2022 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Virtual Conference

March 13 - 15, 2022

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5/22/2018  |   9:45 AM - 10:00 AM   |   SHORT-TERM IMPACTS OF HURRICANES IRMA AND MARIA ON TROPICAL STREAM CHEMISTRY AS MEASURED BY IN-SITU SENSORS   |  410 B

SHORT-TERM IMPACTS OF HURRICANES IRMA AND MARIA ON TROPICAL STREAM CHEMISTRY AS MEASURED BY IN-SITU SENSORS

High intensity hurricanes have been shown to alter topical forest productivity and stream chemistry at time scales of years to decades in the montane rain forest of Puerto Rico. Here we report the short-term impacts of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on the chemistry of Quebrada Sonadora using 15-minute sensor records and long-term weekly sampling that spans 34 years. Turbidity increased dramatically during Maria as expected. Contrary to our expectations, we found that solute-flow behavior changed with the advent of the storms. Specific conductance showed a dilution response to flow before the storms but changed to enrichment a month after Maria. Nitrate was unresponsive to flow before the hurricanes but large increases in concentration occurred at high flow for months after the hurricanes. The high frequency sensors are providing new insights into the response of this ecosystem in the days and weeks following two major disturbance events. The flipping of nitrate response to storms, from source limited to transport limited, suggests that these two severe hurricanes have fundamentally altered the nitrogen cycle at the site in ways that would not be evident without sensors.

  • Nitrogen
  • Organic Matter
  • Tropical Rivers

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Presenters/Authors

William H. McDowell (), University of New Hampshire, bill.mcdowell@unh.edu;


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Jody Potter (), University of New Hampshire, jody.potter@unh.edu;


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Carla López-Lloreda (), Virginia Tech, carla.lpez09@gmail.com;


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