Rainfall drives rapid shifts in carbon and nutrient source-sink dynamics of an urbanised, mangrove-fringed estuary

Estuaries provide valuable ecosystem services, such as carbon storage and nutrient retention, which may be affected by episodic rainfall events. This study aimed to investigate the short-term effect of episodic rainfall on alkalinity, dissolved carbon and nutrient biogeochemistry in a small, urbanised and mangrove-fringed estuary. High temporal resolution sampling (1.5-h interval) at upper and lower estuary sites, as well as groundwater sampling, were conducted over two weeks to assess estuarine source/sink dynamics of total alkalinity (TAlk), organic alkalinity (OAlk), dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), nitrate, nitrite, ammonium and phosphate. Rapid, short-term changes in estuarine biogeochemistry and mixing were triggered by two episodic rainfall events, which delivered 26 mm over 2 h and 39 mm over 21 h. The estuary was a source for TAlk and DIC exporting 2.2 ± 1.9 and 2.2 ± 1.5 mmol/m2 catchment/d, respectively, to the coastal ocean during the observation period. On average, OAlk accounted for 8% of TAlk at the upstream and 3% at the downstream site. Unlike pristine mangrove systems, the estuary was a net sink for DOC, equivalent to ~23% of the DIC source. Rainfall increased catchment nutrient inputs into the estuary, which was a source for ammonium, but a sink for nitrate and nitrite (NOx) throughout the study period. In contrast, phosphate dynamics were less clear. Estuarine biogeochemical transformations affected the exchange with the coastal ocean, driving net TAlk export and by acting as a sink for catchment-derived nutrients. Our high-temporal resolution results suggest that rainfall events rapidly modify estuarine biogeochemistry and mixing, altering the net fluxes of TAlk, dissolved carbon and nutrients to the coastal ocean.