Collaborative Research: A hydrological seesaw and its effect on alkalinity dynamics in estuaries along a climate gradient
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abstract
This project will investigate estuarine alkalinity dynamics driven by hydrological changes and associated changes in sediment redox reactions, by coupling water column chemistry, sediment flux experiments and geochemical analyses, and numerical modeling. The overarching hypothesis is that sediment redox reactions in estuarine environments control the production and consumption of alkalinity, which can be attributed to the burial of reduced compounds and the oxidation of these compounds, respectively. Changes in hydrological conditions will be the key to the scenario shift such that when freshwater availability turns from being abundant to being scarce, this alkalinity source can turn into an alkalinity sink. This study will utilize a climate transition zone at the northwestern Gulf of Mexico (nwGOM), an area with a significant freshwater discharge gradient along the coast which also faces long-term freshwater decline, to investigate both spatial and temporal changes in the burial of reduced compounds and its relationship to anaerobic alkalinity production. Additionally, a case study that uses a semi-closed estuary that frequently experiences large fluctuations in freshwater input conditions will be examined for consumption of alkalinity under low river input conditions.
