In:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 98, No. 10 ( 2001-05-08), p. 5655-5660
Abstract:
Three sequential hurricanes, Dennis, Floyd, and Irene,
affected coastal North Carolina in September and October 1999. These hurricanes inundated the region with up to 1 m of rainfall,
causing 50- to 500-year flooding in the watershed of the Pamlico Sound, the largest lagoonal estuary in the United States and a key West
Atlantic fisheries nursery. We investigated the ecosystem-level impacts on and responses of the Sound to the floodwater discharge. Floodwaters
displaced three-fourths of the volume of the Sound, depressed salinity by a similar amount, and delivered at least half of the typical annual
nitrogen load to this nitrogen-sensitive ecosystem. Organic carbon concentrations in floodwaters entering Pamlico Sound via a major
tributary (the Neuse River Estuary) were at least 2-fold higher than concentrations under prefloodwater conditions. A cascading set of
physical, chemical, and ecological impacts followed, including strong vertical stratification, bottom water hypoxia, a sustained increase in
algal biomass, displacement of many marine organisms, and a rise in fish disease. Because of the Sound's long residence time (≈1 year),
we hypothesize that the effects of the short-term nutrient enrichment could prove to be multiannual. A predicted increase in the frequency of
hurricane activity over the next few decades may cause longer-term biogeochemical and trophic changes in this and other estuarine and
coastal habitats.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0027-8424
,
1091-6490
DOI:
10.1073/pnas.101097398
Language:
English
Publisher:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publication Date:
2001
detail.hit.zdb_id:
209104-5
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1461794-8
SSG:
11
SSG:
12
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