Project Grant 2241991

This $716,649 National Science Foundation Project Grant through the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) will fund research at the University of Rhode Island to quantify changes in ocean acidification (OA) in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island resulting from reductions in nutrient inputs. Over the past few decades, management agencies have reduced nutrient loads to coastal waters by over one-third to improve water quality, which could lower OA levels even though that was not the initial goal. However, the impacts of aggressive nutrient reduction on OA are not well understood. As one of the most rapidly warming estuaries experiencing intentional nutrient reductions, Narragansett Bay provides an opportunity to study OA changes other coastal areas may face from environmental management and climate change. The University of Rhode Island team will leverage existing water quality monitoring, collect new data, and use coastal biogeochemical modeling to measure OA changes and the mechanisms driving them in the Bay from June 2023 through May 2026. Outreach to shellfish growers will also enhance awareness of OA and support for ongoing aquaculture. Insights could help agencies refine nutrient management nationally to better limit OA impacts on fisheries and wildlife with climate change.