Enhanced Primary Production, and Altered Biogeochemical Patterns in the German Bight in Response to the Extreme June 2013 Elbe Flood

Due to a number of well documented and unusual atmospheric conditions, the late-spring of 2013 in Central and Eastern Europe was colder and wetter than usual, with saturated soils and higher than average cumulative precipitation. Additional precipitation at the end of May, and beginning of June 2013, caused widespread floods within the Danube and Elbe Rivers, and billions of euros in damages. Within the Elbe watershed, the discharge generated under these conditions was the largest among all summer floods and the second largest on record over the last 140 years (based on daily discharges). The high-frequency monitoring network of the Coastal Observing System for Northern and Arctic Seas (COSYNA) captured the influence of this major freshwater influx on the German Bight. Data from an Elbe Estuary (Cuxhaven) monitoring station, and from a FerryBox aboard a ferry travelling between Büsum and Helgoland, documented the salinity changes in the German Bight, which persisted for a month after the peak river discharge. The flood generated a large influx of dissolved and particulate organic carbon, associated with the freshwater plume, while surface dissolved oxygen between Büsum and Helgoland became undersaturated (not typical for the summer). The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) also reported unusually high nutrient concentrations in the German Bight caused by the flood. These conditions subsequently generated a month-long chlorophyll bloom, prolonged dissolved oxygen supersaturation, and higher than usual surface water pH within the German Bight. In the context of predicted increase in frequency of extreme discharge events due to climate change, the June 2013 flood-related biogeochemical changes could become more ubiquitous in the future, and should be considered in management and modeling efforts.