Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone: Science Plan and Implementation Strategy Page: 370,031
60 p.View a full description of this text.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
LUl_,L cience llan and Implementation Strategy
modelling will lead rapidly to advances in biogeochemi-
cal ocean assessment and forecasting that should prove
useful to LOICZ.
Given these advances, LOICZ explicitly aims to go
beyond assessments and estimates of current biogeo-
chemical budgets, and develop tools and methods
for predicting the response of coastal biogeochemical
systems to local and global forcing. However, there are
reasons to be more cautious in expecting rapid advances
for biogeochemical prediction:
* biogeochemical processes are inherently com-
plex, and any process model is a highly simpli-
fied abstract of the real world;
* understanding of some key processes (e.g. deni-
trification and nitrogen fixation) is still very
limited; and
* there is no tradition in biogeochemical model-
ling of rigorous statistical evaluation- partly
because of the inherent complexity.
Science Gaps
A key weakness in our knowledge of coastal biogeo-
chemical cycles relates to their inter-dependence with
coastal ecosystems. The impacts of severe eutrophication
on oligotrophic ecosystems are obvious. However, the
dependence of key biogeochemical processes and trans-
formations on benthic and pelagic communities is less
clear, and may play a key role in coastal change. Most
biogeochemical models implicitly describe a bottom-up
driven system, in which nutrient and carbon loads and
physical forcing drive changes in productivity, higher
trophic levels and trophic interactions. However, argu-
ments have recently been made for large, almost ubiqui-
tous, top-down changes in coastal ecosystems, because
of removal of top predators and key herbivores. Cli-
mate change is expected to have widespread and major
impacts on coastal community structure, composition
and function.
As we progress into the Anthropocene, we need reliable
assessments of biogeochemical and ecological change at
local, regional and global scales, but we also need robust
projections and scenarios of future change to guide
policy, mitigation and adaptation. The challenge for
coastal scientists in general, and for LOICZ in particu-lar, is to find an optimal balance between, and fusion of,
the grounded empirical assessment approaches used byLOICZ in its first decade, and the sophisticated tech-
nologies and process-based prediction currently under
development.
Synthesis of LOICZ science to-date, has identified a
number of gaps in the development of coastal biogeo-
chemical budgets, and recommended research initiatives
to address these. These limitations apply both to the
development of local budgets for coastal water bodies,
and to the databases and methods used for up-scaling to
global budgets.
Identified gaps fall into four main areas:
I. Extension of biogeochemical budgets to include:
* particulate and dissolved organic nitrogen
and phosphorus;
* carbon (organic and inorganic, dissolved and
particulate) directly rather than implicitly;
* inorganic sediments and other potentially
limiting nutrients (e.g. silicate, iron); and
* simple estimates of additional source/sink
terms beyond net production and nitrogen
fixation-denitrification, such as phosphorus
adsorption/desorption and benthic nutrient
exchange.
Extending budgets to include particulate tracers
is particularly challenging, as particulate tracers
are transformed and transported differently
from dissolved tracers. Advances in catchment
science will help by providing improved knowl-
edge and prediction of catchment loads reach-
ing the coastal zone.
II. It is important to understand the aliasing errors
associated with steady-state assumptions and
limited spatial and temporal resolution, and
develop alternative approaches to address these
where needed. This may be particularly impor-
tant in tropical and sub-tropical estuaries, and
for sediments and particulate tracers, where
discharge and loads may be concentrated in
short events.
III. The current LOICZ budget dataset providesonly limited explanation of the controls on
coastal sources and sinks of nutrients and31
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This text can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Text.
Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone. Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone: Science Plan and Implementation Strategy, text, 2005; Stockholm, Sweden. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc12008/m1/37/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .