Estuaries like Chesapeake Bay could contribute more to global warming than once thought

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.umces.edu/cbl/release/2016/jun/21/estuaries-chesapeake-bay-could-contribute-more-global-warming-once-thought

[font face=Serif][font size=5]Estuaries like Chesapeake Bay could contribute more to global warming than once thought[/font]
[font size=4]Study explores role of methane release during dead zone and storm events[/font]

[font size=3]SOLOMONS, MD (June 21, 2016)--We all know by now that methane is bad for the environment. It’s one of those greenhouse gases that trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere and contribute to our warming climate. It’s regularly emitted during the production and transport of coal and oil, and sometimes even cows get the blame. However, a new study finds that estuaries like the Chesapeake Bay could be contributing significantly more methane to the atmosphere than once thought. Estuaries and coastal systems are thought to be a relatively small source of atmospheric methane, as little as 3%. However, a new study from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) found that the methane building up in the Chesapeake Bay alone, if released, would be equal to the current estimates for all the estuaries in the world combined.

“This is just one estuary and there are many others that go anoxic in the summertime,” said study author Laura Lapham of UMCES’ Chesapeake Biological Laboratory. “We need to look at these eutrophic estuaries as perhaps a larger source of methane than we thought. This is a side effect of eutrophication that hasn’t been investigated in the Bay.”

Like many bodies of water, the Chesapeake Bay is overwhelmed with nutrients that cause a type of pollution called eutrophication. Every spring, an influx of nitrogen and phosphorus from lawns, farms, and sewage treatment plants runs into the water of the Bay. These nutrients feed algae as the water warms up in the summer, causing blooms that suck the oxygen out of the water, causing large areas of low oxygen (hypoxia), known as “dead zones,” that make it difficult for fish, crabs and other underwater life to live. Some areas closer to the bottom and in the surface layers of the mud may suffer from no oxygen at all (anoxic) during these periods.

Since dead zones in the coastal ocean and estuaries are expanding throughout the world, Lapham decided to look at the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States, to understand what happens to methane release in a body of water that undergoes dead zones on a regular basis.

…[/font][/font]

[elleng]

1. Lots of work being done here.

'Over the last 25 years, I have seen the Severn come a long way. We felt like this river was dying in the '80s—now to look at it just coming back to life is breathtaking.

This system—and others across the Bay—rebounding gives us hope that the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint is working. And it is only with your support that we're able to celebrate such positive signs of water quality improvement.

Click here to watch the video. Over the last 25 years, I have seen the Severn come a long way. We felt like this river was dying in the '80s—now to look at it just coming back to life is breathtaking.

This system—and others across the Bay—rebounding gives us hope that the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint is working. And it is only with your support that we're able to celebrate such positive signs of water quality improvement.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=D2ZiQ3b8GUo

We should absolutely celebrate this good news, but there's still a lot of work to do. Just last week, I was reminded of how delicate our progress truly is when an algal bloom popped up in the river, choking much of the life I had seen the week prior.

The truth is, I can take you out there on the river right now and show you things that will make you smile and clap your hands, and other things that will make you cry, all within 50 yards of each other. That's just the reality.

But we know that the work we're doing with your help is bringing good results. Now is the time to accelerate our efforts, not rest on our laurels. Thank you for helping us do just that.

We should absolutely celebrate this good news, but there's still a lot of work to do. Just last week, I was reminded of how delicate our progress truly is when an algal bloom popped up in the river, choking much of the life I had seen the week prior.

The truth is, I can take you out there on the river right now and show you things that will make you smile and clap your hands, and other things that will make you cry, all within 50 yards of each other. That's just the reality.

But we know that the work we're doing with your help is bringing good results. Now is the time to accelerate our efforts, not rest n our laurels. Thank you for helping us do just that.'