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    Vulnerability of coral reefs to bioerosion from land-based sources of pollution

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    Date
    2017-12-01
    Author
    Prouty, Nancy G.  Concept link
    Cohen, Anne L.  Concept link
    Yates, Kimberly K.  Concept link
    Storlazzi, Curt D.  Concept link
    Swarzenski, Peter W.  Concept link
    White, Darla  Concept link
    Metadata
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    Citable URI
    https://hdl.handle.net/1912/9534
    As published
    https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JC013264
    DOI
    10.1002/2017JC013264
    Keyword
     Submarine groundwater; Nutrients; Bioerosion; Coral reefs; Aragonite saturation; Wastewater 
    Abstract
    Ocean acidification (OA), the gradual decline in ocean pH and [ inline image] caused by rising levels of atmospheric CO2, poses a significant threat to coral reef ecosystems, depressing rates of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) production, and enhancing rates of bioerosion and dissolution. As ocean pH and [ inline image] decline globally, there is increasing emphasis on managing local stressors that can exacerbate the vulnerability of coral reefs to the effects of OA. We show that sustained, nutrient rich, lower pH submarine groundwater discharging onto nearshore coral reefs off west Maui lowers the pH of seawater and exposes corals to nitrate concentrations 50 times higher than ambient. Rates of coral calcification are substantially decreased, and rates of bioerosion are orders of magnitude higher than those observed in coral cores collected in the Pacific under equivalent low pH conditions but living in oligotrophic waters. Heavier coral nitrogen isotope (δ15N) values pinpoint not only site-specific eutrophication, but also a sewage nitrogen source enriched in 15N. Our results show that eutrophication of reef seawater by land-based sources of pollution can magnify the effects of OA through nutrient driven-bioerosion. These conditions could contribute to the collapse of coastal coral reef ecosystems sooner than current projections predict based only on ocean acidification.
    Description
    This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 122 (2017): 9319–9331, doi:10.1002/2017JC013264.
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    • Geology and Geophysics (G&G)
    Suggested Citation
    Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans 122 (2017): 9319–9331
     

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