This study will identify the physical scenarios under which hypoxia events in Long Bay (northern coast ocean of South Carolina) may occur, and to provide insights into threshold conditions to predict the occurrence of these events. This information has been identified as critically important by the state’s coastal zone management program, the S.C. DHEC-Office of Ocean and Coastal Resources Management, which will be supporting in whole the funding for Year One of the project.
The investigators will work closely with the investigators of project R/CP-13 since the two studies complement each other and will be conducted in the same geographical area, thereby providing a more complete picture of the hypoxia issue. Specifically, the principal investigator will address the following objectives: (1) Determine the influence of the coastline configuration and bathymetric features on the location of upwelling recurrent centers; (2) Determine the role played by vertical stratification of the water column and the different forcing mechanisms (e.g., heat fluxes; wind stress) on the shoreward cold-water intrusions; (3) Characterize the contribution of Gulf Stream intrusions, estuarine runoff, river runoff, and stormwater discharge sources to stratification of nearshore waters under favorable upwelling conditions; and (4) Evaluate the relative importance of anthropogenic and oceanic sources of nutrients to hypoxia events. A non-linear 3D numerical ocean model (ROMS) will be used to simulate the inner shelf wind-driven circulation under several parameters. The model’s outputs will be compared to the major features found in the area provided by the CARO-COOPS and SEACOOS ocean observations mooring arrays, as to satellite imagery.