RAPID: Collaborative Research: Carbon and nutrient responses in an estuarine-coastal complex impacted by floodwaters from Hurricane Matthew

该项目是一项快速反应努力，旨在调查飓风马修的极端洪灾事件对沿海碳和营养元素循环的影响。研究人员旨在通过测量纽兹河口-帕米利科湾(NRE-PS)沿海生态系统中的碳、氮和磷负荷来提高我们对河口和沿海系统如何应对极端事件的理解。NRE-PS是检查飓风马修对沿海环境造成的影响的紧急研究地点，因为它位于发生过的最严重洪水的下游，而且它位于北大西洋“飓风路径”上，可能会受到未来极端事件的影响。此外，它也是该系统的一项长期监测方案--纽兹河河口建模和监测方案的重点，该方案于1993年启动。这一日期意义重大，因为它先于最近大西洋热带气旋活动的增加，并能够捕捉到影响北卡罗来纳州海岸的主要风暴的生物地球化学和生态影响，包括飓风弗兰(1996年)、弗洛伊德(1999年)、伊莎贝尔(2003年)和艾琳(2011年)。在这些正在进行的观测中纳入对飓风马修洪水的密集采样，将能够比较一场主要热带风暴造成的物质流入这一沿海环境的情况，并提供与其他沿海环境的比较。这项工作的结果将通过每个调查员研究计划的现有外展努力广泛传达给当地和地区资源经理、监管机构和其他利益相关者。营养物质负荷将是利益相关者的关键信息，因为纽斯河口是EPA 303(D)列出的氮受损航道。项目成果可以帮助理解极端天气事件对生态系统扰动的影响，并为沿海碳通量估计提供信息。在本项目背景下需要解决的具体问题包括：1)沿海碳和氮收支如何应对热带风暴和飓风造成的洪水？2)这种材料的生物和光化学反应活性是什么？第一个问题可以通过一个相对较短但激烈的观察期来回答，就像这里所建议的那样。第二个问题在碳通量、食物网反应和其他生态系统过程方面与气候具有潜在的遥相关关系，需要进行更长时间的研究。然而，问题2可以通过对为回答问题1而建议的短而密集的采样期内收集的样本的进一步研究来回答。本项目中提出的工作将导致对关键成分的通量和储存量的估计，如溶解无机碳(DIC)、溶解和颗粒有机碳和氮(DOC、POC、DON、PON)以及N和P营养物质，以及叶绿素生物量和色素分析。

This project constitutes a rapid-response effort to investigate the effects of the extreme flooding event of Hurricane Matthew on coastal cycling of carbon and nutrient elements. The investigators aim to improve our understanding of how estuaries and coastal systems respond to extreme events by measuring carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus loading into the Neuse River Estuary-Pamlico Sound (NRE-PS) coastal ecosystem. The NRE-PS is the urgent study site to examine resulting effects of Hurricane Matthew on coastal environments because it is downstream of the most intense flooding that occurred, and it is located on the North Atlantic "hurricane track", likely to be impacted by future extreme events. Furthermore, it is the focus of a long-term monitoring program in that system, the Neuse River Estuary Modeling and Monitoring Program (ModMon), which was initiated in 1993. That date is significant because it preceded a recent rise in Atlantic tropical cyclone activity and has been able to capture the biogeochemical and ecological effects of major storms that have impacted the NC coast, including Hurricanes Fran (1996), Floyd (1999), Isabel (2003), and Irene (2011). Incorporating intensive sampling of the Hurricane Matthew flooding in the context of these ongoing observations will enable a comparison of the material fluxes into this coastal environment resulting from a major tropical storm and provide a comparison with other coastal environments. Outcomes of this work will be communicated widely via existing outreach efforts of each investigator's research programs to local and regional resource managers, regulators, and other stakeholders. Nutrient loading will be critical information for stakeholders because the Neuse Estuary is an EPA 303(d) listed waterway impaired for nitrogen. Project results can aid in understanding the effects of extreme weather events on ecosystem disturbances and inform coastal carbon flux estimates.Specific questions to be addressed in the context of this project include: 1) How do coastal carbon and nitrogen budgets respond to floodwaters from tropical storms and hurricanes? 2) What is the biological and photochemical reactivity of this material? The first question can be answered via a relatively short, yet intense, period of observations, such as is proposed here. The second question, which has potential teleconnections to climate in terms of carbon fluxes, food web responses, and other ecosystems processes, requires a longer duration study. However, Question 2 could be answered by further study of samples collected during a short and intense period of sampling proposed to answer Question 1. Work proposed in this project will result in estimates of fluxes and reservoirs of key constituents such as dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), dissolved and particulate organic carbon and nitrogen (DOC, POC, DON, PON), and N and P nutrients, as well as chlorophyll biomass and pigment analyses.