Events

Estuaries exhibit high variability in salinity and carbonate chemistry due to diverse sources and processes. This study of the Mission-Aransas Estuary in the Gulf of Mexico found that extreme weather events, like the 2021 freeze, increase CO2 outgassing due to enhanced remineralization of organic carbon from mangrove dieback. The research highlights how such events impact estuarine carbonate chemistry, contributing to their role as significant CO2 sources.

Climate change affects productivity in aquatic ecosystems by altering hydrological and nutrient cycles, which impacts chlorophyll concentration, a measure of phytoplankton abundance. This study examined the relationship between river discharge variability and chlorophyll concentration over 15 years in the Gulf of Mexico, finding significant correlations with major rivers but not with smaller ones, indicating seasonal and interannual variations driven by climate patterns.