1

Nelson, *

Natalie

1
Muoz-Carpena,

Rafael

2
Megonigal,

J. Patrick

Patrick

2
Neale,

Maria

3
Tzortziou

1Department

of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; 2Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Edgewater, MD;
3Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The City College of New York, New York, NY; *corresponding author: nataliegnelson@ufl.edu

METHODS

BACKGROUND
Marsh

BELOW bankfull (b)

- Tidal volume is confined
to main tidal channel
- Anoxic pore water
seepage into creek
- Low total mass of DO
= ZERO available DO
(B) Depth ABOVE
bankfull
- Tidal volume floods B
marsh and distributaries
- Lower pore water
interaction
- Greater total mass of
DO
= available DO = DO mass
flow > 0

1:00-3:00
:

Fig 2. The textbook DO paradigm.

Rather than obey

the textbook
explanation of a
purely biotic diel
pattern (Fig 2),
tidal creek DO
dynamics feel the
effects of tidal
variability (Fig 3).

Tidal Creek DO (mg/L)

12

Fig 3. Tidal
mechanics
mediating DO.

(1987)

The extent to which observed tidal creek data depict non-conventional

DO patterns is variable (Fig 4). This variability begs the question, what
exactly causes DO to defy convention in one marsh, but not another?
4

A) Kirkpatrick Marsh, Maryland, USA

?
?

0
Jul 26

B) Flax Pond, New York, USA

Rhode River DO (mg/L)

12

0
Jul 24

Ti

Jul 26

Jul 28

Jul 30

ebb

da

lC

ha

nn

Jul 28

Jul 30

Aug 01

HYPOTHESIS
Abiotic, rather than purely biotic, features of the marsh
explain the timing and magnitude of tidal creek DO peaks.

100000

el

O2 saturated

anoxic

Fig 8. Piecewise linear curve fit to the

hypsometric data. Break in curve
assumed to
correspond to
the bankfull
depth.

50000

Distributaries
0

h>b

flood
h
ebb

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

Stage (m)

MODEL PERFORMANCE
7632'0"W

7631'0"W

The model successfully performed with a NSE of 0.91. When the model was
applied without consideration of bankfull depth, major model failures occurred.

7630'0"W

A
River Site

only tidal cycle, NSE = 0.79

ho

de

iv

er

Chesapeake
Bay
3852'0"N

1 km

Tidal Creek Site

Distributaries

_
[

Fig 7. Flow meter

installation at the
tidal creek.

DE

Main Channel

VA

0.1 km

4000

Excludes
bankfull
depth

2000
0
2000
Modeled

Observed

only tidal cycle, NSE = 0.79

4000
MD

100 km

tidal cycle & bankfull stage, NSE = 0.91

4000

Considers
bankfull
depth;
model
failures
disappear

4000

2000

2000

0
0

2000

IDENTIFY BANKFULL DEPTH FROM HYPSOMETRIC CURVE

50000

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

Stage (m)

To evaluate the stage at which bankfull conditions are

reached, we examined the hypsometric curve as calculated
from hydrologic monitoring data:
Bankfull depth:
Hypsometry:
!"#$
!"#$ =

!"#$%
flooded area = f(stage)
!"#$
Fig 8.
Flooded
MODEL EQUATIONS
area vs.
Basic model structure: !"!",! = !!! !"!,! !!
stage,
Available O2 factor (XTH):
non1,
!! > 0 (!"##$)
filtered.
!,

Model evaluation: Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency

!"# = 1

!!"#$%#& !"#$%$#
!!"#!"#$ !!"#$%#&

!
!

!"#$ !
=1

!"

Variables:

!!! =

!" ! !! !! ,
0,

<!

!! 0 !""

marsh water marsh exposure frequency

mixing ratio {inverse of water residence time}

DOTC,t = tidal creek DO mass flow (mg/s)

[DOTC] = tidal creek DO concentration (mg/m3)
!"
!!
3
!" = 1
[DOR]= river DO concentration (mg/m )
Qt = flow (m3/s); TH = time since high tide (s)

!"!

!!

!"#$
=

!"#$% !"#$!"#"$%&'$

2000

Modeled

Observed

4000

Hypsometric Curve
Flood data: June December, 2015

Aug 01

Fig 4. Observed DO from two tidal marsh

sites. Data shown on left, corresponding
aerial image
of marsh on
right. DO
dynamics of
(A) are more
irregular
than (B).
Flax Pond figure from Baumann et al. 2015

h
Inundated Area (m2)

ain

Inset B

Jul 22

Tidal Creek Site

100000

4
4

Jul 24

flood

Flow & Water Depth

(5 min)
Instrument: SonTek
acoustic doppler current
meter
Sites: tidal creek

Inundated Area (m2)

Rhode
Tidal Creek
River DO
DO (mg/L)
(mg/L)

b = 0.89 [0.86, 0.91]

NSE = 0.48

h<b

12
12

Jul 22

3853'0"N

150000

8
8

150000

Fig 6. Map of data

collection sites.

DO (15 min)
Instrument: EXO2 water
quality sonde
Sites: river & tidal creek

The bankfull depth and mean water

residence time were determined to be
0.89 meters and 14.5 hours, respectively.
Hypsometric data were filtered to remove
noise using the following criteria: only 1)
flood data, 2) measurements with
dStage/dt > 0.01 m/15 min [Jordan and
Correll, 1991].

Distributaries

7633'0"W

DATA COLLECTION

Open Water
(DO data)

4000

Bankfull
depth
shown as
dashed
line

1.2

1.2

1.0

1.0

0.8
0.8

0.6
0.6

Jul 22

Jul 24

Jul 26

Jul 28

Jul 30

Aug 01

TAKE HOME MESSAGE

BROADER IMPLICATIONS
Tidal marsh hydraulic Geomorphologic drivers of DO should be
considered for management actions related to:
characteristics (bankfull
depth, flushing frequency) Marsh restoration Diel hypoxia evaluation
place strong controls on
the timing and magnitude
of DO peaks in shallow
tidal creeks.

Photos: UF IFAS

Fig 1. O2-dependent
tidal marsh services.

Tidal Creek
(flow + stage data)

Marsh

Hypsometric Curve
Flood data: June December, 2015

DO mass flow rate (mg/s)

ic
t
a at
u
t
q
i
A ab
h

HYDRAULIC CHARACTERISTICS

mass
rate (mg/s)
DODO
mass
flow flow
rate (mg/s)

n
o
rb ge
a
C ora
st

CONCEPTUAL MECHANISTIC MODEL

A
Fig 5. (A) Depth (h)

Stage(m)
(m)
Stage

Tidal marsh ecosystem services (Fig 1) play integral

roles in maintaining the ecological integrity of
nearshore systems, and often require specific
dissolved oxygen (DO) ranges. Thus, assessment of
such ecosystem services requires mechanistic
understanding of factors controlling DO availability.

At
l
Oc ant
ea ic
n

t
n
rie ng
t
i
Nu ycl
c

RESULTS & DISCUSSION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & REFERENCES

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship under Grant No. DGE-0802270.
References: Baumann, H., R. B. Wallace, T. Tagliaferri, and C. J. Gobler. 2015. Estuaries and Coasts; Harvey, J. W., P. F. Germann, and W. E. Odum. 1987. Estuarine, Coastal, and
Shelf Science; Jordan, T. E., and D. L. Correll. 1991. Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science
Background photo: Brian Bill, US Fish & Wildlife Service