Linking Seasonal Changes in Organic Matter Composition and Nutrients to Shifting Hydraulic Gradients in Coastal Urban Canals

The capacity for coastal river networks to transport and transform dissolved organic matter (DOM) is widely accepted. However, climate-induced shifts in stormwater runoff and tidal extension alter fresh and marine water source contributions, associated DOM, and processing rates of nutrients entering coastal canals. We investigate how time-variable interactions among coastal water source contributions influence the concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nutrients, and DOM composition in urban canals. We quantified the spatiotemporal variability of DOM quality and nutrient concentrations to determine contributions of tidal marine water, rainwater, stormwater runoff, and groundwater to three coastal urban canals of Miami, Florida (USA). We created a Bayesian Monte Carlo mixing model using measurements of fluorescent DOM (fDOM), DOC concentrations, delta O-18 and delta H-2 isotopic signatures, and chloride (Cl-). Fractional contributions of groundwater averaged 17% in the dry season and 26% at peak high tide during the subtropical wet season (September-November). The canal-to-marine head difference (CMHD) was a primary driver of groundwater contributions to coastal urban canals and monthly patterns of fDOM/DOC. High tide (> 1 m) and discharge events were found to connect canals to upstream sources of terrestrial DOM. Loading of terrestrially sourced DOC and DOM is pulsed to urban canals, shunted downstream and supplemented by microbially sourced DOM during the wet season at high tide. Overall, we demonstrate that a combined tracer approach with isotopes and fDOM can help identify groundwater contributions to coastal waterways and that autochthonous fDOM may prime the degradation of carbon or nutrients as the CMHD pushes inland.

Automated summary

The study investigates the impacts of climate-induced shifts on dissolved organic matter (DOM) in coastal urban canals. The results show that time-variable interactions among coastal water source contributions influence the concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nutrients, and DOM composition. The study demonstrates the importance of groundwater contributions and its spatial-temporal variability. It also highlights the role of autochthonous fDOM in the degradation of carbon and nutrients as the canal-to-marine head difference pushes inland.