Project: Importance of Riverine Discharge on the Benthic Flux of Alkalinity to Continental Margins

NSF Award Abstract
Ocean acidification is the process that lowers the pH of the ocean over time due to uptake of atmospheric carbon dioxide. This project investigates how chemical reactions in marine sediments exposed to high riverine sediment loads influence ocean acidification in coastal waters. Although we know that ocean acidification affects marine life and commercial fisheries in coastal waters, little is known about how acidification processes in the water column are influenced by reactions occurring in sediments on the sea floor. The role of large sediment deposits from rivers in these processes has also never been investigated. This study will be conducted in the Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi River transports a high sediment load to the continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico and plays an important role in the economy of the southern coast of the United States. Results from this study will be useful to the oceanographic community for increasing understanding of ocean acidification processes in delta and shelf environments. It will also benefit decision makers interested in predicting the role of sediments on the nutrient -rich Louisiana shelf for discharge control purposes. This project also has an important educational component by training undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students, providing experiences at sea for undergraduates, and conducting outreach activities with K-12 students.

The geochemical and microbiological processes responsible for the transformation of particles deposited on the seafloor will be characterized near the Mississippi River mouth and along the nearby continental slope. The release of acids (CO2) and bases (alkalinity) from the sediment will be quantified using autonomous instruments deployed on the seafloor to determine whether sediments contribute to the acidity of the surrounding water column or instead provide bases to buffer the water column from atmospheric CO2 inputs. As the Mississippi River discharge during the later Winter and Spring provides much more sediment to the coastal zone compared to the rest of the year, research cruises will be taken twice a year to determine how seasonal variations in riverine discharge affect the release of acids and bases into the water column. Mathematical models will then be used to predict the effect of seasonal variations on acids or bases release to the water column. This study will therefore provide a quantitative understanding of the role of large sediment depositions to the seafloor on sediment geochemical and microbiological processes and their feedback to the overlying waters. Simultaneously, a large data set will be generated and used to calibrate mathematical models and better characterize benthic-pelagic interactions. Such efforts are needed to predict how continental margins respond to constantly increasing stress from anthropogenic activities.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.