River to Reef: What is controlling coastal carbonate chemistry in a tropical marine environment?

The coastal ocean, the interface between the land and sea is a key environment for the biogeochemical cycling of carbon, yet these heterogeneous environments are historically under sampled. It is now becoming apparent that anthropogenic CO2 induced ocean acidification is an open ocean syndrome and that ocean acidification in the coastal environments is far more complex. In the coastal ocean several processes will drive CO2 trends, such as seawater temperature, biological processes, residence time and air to sea gas exchange. We investigate the distribution and fate of inorganic carbon in a tropical coastal environment, influenced by riverine discharge and local marine habitats – coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves. The Belize River, which drains the largest catchment in Belize, discharges just north of Belize City and is a source of high pCO2 (>2000 µatm) water to the coastal environment. We investigate the process that occur once this low pH (arag 2 to the atmosphere and high rates of photosynthesis taking place, likely from benthic seagrass beds.
The 28th IUGG General Assembly (IUGG2023) (Berlin 2023)