Understanding variability and drivers of seawater inorganic carbonate chemistry across temperate nearshore marine systems in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic

In nearshore marine ecosystems, extreme seawater inorganic carbonate system variability is regulated by biogeochemical, hydrodynamic, and thermodynamic drivers. Rising CO2 emissions and other anthropogenic perturbations have led to shifting coastal carbon cycles. Given a backdrop of global change, resolving regional uncertainties in drivers and variability of seawater carbonate chemistry in nearshore systems can improve out understanding of how these systems fit into critical climate issues. This dissertation will discuss the results of three projects investigating coastal carbonate chemistry at different spatial and temporal scales in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic. (1) A publicly available inventory of Mid-Atlantic seawater carbonate system sampling sites, including all locations sampling pCO2, pH, Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC), and Total Alkalinity (TA), was created to better understand the spatial distribution of regional monitoring. (2) Seasonal and spatial DIC and TA dynamics were assessed across spatially diverse sites in the Virginia Coast Reserve (VCR). Drivers of patterns were assessed across lagoonal, inlet, and marsh adjacent sites. (3) South Bay in the VCR was examined at a higher temporal and spatial frequency to determine pH patterns in a seagrass meadow and a marsh influenced lagoon.