Monitoring Anthropogenic Carbon in Cape Cod Bay

Abstract

Coastal oceans are diverse regions which are highly important to human activity, coastal ecosystems, and carbon uptake. Parameters such as pH on the total scale (pHₜ), Dissolved Inorganic Carbon (DIC), and Total Alkalinity (TA) contribute to understanding the health of coastal waters such as Cape Cod Bay, yet are resource-intensive to measure and have little historical data in Cape Cod Bay. Seawater collected from Cape Cod Bay was analyzed for pHₜ, DIC, and TA and compared to historic data from the region. A multi-linear-regression was performed to create a model to predict the measured parameters of the carbon system. Predicted TA accurately matched the measured values for the open water of the bay, while performing less accurately for near-coast samples. DIC could be predicted for the open water, although not to the same degree of precision as TA, while pHₜ showed little correlation with the predictors. Additionally, analysis of historical data revealed an extensive aragonite desaturation event in Cape Cod Bay during fall 2021.