Articles | Volume 15, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3743-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-3743-2018
Research article
 | 
20 Jun 2018
Research article |  | 20 Jun 2018

The sensitivity of estuarine aragonite saturation state and pH to the carbonate chemistry of a freshet-dominated river

Benjamin L. Moore-Maley, Debby Ianson, and Susan E. Allen

Related authors

Wind-driven upwelling and surface nutrient delivery in a semi-enclosed coastal sea
Ben Moore-Maley and Susan E. Allen
Ocean Sci., 18, 143–167, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-143-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/os-18-143-2022, 2022
Short summary

Related subject area

Biogeochemistry: Coastal Ocean
Improved understanding of nitrate trends, eutrophication indicators, and risk areas using machine learning
Deep S. Banerjee and Jozef Skákala
Biogeosciences, 22, 3769–3784, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3769-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3769-2025, 2025
Short summary
Evaluating ocean alkalinity enhancement as a carbon dioxide removal strategy in the North Sea
Feifei Liu, Ute Daewel, Jan Kossack, Kubilay Timur Demir, Helmuth Thomas, and Corinna Schrum
Biogeosciences, 22, 3699–3719, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3699-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3699-2025, 2025
Short summary
Spring–neap tidal cycles modulate the strength of the carbon source at the estuary–coast interface
Vlad A. Macovei, Louise C. V. Rewrie, Rüdiger Röttgers, and Yoana G. Voynova
Biogeosciences, 22, 3375–3396, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3375-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3375-2025, 2025
Short summary
Spatiotemporal variations in surface marine carbonate system properties across the western Mediterranean Sea using volunteer observing ship data
David Curbelo-Hernández, David González-Santana, Aridane G. González, J. Magdalena Santana-Casiano, and Melchor González-Dávila
Biogeosciences, 22, 3329–3356, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3329-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3329-2025, 2025
Short summary
Amplified bottom water acidification rates on the Bering Sea shelf from 1970–2022
Darren J. Pilcher, Jessica N. Cross, Natalie Monacci, Linquan Mu, Kelly A. Kearney, Albert J. Hermann, and Wei Cheng
Biogeosciences, 22, 3103–3125, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3103-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-22-3103-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Allen, S. E. and Wolfe, M. A.: Hindcast of the timing of the spring phytoplankton bloom in the Strait of Georgia, 1968–2010, Prog. Oceanogr., 115, 6–13, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2013.05.026, 2013.
Allen, S. E., Latornell, D., Olson, E., and Pawlowicz, R.: Timing of the spring phytoplankton bloom in the Strait of Georgia, 2015 and 2016, in: State of the physical, biological and selected fishery resources of Pacific Canadian marine ecosystems in 2015, edited by: Chandler, P., King, S., and Perry, I., Can. Tech. Rep. Fish. Aquat. Sci., Canada, 3179, 147–152, 2016.
Amiotte Suchet, P., Probst, J., and Ludwig, W.: Worldwide distribution of continental rock lithology: Implications for the atmospheric/soil CO2 uptake by continental weathering and alkalinity river transport to the oceans, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 17, 1038, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GB001891, 2003.
Bianucci, L., Denman, K. L., and Ianson, D.: Low oxygen and high inorganic carbon on the Vancouver Island Shelf, J. Geophys. Res.-Ocean., 116, C07011, https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006720, 2011.
Cai, W.: Riverine inorganic carbon flux and rate of biological uptake in the Mississippi River plume, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30, 1032, https://doi.org/10.1029/2002GL016312, 2003.
Download
Short summary
Estuaries are vulnerable to ocean acidification, but present-day estuarine pH and aragonite saturation state variability are larger than in the open ocean. Using a numerical model of a large estuary and data from its primary river, we find that changes in river alkalinity relative to river carbon may determine a small but significant portion of this variability, while the majority is controlled by photosynthesis/respiration. Future watershed changes may shift the river alkalinity–carbon balance.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint