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Title: Analysis of Hypoxia and Sensitivity to Nutrient Pollution in Salish Sea

Abstract

We report that increasing levels of nutrients, persistent hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, and increased frequency of fish kills are degrading the ecological health of the Salish Sea. An improved version of a diagnostic hydrodynamic and biogeochemical model (nutrients, phytoplankton, carbon, dissolved oxygen, pH) of the Salish Sea has been developed with the ability to simulate characteristic circulation and water quality features. Sensitivity tests were conducted to assess the responsiveness of the system to land-based (rivers and wastewater sources) nutrient loading. The influence of Fraser River on the magnitude of estuarine exchange with the Pacific Ocean and nearshore habitat was examined given that it contributes nearly half of the total freshwater discharged to the Salish Sea. A large region of hypoxia in Hood Canal that extends over 30–40 km during its peak was reproduced and attributed primarily to the existence of a two-layer classic fjord-type circulation and a nearly stagnant deep bottom layer that occupies nearly 60% of the water column. Nitrate mass in the euphotic zone from land-based and oceanic sources is depleted to near-zero limiting levels during summer. Under such conditions, the Salish Sea is responsive to changes in nutrient loads entering the euphotic zone directly. Lastly, a hypotheticalmore » scenario involving the elimination of land-based nutrient sources results in notable water-quality improvement, featuring a reduction in algal biomass (≈5.4%), reduction in sediment oxygen demand (≈17.1%), and significant reduction in hypoxic area (≈39%) and exposure in area-days to bottom layer hypoxia (≈62%) within the Salish Sea.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [3]; ORCiD logo [3]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  2. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Sidney, BC (Canada)
  3. Washington State Department of Ecology, Lacey, WA (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE
OSTI Identifier:
1492413
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-135617
Journal ID: ISSN 2169-9275
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC05-76RL01830
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 123; Journal Issue: 7; Journal ID: ISSN 2169-9275
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES; 59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Citation Formats

Khangaonkar, Tarang, Nugraha, Adi, Xu, Wenwei, Long, Wen, Bianucci, Laura, Ahmed, Anise, Mohamedali, Teizeen, and Pelletier, Greg. Analysis of Hypoxia and Sensitivity to Nutrient Pollution in Salish Sea. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1029/2017JC013650.
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Khangaonkar, Tarang, Nugraha, Adi, Xu, Wenwei, Long, Wen, Bianucci, Laura, Ahmed, Anise, Mohamedali, Teizeen, & Pelletier, Greg. Analysis of Hypoxia and Sensitivity to Nutrient Pollution in Salish Sea. United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JC013650
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Khangaonkar, Tarang, Nugraha, Adi, Xu, Wenwei, Long, Wen, Bianucci, Laura, Ahmed, Anise, Mohamedali, Teizeen, and Pelletier, Greg. Fri . "Analysis of Hypoxia and Sensitivity to Nutrient Pollution in Salish Sea". United States. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JC013650. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1492413.
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@article{osti_1492413,
title = {Analysis of Hypoxia and Sensitivity to Nutrient Pollution in Salish Sea},
author = {Khangaonkar, Tarang and Nugraha, Adi and Xu, Wenwei and Long, Wen and Bianucci, Laura and Ahmed, Anise and Mohamedali, Teizeen and Pelletier, Greg},
abstractNote = {We report that increasing levels of nutrients, persistent hypoxia, harmful algal blooms, and increased frequency of fish kills are degrading the ecological health of the Salish Sea. An improved version of a diagnostic hydrodynamic and biogeochemical model (nutrients, phytoplankton, carbon, dissolved oxygen, pH) of the Salish Sea has been developed with the ability to simulate characteristic circulation and water quality features. Sensitivity tests were conducted to assess the responsiveness of the system to land-based (rivers and wastewater sources) nutrient loading. The influence of Fraser River on the magnitude of estuarine exchange with the Pacific Ocean and nearshore habitat was examined given that it contributes nearly half of the total freshwater discharged to the Salish Sea. A large region of hypoxia in Hood Canal that extends over 30–40 km during its peak was reproduced and attributed primarily to the existence of a two-layer classic fjord-type circulation and a nearly stagnant deep bottom layer that occupies nearly 60% of the water column. Nitrate mass in the euphotic zone from land-based and oceanic sources is depleted to near-zero limiting levels during summer. Under such conditions, the Salish Sea is responsive to changes in nutrient loads entering the euphotic zone directly. Lastly, a hypothetical scenario involving the elimination of land-based nutrient sources results in notable water-quality improvement, featuring a reduction in algal biomass (≈5.4%), reduction in sediment oxygen demand (≈17.1%), and significant reduction in hypoxic area (≈39%) and exposure in area-days to bottom layer hypoxia (≈62%) within the Salish Sea.},
doi = {10.1029/2017JC013650},
journal = {Journal of Geophysical Research. Oceans},
number = 7,
volume = 123,
place = {United States},
year = {Fri Jun 08 00:00:00 EDT 2018},
month = {Fri Jun 08 00:00:00 EDT 2018}
}
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Journal Article:
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Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JC013650
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Cited by: 29 works
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Figures / Tables:

Figure 1 Figure 1: Oceanographic regions of the Salish Sea (Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the Strait of Georgia) including Johnstone and Queen Charlotte Straits.
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    journal, September 2018

    • Xue, Pengfei; Schwab, David; Zhou, Xing
    • Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, Vol. 6, Issue 4
    • DOI: 10.3390/jmse6040109

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      Figures / Tables found in this record:

      Figure 1 (p. 2)figure
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      Table 1 (p. 8)table
      Figure 5 (p. 11)figure
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      Figure 7 (p. 13)figure
      Table 2 (p. 13)table
      Figure 8 (p. 14)figure
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      Figure 12 (p. 16)figure
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