1. Introduction Colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) is an optically active component of total dissolved organic matter (DOM), absorbing light strongly in the UV and visible spectral range, hence influencing light availability in the aquatic environments [1]. Although CDOM protects marine biota from the harmful effects of UV radiation in surface waters [2], it can also adversely affect primary production and the ecosystem health by reducing the quality and the amount of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) to phytoplankton [3,4]. In estuarine environments, CDOM is primarily of terrestrial origin and is characterized by the presence of humic acid produced by bacterial decomposition of plant litter, animals and organically rich soils [5], whereas in-situ production of CDOM by bacterial and viral decomposition, excretion, grazing, and primary production dominates in oceanic waters [6-9]. Coastal bays are important transition zones between marine and terrigenous environments supplying elevated amounts of sediments, dissolved organic matter, and nutrients to the coastal waters, making them optically complex and challenging for ocean color remote sensing applications. For example, previous studies [8,10-12] have attributed errors in satellite-based estimates of chlorophyll-a to elevated levels of CDOM in coastal waters. Barataria Bay together with the neighboring Timbalier-Terrebone Bay system has been designated as one of the 28 estuaries of natural significance by the
The increase in pollution over the past century is of little surprise to many. Mankind has made great strides in such a short time, however, with these great strides, there are consequences. With the advancement of technology and the ability to harvest different sources of energies, there has been a rise in the amount of wastes and pollution. Actions that most people don’t even consider, such as driving their car and using fertilizers are mundane actions that may not seem like much, but they too, contribute to pollution. Eventually, many types of pollution and waste make their way to the ocean. Therefore, pollution has a significant impact on the ocean and marine life.
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. About half of the Bay’s water volume comes from salt water from the Atlantic Ocean. The other half drains into the Bay from its enormous 64,000-square-mile watershed. Estuaries are among the most productive environments on earth, creating more organic matter each year than similarly-sized forests and agricultural areas. Estuaries also provide diverse habitats for wildlife and aquatic life, protect our communities against flooding, reduce pollution of waterways, and support local economies through commercial and recreational activities. Thousands of species
Even though, fertilizers are needed to supply essential nutrients to the growth of plants; an excess of them is one of the major issues contributing to pollution in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Fertilizers are mainly composed of two elements: nitrogen and phosphorus.(4) Throughout the years, millions of pounds of this nutrients are applied all around the Chesapeake Bay Watershed; everything not absorbed by the soil or taken up by plants eventually reaches the Chesapeake Bay through storm-water runoff. This nutrients end up creating algae blooms in the water, which reduce the amount of sunlight available to underwater grasses; not allowing plants to photosynthesize and produce the food they need to survive. Algae then decomposes creating dead zones killing fish and other species since oxygen is needed for any organism to live. (5)
“Since the beginning of the industrial era, the ocean has absorbed some 525 billion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere, presently around 22 million tons per day” (Ocean Portal, n.d). This number is expected to increase forevermore as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels increase and the effects of Climate Change worsen. At first, the idea of our oceans absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere may sound great, however, scientists have been quick to learn otherwise. High concentrations of carbon dioxide in oceans can have detrimental effects on the ocean chemistry and marine ecosystems (Hardt; Safina, 2008). Marine ecosystems are greatly complex and depend on every marine organism to function properly, any change can put the whole ecosystem at risk. For example, the increase of carbon dioxide in our oceans is responsible for the dissolving of “brittle star” skeletal parts, which has in effect caused food scarcity for many fish, crabs, shrimp, and other starfish (Leu, 2013). Furthermore, these marine ecosystems are very important to humans- being the primary food source for millions around the world and having an economic market worth trillions of dollars (Hardt; Safina, 2008). Part of keeping these ecosystems safe is to understand how they work and how projected changes can harm marine organisms.
Algae blooms have been an issue in the Chesapeake Bay, especially in the Baltimore Inner Harbor. Algae is a natural and critical part of the ecosystem, however in large doses it is harmful to the plants and organisms within the ecosystem. Algae blooms can block out sunlight and kill other plants in the water. Algae depends on various factors such as water, nutrients and carbon dioxide to grow. Eutrophication of the Inner Harbor has lead to algae blooms that have caused large fish kills in the past. When there is an over abundance of certain chemical nutrients eutrophication can occur. Runoff from land and farms is the main cause of excess nutrients into the water. The most common nutrients that are related to algae outbreaks are nitrate nitrogen and phosphate. In addition, a lack of dissolved oxygen can also be an indicator for the process of eutrophication and risk of an algae outbreak. A particular type of algae commonly found in Maryland is known as Prorocentrum minimum. Prorocentrum tends to cause “mahogany tides” causing water to be brown and have an odor. There has been a campaign launched by the Healthy Harbor
As humanity continues to prosper agriculturally, industrially, and in population, companies, as well as local communities, have obsessively used the Ocean to toss their waste without consequences. The formation of dead zones has been intensified by the increase runoff of fertilizers and the burning of fossil fuels. Enhanced primary production causes algae to bloom at a constant rate creating a layer near the surface. This layer acts as a roof to vegetation below resulting in a lack of oxygen which organisms use to live. According to Robert Diaz and Rutger Rosenberg, “Dead zones have now been reported from more than 400 systems, affecting a total area of more than 245,000 square kilometers, and are probably a key stressor on marine ecosystems.” Specifically, the Chesapeake Bay has been polluted to the point where areas have now been uninhabitable to marine life. Although waste disposal is a difficult issue to solve, polluting bodies of water endangers the marine life, environment, and health of organisms.
The validation analysis was made at AERONET WAVECIS (CSI-6) site, since that is the only ocean color site in the Gulf of Mexico. As AERONET station is located to the south of Terrebonne bay and close to the Mississippi River delta, we assumed that it should represent turbid water environment, at least during the Mississippi River flood condition. 19 clear sky Landsat images (100% clear sky image with no sun glint) are acquired over the AERONET station between 2011 and 2014. They included 5 Landsat-5 TM images, 8 Landsat-7 ETM+ images and 6 Landsat-8 OLI images. There are two ways to evaluate the validity of FLAASH corrected satellite observations, 1) by comparing Aerosol optical thickness (AOT) or horizontal visibility and 2) by relating surface reflectance (ρ) or water leaving radiance (Lw). In processing, Aerosol optical thickness (AOT) was obtained first just before & after the satellite overpass time and averaged to keep comparison closer to satellite measurement. MODTRAN4 code in ENVI-FLAASH is not freely available and therefore Although MODTRAN4 code in ENVI-FLAASH calculates AOT (550 nm) using image data and historical climatology, it does not provide AOT as an output product. However, FLAASH do provide horizontal visibility which can be approximately
UV radiation, such as that from the sun can be very harmful. It has been shown to cause many different mutations within cells, leading to issues for the organism such as death or disease. One of the most prevalent sources of UV radiation for humans is the sun. It’s very important for us to know the extent of cellular damage that can be caused by this radiation, as to know how harmful the sun’s rays are to us as humans. One way that the damage caused by the suns radiation can be tested is through the model organism yeast. For this lab, we exposed two different strains of yeast to UV radiation to test its affects. One strain was able to self-repair, while one was genetically altered so that it could not. Observations were recorded at
In this paper I will examine multiple perspectives in an attempt to understand the recent eutrophication of the Chesapeake Bay. Our textbook, Cambell Biology defines eutrophication as a process in which nutrients, usually phosphorus and nitrogen, are unusually present in a body of water, leading to algae blooms and accelerated growth. Anoxia is a condition in which areas of water are severely depleted of dissolved oxygen.
G., Cong-Qiang, L., WeiDong, Z., Minella, M., Vione, D., Kunshan, G., & ... Hiroshi, S. (2016). Reviews and Syntheses: Ocean acidification and its potential impacts on marine ecosystems. Biogeosciences, 13(6), 1767. doi:10.5194/bg-13-1767-2016
In 2004 The US Ocean Commission proposed several critical recommendations to address the health and management of our oceans. These recommendations range from better organization of current management offices to education of the public on issues pertaining to oceans and coastal areas. The importance of healthy oceans, waterways, and coastal areas cannot be denied. As humans we rely on these areas for food, fuel, materials for various products, and recreation just to name a few. Aside from the human aspect the health of the earth’s oceans is also bound to the air and land. Many other creatures throughout the world depend on a harmonious balance of the human species with the waters that surrounds us. The sooner we can find equilibrium with
Red-tides are caused primarily by the toxic phytoplankton “Karenia brevis”, which is found on the west Florida shelf. Scientists say that submarine groundwater provides the missing nutrients and may trigger and maintain red tides off west-central Florida (Weatherwise 2006). This type of phytoplankton has a toxin in it that can kill marine life and cause eye irritations and respiratory complications for humans and animals. Red-tides occur annually in the same area generally between August and March and were blamed for many deaths of species of fish, dolphins and other marine wildlife (Weatherwise 2006). Certain species of phytoplankton contain photosynthetic pigments that vary in color from green to brown to red, and when the algae are present in high concentrations, the water appears to be discoloured or murky, varying in color from white to almost black, normally being red or brown. (Figure 3)
The purpose of this study was to understand and based on results to support the predictable negative effects of ocean acidification on phytoplankton and projected pH values. However, changes in ocean pH did not negatively impact the productivity of phytoplankton according to the log response ratios, which compared the growth rates at projected years (2000, 2100,
Chlorophyll-a is a specific form of Chlorophyll, used in oxygenic photosynthesis. Measurement and determination of this parameter are the basic analysis to evaluate the characteristics of algae blooms in many research works in the world. Unfortunately, Chlorophyll-a represents just the whole quantity of photosynthesis pigment released from all algae and micro-plants present in water, hence it cannot help to distinguish cyanobacteria existence among all living micro plants and algae in the waterbody. To be able to define and confirm the existence of Cyanobacteria species in the composition of aquatic microalgae, another pigment form, Phycocyanin, is used. Phycocyanin is the pigment, which differs cyanobacteria species from another planktonic species, and could give us a real picture of quantity of cyanobacterial genera in the water. Phycocyanin is actually a pigment-protein complex from the light-harvesting phycobiliprotein family, along with allophycocyanin and phycoerythrin. It is considered as an accessory pigment to
As you may know, a estuary, particularly is a enclosed body of water aside the coast where freshwater from rivers and streams intertwine with the salt water from the ocean. As a matter of fact, estuaries are "places of transition from land to sea and freshwater to salt water." An estuary is a partially enclosed body of water formed where freshwater from rivers and streams flows into the ocean, mixing with the salty sea water. Estuaries and the lands surrounding them are places of transition from land to sea, and from fresh to salt water. Influenced by the tides, estuaries are protected and kept safe from the "full force of ocean waves, winds, and storms by the reefs, barrier islands, or fingers of land, mud, or sand that define an estuary