RAPID: Capturing the Signature of Hurricane Harvey on Texas Coastal Lagoons

飓风哈维于2017年8月25日在德克萨斯州科珀斯克里斯蒂东北约30英里处登陆，为4级飓风，风速高达每小时130英里。这是自1961年卡拉以来袭击德克萨斯州中部海岸的最强飓风。风暴和风暴潮过后，由于风暴在德克萨斯州又持续了四天，沿海发生了洪水，休斯顿附近的降雨量高达50英寸。这将造成得克萨斯州海岸有史以来最大的洪水之一，据估计，这将是千年一遇的洪水。得克萨斯州海岸的特点是障碍岛后面的泻湖，其生态和生物地球化学受到海岸水文的强烈影响。由于这条海岸线主要是开放水域系统，生产力是由淡水流入的数量驱动的，飓风哈维代表着一次大规模的流入事件，可能会给沿海环境带来巨大的变化。因此，碳、营养和氧气的生物地球化学循环将如何改变，是否会发生大规模的浮游植物水华，当这些系统变成湖泊时，河口物种是否会死亡，以及恢复需要多长时间，这些问题就产生了。调查人员开展这项研究的独特位置不仅是因为他们的位置，就在风暴路径的南边，最重要的是，因为首席调查人员在过去30年里定期对这些海湾进行采样，为解释收集的新数据提供了巨大的背景。从这项研究中获得的知识将使人们更广泛地了解类似的高强度降雨事件的影响，这些降雨事件的频率和/或强度预计将在未来增加。主要的研究假设是：流入河口的增加将导致无机和有机物质负荷的增加，这反过来将推动初级生产和生物反应，同时显著增强沿海蓝碳的呼吸。第二种假设是：盐度和溶解氧的巨大变化将杀死或加重许多河口和海洋生物的压力。为了验证这些假设，有必要测量生物地球化学过程和生物多样性变化的关键指标的时间变化。因此，将测量碳、氮和氧循环的变化以及底栖生物的多样性，并将其与现有基线进行比较。PIS建议对拉瓦卡-科罗拉多河口、瓜达卢佩河口、努埃克斯河口和马德雷湖河口进行如下采样：1)连续采样(通过自动仪器)盐度、温度、pH、溶解氧和深度(即潮汐高度)；2)每周至每月采样溶解有机碳和总有机碳、有机氮、碳酸盐系统参数、营养物质和浮游植物群落组成；3)每季度测量沉积物特征和底栖动物。该项目将支持两名研究生。私人投资机构将通过现有的合作向公众和州政府机构传达结果。

Hurricane Harvey made landfall Friday 25 August 2017 about 30 miles northeast of Corpus Christi, Texas as a Category 4 hurricane with winds up to 130 mph. This is the strongest hurricane to hit the middle Texas coast since Carla in 1961. After the wind storm and storm surge, coastal flooding occurred due to the storm lingering over Texas for four more days, dumping as much as 50 inches of rain near Houston. This will produce one of the largest floods ever to hit the Texas coast, and it is estimated that the flood will be a one in a thousand year event. The Texas coast is characterized by lagoons behind barrier islands, and their ecology and biogeochemistry are strongly influenced by coastal hydrology. Because this coastline is dominated by open water systems and productivity is driven by the amount of freshwater inflow, Hurricane Harvey represents a massive inflow event that will likely cause tremendous changes to the coastal environments. Therefore, questions arise regarding how biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nutrients, and oxygen will be altered, whether massive phytoplankton blooms will occur, whether estuarine species will die when these systems turn into lakes, and how long recovery will take? The investigators are uniquely situated to mount this study not only because of their location, just south of the path of the storm, but most importantly because the lead investigator has conducted sampling of these bays regularly for the past thirty years, providing a tremendous context in which to interpret the new data gathered. The knowledge gained from this study will provide a broader understanding of the effects of similar high intensity rainfall events, which are expected to increase in frequency and/or intensity in the future. The primary research hypothesis is that: Increased inflows to estuaries will cause increased loads of inorganic and organic matter, which will in turn drive primary production and biological responses, and at the same time significantly enhance respiration of coastal blue carbon. A secondary hypothesis is that: The large change in salinity and dissolved oxygen deficits will kill or stress many estuarine and marine organisms. To test these hypotheses it is necessary to measure the temporal change in key indicators of biogeochemical processes, and biodiversity shifts. Thus, changes to the carbon, nitrogen and oxygen cycles, and the diversity of benthic organisms will be measured and compared to existing baselines. The PIs propose to sample the Lavaca-Colorado, Guadalupe, Nueces, and Laguna Madre estuaries as follows: 1) continuous sampling (via autonomous instruments) of salinity, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and depth (i.e. tidal elevation); 2) bi-weekly to monthly sampling for dissolved and total organic carbon and organic nitrogen, carbonate system parameters, nutrients, and phytoplankton community composition; 3) quarterly measurements of sediment characteristics and benthic infauna. The project will support two graduate students. The PIs will communicate results to the public and to state agencies through existing collaborations.