Coastal water decline due to eutrophication and climate change

Abstract

Since the mid-20th century coastal waters around the world have experienced declining water quality such as oxygen depletion, harmful algal blooms (HABs) and low pH. This has been widely attributed to eutrophication but climate change has emerged as a new driver in recent decades. Using Chesapeake Bay as an example, I will discuss historical model simulations for the 20th century and demonstrate the shift from eutrophication-dominated regime to climate-dominated regime.

Bio

Ming Li is a Professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. He obtained his B.Eng from Hohai University and D.Phil from the University of Oxford. Dr. Li’s research spans several areas in oceanography, including estuarine and coastal dynamics, sea-level rise and coastal resilience. He is actively engaged in interdisciplinary research to address pressing environmental issues such as hypoxia, ocean acidification, and harmful algal blooms. He has published 120 peer-reviewed papers in top oceanographic and environmental science journals. He is a Specialty Chief Editor at Frontiers in Marine Science and an Associate Editor at Continental Shelf Research.