Nature Communications (Aug 2017)

Redox reactions and weak buffering capacity lead to acidification in the Chesapeake Bay

  • Wei-Jun Cai,
  • Wei-Jen Huang,
  • George W. Luther,
  • Denis Pierrot,
  • Ming Li,
  • Jeremy Testa,
  • Ming Xue,
  • Andrew Joesoef,
  • Roger Mann,
  • Jean Brodeur,
  • Yuan-Yuan Xu,
  • Baoshan Chen,
  • Najid Hussain,
  • George G. Waldbusser,
  • Jeffrey Cornwell,
  • W. Michael Kemp

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-00417-7
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

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The potential contribution of redox reactions to acidification in coastal waters is unclear. Here, using measurements from the Chesapeake Bay, the authors show that pH minimum occurs at mid-depths where acids are produced via hydrogen sulfide oxidation in waters mixed upward from anoxic depths.