Hypoxia in autumn of the East China Sea

Chung-Chi Chen; Gwo-Ching Gong; Wen-Chen Chou; Fuh-Kwo Shiah

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110875

Hypoxia in autumn of the East China Sea

Mar Pollut Bull. 2020 Mar:152:110875. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110875. Epub 2020 Jan 14.

Authors

Chung-Chi Chen¹, Gwo-Ching Gong², Wen-Chen Chou², Fuh-Kwo Shiah³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Life Science, National Taiwan Normal University, 88, Sec. 4, Ting-Chou Rd., Taipei 11677, Taiwan. Electronic address: ccchen@ntnu.edu.tw.
² Institute of Marine Environment and Ecology and Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 20224, Taiwan.
³ Institute of Marine Environment and Ecology and Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 20224, Taiwan.; Research Center for Environment Changes, Academia Sinica, NanKang, Taipei 11529, Taiwan.

PMID: 31957672
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110875

Abstract

Hypoxia (O₂ ≤ 2 mg L^-¹) can severely threaten the survival of marine life and alter the biogeochemical cycles of coastal ecosystems. Its impacts are dependent on its duration. In the present study, hypoxia was observed in autumn at the end of October 2011. It may be one of the latest recorded annual hypoxic events in the East China Sea (ECS). In the hypoxic regions, a large amount of nutrients and dissolved inorganic carbon were observed to regenerate. Also, acidification (low pH) was observed. On the other hand, hypoxic dissipation may be due to the destratification caused by the upwelling of the hypoxic regions in the ECS. These results suggest that hypoxia may occur for longer periods of time than expected and, accordingly, the effects of hypoxia on the ECS ecosystems should be reconsidered and further evaluated.

Keywords: Acidification; Changjiang River estuary; East China Sea; Fugacity of CO(2); Hypoxia; Nutrient regeneration.

MeSH terms

Carbon / analysis
China
Ecosystem*
Humans
Hypoxia*
Seasons

Substances

Carbon