not always enough to meet reduction goals. Novel opportunities for additional nitrogen reduction are needed to develop a portfolio of long-term solutions. Increasingly, in situ nitrogen reduction practices are providing a complementary management approach to the traditional source control and treatment, including recognition of potential contributions of coastal bivalve shellfish. While policy interest in bivalves has focused primarily on nitrogen removal via biomass harvest, bivalves can also contribute to nitrogen removal by enhancing denitrification (the microbial driven process of bioavailable nitrogen transformation to di-nitrogen gas). Recent evidence suggests that nitrogen removed via enhanced denitrification may eclipse nitrogen removal through biomass harvest alone. With a few exceptions, bivalve-enhanced denitrification has yet to be incorporated into water quality policy. Here, we focus on oysters in considering how this issue may be addressed. We discuss policy options to support expansion of oyster-mediated denitrification, describe the practical considerations for incorporation into nitrogen management, and summarize the current state of the field in accounting for denitrification in oyster habitats. When considered against alternative nitrogen control strategies, we argue that enhanced denitrification associated with oysters should be included in a full suite of nitrogen removal strategies, but with the recognition that denitrification associated with oyster habitats will not alone solve our excess nitrogen loading problem.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julie M. Rose
- NOAA Fisheries, NEFSC Milford Laboratory, 212 Rogers Ave, Milford, CT 06460, USA
| | - J. Stephen Gosnell
- Department of Natural Sciences, Baruch College and the PhD Program in Biology, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, 17 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA
| | - Suzanne Bricker
- NOAA NCCOS Oxford Laboratory, 904 South Morris Street, Oxford, MD 21654, USA
| | - Mark J. Brush
- Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary, 1370 Greate Road, Gloucester Point, VA 23062, USA
| | - Allison Colden
- Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 6 Herndon Avenue, Annapolis, MD 21403, USA
| | - Lora Harris
- University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, 146 Williams Street, Solomons, MD 20688, USA
| | - Eric Karplus
- Science Wares, Inc., 87 Hamlin Ave, Falmouth, MA 02540, USA
| | - Alix Laferriere
- The Nature Conservancy, New Hampshire Chapter, 112 Bay Road, Newmarket, NH 03857, USA
| | - Nathaniel H. Merrill
- Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Atlantic Coastal Environmental Sciences Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Narragansett, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Tammy B. Murphy
- NOAA Fisheries, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA
| | - Joshua Reitsma
- Cape Cod Cooperative Extension, County of Barnstable, P.O. Box 367, Barnstable, MA 02630, USA
| | - Johnny Shockley
- Blue Oyster Environmental, LLC, 541 Poplar Street, Cambridge, MD 21613, USA
| | - Kurt Stephenson
- Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Seth Theuerkauf
- The Nature Conservancy Provide Food and Water Sustainably Team, 4245 Fairfax Drive, Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203, USA
- Present address: Office of Aquaculture, NOAA Fisheries, SSMC3, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
| | - Dan Ward
- Ward Aquafarms, 51 N Falmouth Hwy, North Falmouth, MA 02556, USA
| | - Robinson W. Fulweiler
- Department of Biology and Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, 5 Cummington Mall, Room 101, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Cantwell MG, Katz DR, Sullivan JC, Lyman M. Evaluation of wastewater tracers to predict pharmaceutical distributions and behavior in the Long Island Sound estuary. CHEMOSPHERE 2019; 220:629-636. [PMID: 30599320 PMCID: PMC8439013 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.12.171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2018] [Revised: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 12/22/2018] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Urban estuaries receive large volumes of effluents from municipal wastewater treatment facilities containing numerous contaminants, such as pharmaceuticals residues. Water was sampled for 16 highly prescribed pharmaceuticals at 17 sites along the Long Island Sound (LIS) estuary located in the Northeastern U.S. Pharmaceutical concentrations were highest in western LIS, ranging from non-detect to 71 ng L-1 and declining steadily eastward, while river samples from four major tributaries ranged from non-detect to 83 ng L-1. Two tracers, sucralose and caffeine, accurately predicted pharmaceutical behavior in LIS while only sucralose was effective at the river sites. Sucralose also tracked well with the salinity gradient in LIS, exhibiting conservative behavior along the transect. Attenuation factors were determined for measurable pharmaceuticals and compared against sucralose to estimate the magnitude of decline in concentrations that may be attributable to in situ degradation and partitioning. The results demonstrate sucralose's effectiveness as a tracer of wastewater-borne contaminants under estuarine conditions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mark G Cantwell
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, 27 Tarzwell Drive, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA.
| | - David R Katz
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, 27 Tarzwell Drive, Narragansett, RI 02882, USA
| | | | - Matthew Lyman
- Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106, USA
| |
Collapse
|