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Estuaries 101 A Brief Introduction to Natural and Human-Induced Processes in Estuaries

Estuaries 101 A Brief Introduction to Natural and Human-Induced Processes in Estuaries. Jonathan Pennock University of New Hampshire Marine Program, NH Sea Grant & Jackson Estuarine Laboratory. What Are Estuaries and Why Should We Care About Them?.

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Estuaries 101 A Brief Introduction to Natural and Human-Induced Processes in Estuaries

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  1. Estuaries 101A Brief Introduction to Natural and Human-Induced Processes in Estuaries Jonathan Pennock University of New Hampshire Marine Program, NH Sea Grant & Jackson Estuarine Laboratory

  2. What Are Estuaries and Why Should We Care About Them? • Semi-enclosed bodies of water where fresh water & salt water mix… • Estuaries are critical habitats for many ecologically and economically important coastal species… • Estuaries are natural biological and geochemical reactors… • While net flow is almost always from the land to the sea, tidal influences and often two-layered flow tend to retain materials in estuaries… • In most, but not all estuaries, freshwater input from the watershed is the major source of nutrients, contaminants, suspended sediments, etc… • The sources of these inputs varies, however, with ‘point-sources’ from specified inputs and ‘non-point sources’ from varied sources such as precipitation, agriculture, septic tanks and groundwater contributing… • Different estuaries have differing capacities to cope with human perturbations based on their physical and geological make-up…

  3. What are the Most Critical Factors Impacting Estuaries? • Habitat Loss • Bacterial Contamination • Chemical Contaminants • Loss of Keystone Species • Sediment Inputs • Nutrient Over-Enrichment • Micro-algae and Macro-algae Overgrowth • Hypoxia & Anoxia

  4. NOAA Eutrophication Model Bricker 1999

  5. EutrophicationPositive Versus Negative Effects Oligotrophic Mesotrophic Eutrophic Dystrophic Phytoplankton Zooplankton Pelagic Fish Bottom Oxygen Benthos Benthic Fish

  6. Population Increase Adapted from Nixon, 1994

  7. Land Clearing

  8. Land Clearing& Agriculture

  9. Fertilizer Production Adapted from Nixon, 1994

  10. Intensive Agriculture

  11. Point Source Inputs

  12. Headlines from Other Regions [We are Not Alone in Our Concerns…]

  13. A Case Study In Nutrient Biogeochemistry Research Mobile Bay, Alabama – Sorting Through Variability Mobile Bay

  14. NOAA Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment Bricker 1999

  15. Environmental Protection Agency

  16. Thank You!

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