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Effects of Biophysical Processes on Diel-Cycling Hypoxia in a Subtropical Estuary

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Abstract

In shallow estuaries, fluctuations in bottom dissolved oxygen (DO) at diel (24 h) timescales are commonly attributed to cycles of net production and respiration. However, bottom DO can also be modulated by physical processes, such as tides and wind, that vary at or near diel timescales. Here, we examine processes affecting spatiotemporal variations in diel-cycling DO in Escambia Bay, a shallow estuary along the Gulf of Mexico. We collected continuous water quality measurements in the upper and middle reaches of the Bay following relatively high (> 850 m3 s−1) and low (< 175 m3 s−1) springtime freshwater discharge. Variations in diel-cycling amplitude over time were estimated using the continuous wavelet transform, and correlations between DO and biophysical processes at diel timescales were examined using wavelet coherence. Our results reveal that freshwater discharge modulated inter-annual variations in the spatial extent and duration of summertime hypoxia through its effect on vertical density stratification. In the absence of strong stratification (> 15 kg m−3), vertical mixing by tropic tides and sea breeze enhanced diel fluctuations in deeper areas near the channel, while in shallower areas the largest fluctuations were associated with irradiance. Our findings suggest that processes affecting diel-cycling DO in the bottom layer can vary over a relatively short spatial extent less than 2 km and with relatively small changes in bottom elevation of 1 m or less. Implications for water quality monitoring were illustrated by subsampling DO timeseries, which demonstrates how low-frequency measurements may misrepresent water quality in estuaries where diel-cycling DO is common. In these systems, adequate assessment of hypoxia and its aquatic life impacts requires continuous measurements that capture the variation in DO at diel timescales.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by a postdoctoral appointment to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Research Participation Program administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) through an interagency agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) and the USEPA. ORISE is managed by Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) under DOE contract number DE-SC0014664. We acknowledge the significant contributions from many individuals involved in long-term monitoring efforts of Pensacola Bay. We thank the contributions of many USEPA staff for their efforts at producing quality data in the field and lab.

Funding

This study was funded, reviewed, and approved for publication by the USEPA, Office of Research and Development, Center for Environmental Measurement and Modeling, Gulf Ecosystem Measurement and Modeling Division.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Office of Research and Development, ORISE Research Participation Program, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1 Sabine Island Dr, Gulf Breeze, FL, 32561, USA

    Melissa S. Duvall

  2. Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1 Sabine Island Dr, Gulf Breeze, FL, 32561, USA

    Brandon M. Jarvis & Yongshan Wan

  3. Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 27 Tarzwell Dr, Narragansett, RI, 02882, USA

    James D. Hagy III

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  1. Melissa S. Duvall
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Correspondence to Melissa S. Duvall.

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Communicated by Mark J. Brush

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Duvall, M.S., Jarvis, B.M., Hagy III, J.D. et al. Effects of Biophysical Processes on Diel-Cycling Hypoxia in a Subtropical Estuary. Estuaries and Coasts 45, 1615–1630 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-021-01040-y

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