Hypoxia modeling in Corpus Christi Bay
using a Hydrologic Information System
By Ernest Sin Chit To, CRWR
4.0 Investigation of
gravity currents
6.1 Data harvesting in
Corpus Christi Bay using HydroGET and ArcHydro II
6.2 A three-dimensional
geostatistical model for estimating salinity in Corpus Christi Bay
The ultimate goal of hydrological information systems (HIS)
is to help scientists do better science.
The hypoxia problem in Corpus Christi Bay is being used as a case study
to show how HIS can help researchers gain scientific insights into
environmental phenomena. This web site
explains the background of this research and the progress of research
activities.
Hypoxia is a common phenomenon found in estuarine
systems. It occurs when dissolved oxygen
is depleted below ~2 mg/L – thereby stressing resident aquatic species
and benthic organisms. In Corpus Christi Bay in south Texas, hypoxia is often
correlated with the occurrence of salinity-induced density stratification of
the water column. Typically this happens
in summer when temperature and evaporation are high and precipitation is low
(Ritter and Montagna, 1999). Density
stratification is also suspected to be enhanced by existing hypersaline water
inflows to Corpus Christi Bay from adjacent waters, such as Laguna Madre and
Oso Bay (David and Hodges, 2006).