Dissolved Oxygen and pH Dynamics Coupled to Photosynthesis in Huntington Bay, Western Long Island Sound

Abstract

Abstract--- With global warming and eutrophication prompting increases in hypoxia and acidification in the oceans, it is important to understand the relationship between pH and O2 in coastal waters. In Huntington Bay (HB), an estuarine extension of western Long Island Sound, a region subject to both hypoxia and eutrophic acidification, summertime pH and O₂ are elevated in surface water during the day at the height of photosynthesis.  The high pH (8.4 - 8.6) and O₂ (10 - 16 mg L-1) water may be exported from HB into the adjacent Sound, mitigating conditions there. The effects of nighttime respiration, seasonal variations, and responses to episodic events such as storms remain to be determined.