The influence of watershed characteristics on nitrogen export to and marine fate in Hood Canal, Washington, USA

Steinberg, Peter D.; Brett, Michael T.; Bechtold, J. Scott; Richey, Jeffrey E.; Porensky, Lauren M.; Smith, S.

doi:10.1007/s10533-010-9521-7

Cited by 18 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…[Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com] Touchette 2007) is associated with human presence and increased nutrients (Seitzinger et al 2002). This is likely in part a result of the fjord-like structure of Puget Sound where nutrients are predominantly of oceanic origin and nutrients of terrestrial origin are frequently flushed from shallow nearshore areas (Mackas & Harrison 1997;Steinberg et al 2010). These results also suggest that using aggregate metrics of human impacts, such as impervious surface or human population density in associated watersheds, may not be adequate for assessing the impacts of very localized stressors, such as local nutrient sources or shoreline hardening, on nearshore habitats.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As Puget Sound is a marine‐dominated estuary, humans contribute proportionally less to marine nutrients than in many other estuarine systems (Steinberg et al . ; Mohamedali et al . ; Cope & Roberts ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Publicly available information on marine water characteristics such as nitrate, chlorophyll a, phosphate and other nutrients in Puget Sound begin in 1999 (PSEMP 2015) and are unavailable for earlier years. As Puget Sound is a marine-dominated estuary, humans contribute proportionally less to marine nutrients than in many other estuarine systems (Steinberg et al 2010;Mohamedali et al 2011;Cope & Roberts 2013).…”

Section: O V a R I A T E Smentioning

confidence: 99%

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Forty years of seagrass population stability and resilience in an urbanizing estuary

et al. 2016

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Summary Coasts and estuaries contain among the most productive and ecologically important habitats in the world and face intense pressure from current and projected human activities, including coastal development. Seagrasses are a key habitat feature in many estuaries perceived to be in widespread decline owing to human actions. We use spatio‐temporal models and a 41‐year time series from 100s of km of shoreline which includes over 160 000 observations from Puget Sound, Washington, USA, to examine multiscale trends and drivers of eelgrass (Zostera spp.) change in an urbanizing estuary. At whole estuary scale (100s of km), we find a stable and resilient eelgrass population despite a more than doubling of human population density and multiple major climactic stressors (e.g. ENSO events) over the period. However, the aggregate trend is not reflected at the site scale (10s of km), where some sites persistently increase while others decline. Site trends were spatially asynchronous; adjacent sites sometimes exhibited opposite trends over the same period. Substantial change in eelgrass occurred at the subsite (0·1 km) scale, including both complete local loss and dramatic increase of eelgrass. Metrics of local human development including shoreline armouring, upland development (imperviousness) and human density provide no explanatory power for eelgrass population change at any spatial scale. Our results suggest that the appropriate scale for understanding eelgrass change is smaller than typically assumed (approximately 1‐ to 3‐km scale) and contrasts strongly with previous work. Synthesis. Despite ongoing conservation concern over seagrasses world‐wide, eelgrass in Puget Sound has been highly resilient to both anthropogenic and environmental change over four decades. Our work provides general methods that can be applied to understand spatial and temporal scales of change and can be used to assess hypothesized drivers of change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: O V a R I A T E Smentioning

confidence: 99%

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Forty years of seagrass population stability and resilience in an urbanizing estuary

et al. 2016

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“…[], Seuna [], Shen and Liu [], Steinberg et al . [], Stover and Montgomery [], Tang et al . [], Tu [], Vardon [], Viney and Sivapalan [], Vuorenmaa et al .…”

Section: Acknowledgmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined impact of catchment size, land cover, and precipitation on streamflow and total dissolved nitrogen: A global comparative analysis

Gallo

Meixner

Aoubid

et al. 2015

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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Nitrogen (N) loading is a global stressor to fresh and salt water systems with cascading effects on ecosystem processes. However, it is unclear if generalized global response patterns exist between discharge and N sourcing and retention with respect to land cover and precipitation. Using data compiled from 78 catchments from across the world, we identified how discharge and total dissolved nitrogen (TDN) vary with precipitation and land cover and how TDN yields deviate from a generalized global response pattern. Area-weighted discharge regressions indicate that catchment size and the absence of vegetation largely control hydrologic responses. TDN concentrations and yields varied significantly (P < 0.05) with some land cover types, but these were overall poor TDN predictors (r 2 < 0.26). In 42 of 78 catchments, TDN concentrations varied independently (P > 0.05) of discharge, suggesting that these sites are less sensitive to shifts in discharge associated with global climate change, but are more sensitive to shifts in hydrologic partitioning in response to land cover change. Clustering based on precipitation and stepwise multiple linear regression analyses show a shift in TDN responses from physical transport controls on TDN sourcing at the most arid and water limited sites to climate and biologically mediated controls on TDN retention at the wetter sites. Combined, these results indicate that terrestrial systems may have differential response to changes in precipitation based on existing land use and that the impact of land use change on N fate and transport occurs within the context of climate conditions.

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“…Dissolved oxygen is a key ecosystem parameter in Puget Sound, where regions as such Hood Canal are susceptible to hypoxic events with large fish kills (Newton et al 2007;Palsson et al 2008;Khangaonkar et al 2012). The contribution of external oceanic forcing, relative to local sources and local processes causing hypoxia, is poorly constrained (Newton et al 2007;Steinberg et al 2011). It is understood that dense, low dissolved oxygen water can be upwelled from the ocean and funneled from deeper regions through the Juan de Fuca Canyon (Alford and MacCready 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting Deep Water Intrusions to Puget Sound, WA (USA), and the Seasonal Modulation of Dissolved Oxygen

Deppe

Thomson

Polagye

et al. 2017

Estuaries and Coasts

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Observations and predictions regarding oceanic intrusions at the entrance to Puget Sound, WA (USA), are presented. Four years of seabed observations at Admiralty Inlet show episodic periods high salinity, coincident with landward residual currents near the seabed. The observed residual currents are consistent with an estuarine exchange flow during minimal tidal mixing, coincident with neap currents and maximum diurnal inequalities. These subtidal intrusions can carry dense water into Puget Sound and, thereby, renew the bottom water that is trapped landward of the sill. The oxygen concentration levels of these intrusions are often low, though not hypoxic, and may influence Communicated by Carl T. Friedrichs R. Walter Deppe does not currently work at the University of Washington. The work for this project was conducted while he was a research assistant at the University of Washington. the oxygen levels in Puget Sound. The water mass properties of these intrusions are influenced strongly by regional dynamics, because the entrance to Puget Sound is connected to the open ocean via the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Coastal upwelling and discharge from the Fraser River discharge control the exchange flow in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and thus control the availability of dense water at the entrance to Puget Sound. The net effect of the tidal and regional dynamics is for intrusions with low oxygen levels to prevail in the late summer months. To predict intrusions in future years, an empirical method is developed and validated for daily application. The prediction method is based on publicly available operational data products and does not require in situ observations. In verification, 98% of intrusion events with dissolved oxygen less than 4.0 mg/L are successfully identified in a hindcast prediction for the 4-year observational record.

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The influence of watershed characteristics on nitrogen export to and marine fate in Hood Canal, Washington, USA

Cited by 18 publications

References 51 publications

Forty years of seagrass population stability and resilience in an urbanizing estuary

Forty years of seagrass population stability and resilience in an urbanizing estuary

Combined impact of catchment size, land cover, and precipitation on streamflow and total dissolved nitrogen: A global comparative analysis

Predicting Deep Water Intrusions to Puget Sound, WA (USA), and the Seasonal Modulation of Dissolved Oxygen

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