Signals, drivers, and effects of coastal acidification in estuarine systems

Coastal acidification is broadly defined as the lowering of pH in coastal ocean and estuarine waters as a result of human activities, including fossil fuel combustion, land use change, and eutrophication. A growing literature shows water quality impacts from these drivers of coastal acidification can impair the fitness of coastal organisms and has negatively impacted commercial fisheries in the United States. Creating effective management strategies and understanding decision tradeoffs for addressing coastal acidification impacts will likely require an improved understanding of the role of local versus global acidification drivers. This presentation will discuss recent and ongoing research that scientists in EPA’s Office of Research and Development have conducted to investigate the signals, drivers, and effects of coastal acidification in estuarine systems. Development of field- and laboratory-based methods for studying the role of eutrophication in acidification and hypoxia dynamics will be presented using case studies from the Tillamook Estuary, OR, Puget Sound, WA, and Narragansett Bay, RI. Results of these studies reveal the potential for eutrophication and human land use change to enhance coastal acidification in estuarine environments via multiple pathways, creating “hotspots” for exceedances of physiological thresholds for endemic organisms. We highlight how potential management for water quality impacts in estuaries can be more effective by accounting for the spatial and temporal interactions between local and global drivers of acidification.

Impact/Purpose

Coastal acidification is broadly defined as the lowering of pH in coastal ocean and estuarine waters as a result of human activities, including fossil fuel combustion, land use change, and eutrophication. Water quality impacts from these drivers of coastal acidification can impair the fitness of coastal organisms and has negatively impacted commercial fisheries in the United States. Approaches are needed by states to identify local versus global drivers of acidification. This webinar focuses on approaches developed by ORD to investigate the signals, drivers, and effects of coastal acidification in estuarine systems. Eutrophication and human land use change have the potential to enhance coastal acidification in estuarine environments via multiple pathways, creating “hotspots” for exceedances of physiological thresholds for endemic organisms. We highlight how potential management for water quality impacts in estuaries can be more effective by accounting for the spatial and temporal interactions between local and global drivers of acidification.

Citation

Pacella, S., J. Grear, Cheryl A. Brown, Jim Kaldy, AND A. Pimenta. Signals, drivers, and effects of coastal acidification in estuarine systems. 2020 Numeric Nutrient Criteria Webinar Series, virtual, Virtual, November 18, 2020.