Award Abstract # 0825466
Collaborative Research: Regulation of Phytoplankton Dynamics in Mid-Atlantic Estuaries Subject to Climatic Perturbations.

NSF Org: OCE
Division Of Ocean Sciences
Recipient: UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHAPEL HILL
Initial Amendment Date: July 10, 2008
Latest Amendment Date: July 10, 2008
Award Number: 0825466
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: David Garrison
OCE
 Division Of Ocean Sciences
GEO
 Directorate For Geosciences
Start Date: October 1, 2008
End Date: September 30, 2013 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $299,312.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $299,312.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2008 = $299,312.00
History of Investigator:
  • Hans Paerl (Principal Investigator)
    hans_paerl@unc.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
104 AIRPORT DR STE 2200
CHAPEL HILL
NC  US  27599-5023
(919)966-3411
Sponsor Congressional District: 04
Primary Place of Performance: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
104 AIRPORT DR STE 2200
CHAPEL HILL
NC  US  27599-5023
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
04
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): D3LHU66KBLD5
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): BIOLOGICAL OCEANOGRAPHY
Primary Program Source: 01000809DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s): 0000, OTHR
Program Element Code(s): 1650
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.050

ABSTRACT

Climatic perturbations by drought-flood cycles, tropical storms, and hurricanes are increasingly important in Mid-Atlantic estuaries, leading to ecosystem-scale responses of the plankton system with significant trophic implications. Recent observations support an emerging paradigm that climate dominates nutrient enrichment in these ecosystems, explaining seasonal and interannual variability of phytoplankton floral composition, biomass (chl-a), and primary production (PP). This project will evaluate this paradigm in the two largest estuaries in the United States, Chesapeake Bay (CB) and Albemarle-Pamlico Sound-Neuse River Estuary (APS-NRE) by quantifying responses to climatic perturbations. This project will: (1) resolve long-term trends of plankton biomass/production from high variability driven by climatic forcing, such as drought-flood cycles that generate significant departures from the norm; (2) quantify the role of episodic wind and precipitation events, such as those associated with frontal passages, tropical storms, and hurricanes, that evoke consequential spikes of biomass/production outside the resolution of traditional methods. The field program will focus on event-scale forcing of phytoplankton dynamics by collecting shipboard, aircraft remote sensing, and satellite (SeaWiFS, MODIS-A) data, analyzing extensive monitoring data for CB and APS-NRE to develop context, and quantifying effects of climatic perturbations on phytoplankton dynamics as departures from long-term averages. The rapid-response sampling will be paired with numerical simulations using coupled hydrodynamic biogeochemical models based on the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). This combination of observations and modeling will be used to explore mechanistic links and test empirical relationships obtained from field data.

Intellectual Merit. Drought-flood cycles, tropical storms, and hurricanes are occurring at increasing severity and frequency, exerting significant pressures on land margin ecosystems. Research and monitoring in these ecosystems has focused singularly on eutrophication for nearly five decades. Recognition of climatic perturbations as the underlying cause of phytoplankton variability represents a significant departure from this singular focus. This project will combine observations and modeling to significantly extend our knowledge of how climate regulates phytoplankton dynamics in estuaries. Progress in calibrating and validating hydrodynamic biogeochemical models with data collected in CB and APS-NRE by this project will lead to predictive capabilities thus far unattained, allowing us to evaluate the paradigm that climatic perturbations regulate phytoplankton dynamics in estuaries.

Broader Impacts: Addressing the effects of climatic perturbations on phytoplankton dynamics in estuaries with a combination of data collection, analysis, and mechanistic modeling has societal benefits for scientists and resource managers. Applications in addition to ?basic? science include the consideration of climatic forcing in designing effective nutrient management strategies. Specific impacts include: (1) quantifying the effects of climatic perturbations on planktonic processes for important estuarine-coastal ecosystems; (2) extending empirically-based water quality criteria forward by enabling predictions of floral composition, chl-a, and PP in changing climate conditions; (3) combining observations and mechanistic models to support scenario analysis, allowing us to distinguish long-term trends from variability imposed by climate. This project will offer a graduate course in physical transport processes and plankton productivity that will benefit from this research, support two Ph.D. students, and train undergraduates in NSF REU and minority outreach programs at HPL-UMCES and IMS-UNC. The main products will be peer-reviewed publications and presentations at scientific meetings. The three PIs maintain active web sites that will be used to distribute results and data.

PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH

Note:  When clicking on a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) number, you will be taken to an external site maintained by the publisher. Some full text articles may not yet be available without a charge during the embargo (administrative interval).

Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from this site.

(Showing: 1 - 10 of 28)
H W. Paerl and B.L. Peierls "Ecological Responses of the Neuse River?Pamlico Sound Estuarine Continuum to a Period of Elevated Hurricane Activity: Impacts of Individual Storms and Longer Term Trends." American Fisheries Society Symposium , v.64 , 2008 , p.101
R.W. Howarth and H.W. Paerl "Coastal Marine Eutrophication: Control of both Nitrogen and Phosphorus is Necessary." Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA , v.105 , 2008 , p.E103
Conley, D., H. W. Paerl, R. W. Howarth, D. F. Boesch, S. P. Seitzinger, K. E. Havens, C. Lancelot, and G. E. Likens. "Controlling eutrophication by reducing both nitrogen and phosphorus." Science , v.323 , 2009 , p.1015
Paerl, H.W. and J. Huisman. "Climate Change: A Catalyst for Global Expansion of Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms." Environmental Microbiology Reports , v.1 , 2008 , p.27
Paerl, H.W. "Controlling eutrophication along the freshwater-marine continuum: Dual nutrient (N and P) reductions are essential." Estuaries and Coasts , v.32 , 2009 , p.593
Paerl, H.W., K.L. Rossignol, Nathan S. Hall, B.L. Peierls, and Michael S. Wetz. "Phytoplankton community indicators of short- and long-term ecological change in the anthropogenically and climatically impacted Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina, USA." Estuaries and Coasts , 2009 DOI 10.1007/s12237-009-9137-0
Paerl, H.W., K.L. Rossignol, Nathan S. Hall, B.L. Peierls, and Michael S. Wetz. "Phytoplankton community indicators of short- and long-term ecological change in the anthropogenically and climatically impacted Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina, USA." Estuaries and Coasts , v.33 , 2010 , p.485
McMillan, S.K., M.F. Piehler, S.P. Thompson and H.W. Paerl "Denitrification of nitrogen released from scenescing algal biomass in coastal agricultural headwater streams" J. Environ. Quality , v.39 , 2010 , p.274
Peierls, B.L., and H.W. Paerl "Temperature, organic matter, and the control of bacterioplankton in the Neuse River and Pamlico Sound estuarine system." Aquatic Microbial Ecology , v.69 , 2010 , p.139
Gaulke, A.K., M.S. Wetz and H.W. Paerl "Picophytoplankton: A major contributor to planktonic biomass and primary production in a eutrophic, river-dominated estuary" Estuarine Coastal Shelf Science , v.90 , 2010 , p.45
Wetz, M.S, E. Hutchinson, R.S. Lunetta, H.W. Paerl and J.C. Taylor. "Severe droughts reduce estuarine planktonic productivity with cascading effects on higher trophic levels." Limnology and Oceanography , v.56 , 2011 , p.672
(Showing: 1 - 10 of 28)

Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.

Print this page

Back to Top of page