Estuary-specific variation in the air-water gas exchange coefficient for oxygen

Oxygen air-water gas exchange was measured using floating chambers in two shallow tidal estuaries of differing bathymetry and local terrain, near Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts (United States). The specific chamber design permitted measurements of gas flux in 15 min, allowing analysis of the relationship with wind speed and tidal stage. Exchange coefficients ranged from 0.5 to 2.5 g O(2)(.)m(-2) h(-1) atm(-1) (equivalent to piston velocities of 1.5 to 7 cm h(-1)) for wind speeds of 0.3 to 9 m s(-1) at 10 m elevation. While the relationships for each estuary appear linear (significant linear regressions with wind speed were shown for each estuary, and the slopes were different at the 99.5% confidence level), the range of speeds differed at the two sites and an exponential function of wind speed was consistent with the combined data from both estuaries. A power function of wind speed was not an acceptable model. The exchange coefficients for our estuaries are from 57% to as low as 9% of that predicted by previously published generic equations. Because the atmospheric correction can be significant in shallow, metabolically active coastal waters, we suggest that empirically determined relationships for gas exchange versus wind for a specific estuary are preferable to the predictions of the general equations. While the floating chamber method should be used cautiously, at low winds speeds (below 8 to s(-1)) and in slowly flowing waters, it provides a convenient approach for quantifying these site-specific differences. The differences, especially those between shallow sheltered systems and the open waters best fit by some published relationships, are ecologically important and do not appear yet to be measurable by other methods.