Project: CAREER: The Impact of Hydrologic State on CO2 Flux and Acidification in Subtropical Estuaries

NSF Award Abstract:

This project is a CAREER award to Xinping Hu at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. Hu proposes to integrate research and education in an investigation of carbon cycling and ocean acidification in the Mission-Aransas Estuary in South Texas. This coastal system is strongly affected by changes in river flow between seasons and from year to year. The relationship of changing river flows to carbon cycling in estuaries is not well understood. This lack of understanding in turn contributes to uncertainty in estimating global estuarine carbon budgets. In addition, climate change and other human activities heavily influence riverine input into estuaries and the coastal ocean, which then affect biogeochemistry and metabolism in these environments. Despite the need for this information, long-term records that can help to address the change in the strength and directions of CO2 fluxes in these ecosystems are very rare. Using high-intensity field sampling and analysis of historical data, this project aims to improve understanding of carbon cycling in this estuary and in the coastal ocean in general. The results obtained from this study will also provide key information about the biogeochemical response of estuaries to changing hydrologic conditions, as the southwestern U.S. grows drier with overall declining precipitation.

The research objectives of this project include 1) investigating the relationship between hydrologic state and estuarine CO2 partial pressure (pCO2) in a case study of the Mission-Aransas Estuary, a subtropical semiarid estuary, 2) understanding the extent of CO2 flux and its hydrologic control in one of the world's largest lagoonal estuarine systems along the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, and 3) elucidating the mechanisms that lead to estuarine acidification and its feedback to CO2 fluxes. Intensive field campaigns for high-temporal resolution pCO2 and water carbonate chemistry sampling as well as sediment incubation will be carried out; analysis of multidecadal carbonate chemistry parameters that have been collected by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality will be used to obtain temporal trends of estuarine water pCO2 against the backdrop of increasing freshwater scarcity in this region. The education component of this CAREER award includes 1) creating an ocean and estuarine acidification research course and redesigning two existing courses for both undergraduate and graduate students, 2) collaborating with Foy Moody High School on their Aquatic Science education to engage high school students predominantly from underrepresented and economically challenged backgrounds in field and lab experiences. The ultimate educational goal is to encourage high school students to follow a STEM path for their college education, and undergraduate STEM students to pursue graduate degrees. This will be a part of the concerted effort to enhance diversity in the future workforce by increasing the number of underrepresented graduates with bachelor's or higher degrees in the STEM fields. This project will train one Ph.D. student. High school students and undergraduate interns from underrepresented and economically challenged backgrounds will also be supported to participate in summer research. Broader dissemination of the project findings will include undergraduate student presentations at symposiums organized by both TAMU-CC and the Texas A&M University System, public seminars by both the graduate students and the principal investigator at various meetings organized by regional estuarine programs, presentations at national and international meetings, and publications in peer-reviewed journals.