Category: News (Page 2 of 6)

Neuse River Estuary Conditions

Hi all,

I’m playing catch up again.

Conditions on 18 August were about as stratified as they get in the Neuse. From New Bern to the mouth bottom water salinities were more than 10 ppt greater than at the surface. The pycnocline increased in depth from about 2 meters at New Bern to 5 m at the mouth, and waters below the pycnocline were hypoxic/anoxic along that whole stretch. Overall, chl-a levels were low but there was a broad zone of moderate 10-20 ug/L at the surface that extended from station 60 to station 140. A subsurface, thin layer of chl-a > 40 ug/L was observed at station 70. (image below)

 

After ~20 kt winds from 14-15 Sep. and continued ~15 kt winds on 16 Sep, the estuary was much more mixed on 16 Sep. There were pockets of stratification and hypoxia near New Bern and near the bend at stations 100 and 120. These pockets of hypoxia were associated with waters that were warmer than surface waters and saltier than downstream bottom waters. It’s not unusual for bottom waters to be warmer than surface waters during the fall as the surface loses heat to a cooling atmosphere. It is weird to see higher salinity upstream, and may reflect cross channel variability that isn’t being captured by our down-channel transect.  Chl-a was moderate (10-20 ug/L) from New Bern to the mouth. (image below)

 

On Monday 28 Sep, the estuary was highly stratified again. Bottom waters were 2 mg/L or less from New Bern to about station 70 and were ~4 or less from station 70 to the mouth. A broad zone of elevated surface chl-a was observed from station 60 to station 140, with a surface maximum of ~40 ug/L at station 100. Downstream of station 100, maximum biomass occurred as a subsurface maximum at 1 to 2 m depth. Two days later on 30 Sep., a fish kill was reported on Flanners Beach. Water from the location of the kill contained high concentrations of the potentially harmful raphidophyte species, Heterosigma akashiwo. Microscopic observation of surface water from station 100 contained very few Heterosigma akashiwo cells. The community was primarily cryptophytes, dinoflagellates, and small diatoms that are typical for this time of year and not known to harm fish. During an unrelated sampling trip on 2 Oct., I observed an ongoing fish kill near the mouth of Slocum Cr. There was a mix of actively dying and menhaden that had been dead for a day or two. I microscopically examined water samples collected from the fish kill area and from the Neuse outside the fish kill area. Low concentrations of Heterosigma akashiwo were present but the low observed concentrations have not been previously related to fish kills. (image below)

Stay well,

Nathan

Importance of monitoring

The June July August 2020 issue of All Animals included an article about the necessity of local water quality monitoring, specifically monitoring for cyanobacteria. Some cyanobacteria is toxic, whether inhaled, consumed, or touched as seen in the case of this article. In the Paerl Lab, we have monitored for cyanobacteria in multiple ways to help maintain healthy waterways throughout the past few decades.  This sad story in the All Animals issue occurred not far from our local area, so please stress to your local, state, and federal government the need to improve and maintain our waterways through funded reserach!

Dr. Paerl spoke with Spectrum News

Dr. Paerl spoke with Spectrum News about how major storm events are not only becoming more frequent, but precipitation is also increasing. Lasting impacts are observed in waterways as they receive nutrients washed away from the land causing increased and fast algal growth.

Dr. Paerl suggests to “make sure your septic system is working really well. Not over fertilizing your lawns, especially not ahead of a major storm event” to prevent excessive nutrient run-off and algal growth in waters we drink, play in, and enjoy.

Summer 2020 bioassay

The Paerl lab conducted a bioassay from the Chowan area this week headed by graduate student Malcolm Barnard (front left)!

Exciting results to come! Stay tuned to Malcolm’s website for updates and future publications!

Wei Jin farewell

Good-bye Wei Jin! The Paerl lab has had the pleasure of having visiting Phd Student, Wei Jin, from China for the past two years. We are sad to see you go and wish you the best as you finish your degree back home. Safe travels!

 

Neuse River update

Hi all,

August 5th was a couple days after Hurricane Isaias made landfall and tracked across the Neuse River watershed.  On August 5th, stratification was much weaker than two week’s prior. It appears that the major impact of Isaias was wind mixing. Hypoxic/ anoxic bottom waters were not observed. There wasn’t a lot of precipitation associated with Isaias and that’s reflected in the moderate salinity levels and the salt wedge extending upstream all the way to New Bern. There were moderate intensity (chl a ~30 ug/L) subsurface peaks in chlorophyll a at stations 60 and 120.

Since, August 5th the Neuse flow has steadily increased to near flood stages. Part of this may be due to Isaias but most is likely due to a rash of high precip. thunderstorms centered over the upper Neuse basin. We’ll see how the estuary responds to the flow increase during the next sampling.

Stay well,

Nathan

Neuse River Update

Hi all,

The recent dry conditions have allowed salinity to creep up to New Bern in the bottom waters. The estuary is still highly stratified from New Bern downstream to station 120. True anoxic conditions occurred from New Bern to station 100, just upstream of the bend at Minnesott/ Cherry Branch. Bottom waters in this area smelled strongly of sulfur indicating that there was essentially no oxygen present. Elevated chlorophyll a occurred at the surface at station 50, and as a subsurface chlorophyll maximum downstream to station 120. Microscopic observation of surface water from station 50 indicated the bloom was a mix of small centric diatoms and nanoflagellates. The nanoflagellates were hard to identify but their morphology wasn’t consistent with any types of particular concern, e.g. toxin producing dinoflagellates.

Stay well,

Nathan

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2024 The Paerl Lab

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑