Analysis of dissolved oxygen data shows that dissolved oxygen levels fell below a state standard 11 days earlier on average in 2023 than in two decades previously in Buzzards Bay.
The analysis—appearing in the latest issue of Springer Nature’s Estuaries and Coasts—shows that temperatures also exceeded 68°F about 11 days earlier and stayed warm 11 days later than in 2000 on average.
Marine life needs abundant dissolved oxygen to grow and flourish. Low dissolved oxygen is a pervasive problem in estuaries surrounded by suburban, urban, and agricultural areas around the world because of excess nutrients such as nitrogen.
With our three-decade long water quality dataset, the Coalition scientists, working in partnership with scientists from the Woodwell Climate Research Center and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution were able to examine the seasonality and distribution of oxygen levels. “This type of long-term analysis is only possible because year after year Coalition staff and dedicated Baywatcher volunteers have made dissolved oxygen measurements every summer,” says Tony Williams, Director of Monitoring Programs.
As climate and environmental conditions change, the seasonality of low dissolved oxygen is also shifting, “With warmer waters and dissolved oxygen decreasing earlier in the year, Buzzards Bay marine life is being exposed longer periods of lower dissolved oxygen,” says Kristin Huizenga, Postdoctoral Researcher. As Buzzards Bay continues to warm, nutrient reduction will become an increasingly important tool for combatting degrading water quality in the region.
To read the report, go here.
