Modelers generate initial assessment of nutrient effects on acidification in Bight

Researchers working to develop a computer model that predicts how the Southern California Bight will be affected by ocean acidification and hypoxia (OAH) have generated an initial assessment shedding light on whether land-based nutrient sources are exacerbating coastal OAH conditions.

At an all-day Stakeholder Advisory Committee meeting on May 20, 2019 at SCCWRP, modelers will present simulated OAH effects on Southern California’s coastal ocean under two scenarios: with existing atmospheric and land-based nutrient sources, and without these sources.

The modeling results will provide coarse insights into if and how nutrients introduced via wastewater effluent, stormwater runoff and atmospheric deposition are affecting pH and dissolved oxygen levels in the Bight.

The computer model that was used for the analysis is a geographically focused version of an OAH model that SCCWRP and its partners developed for the West Coast.

SCCWRP member agencies and other stakeholders played key roles in validating the Bight model, determining that the model’s resolution required a fine-scale grid size of 300 meters, and reaching consensus on how to interpret the model’s predictions of biological impacts in the Bight.