Oxygenation of a karst subterranean estuary during a tropical cyclone: Mechanisms and implications for the carbon cycle
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Abstract
Seasonal precipitation affects carbon turnover and methane accumulation in karst subterranean estuaries, the region of coastal carbonate aquifers where hydrologic and biogeochemical processes regulate material exchange between the land and ocean. However, the impact that tropical cyclones exert on subsurface carbon cycling within karst landscapes is poorly understood. Here, we present 5-month-long hydrologic and chemical records from 1 and 2 km inland from the coastline within the Ox Bel Ha Cave System in the northeastern Yucatan Peninsula. The record encompasses wet and dry seasons and includes the impact of rainfall during the development of Tropical Storm Hanna in October 2014. Methane accumulated in highest concentrations at the inland site, especially during the wet season preceding the storm. Intense rainfall led to episodic increases in water level and salinity shifts at both sites, indicating a spatially widespread hydrologic response. The most profound storm effect was a ~ 0.8 mg L−1 pulse of dissolved oxygen that declined to zero within 2 weeks and corresponded with a reduction of methane. A positive shift in methane's stable carbon isotope content from −62.6‰ ± 0.6‰ before the storm to −44.0‰ ± 2.4‰ after the storm indicates microbial methane oxidation was a mechanism for the loss of groundwater methane. Post-storm methane concentrations did not recover to pre-storm levels during the observation period, suggesting tropical cyclones have long-lasting (months) effects on the carbon cycle. Compared to seasonal effects, mixing and oxygen inputs during storm-induced hydrologic forcing have an outsized biogeochemical influence within stratified coastal aquifers.
Study Area
Publication type | Article |
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Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Title | Oxygenation of a karst subterranean estuary during a tropical cyclone: Mechanisms and implications for the carbon cycle |
Series title | Limnology & Oceanography |
DOI | 10.1002/lno.12231 |
Volume | 67 |
Issue | 12 |
Year Published | 2022 |
Language | English |
Publisher | Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography |
Contributing office(s) | Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center |
Description | 15 p. |
First page | 2691 |
Last page | 2705 |
Country | Mexico |
Other Geospatial | Ox Bel Ha Cave System, Yucatan Peninsula |
Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |