OCEAN WATER CHEMISTRY AND ITS POTENTIAL TO AFFECT REEF BUILDING CORALS SURROUNDING SAN SALVADOR, BAHAMAS

The region-wide decline of coral reef ecosystems in the Caribbean has been identified as a growing concern over the past 20 years. Ocean water chemistry is one of the most important factors influencing hermatypic or reef building organisms, especially the scleractinians, stony corals. The saturation state of carbonate minerals in surface seawater has been shown to influence the growth rate of these corals. San Salvador Island, located on the eastern edge of the Great Bahama Bank, is surrounded by warm shallow waters which support a reef ecosystem. Measurement, sampling and some analysis was conducted from January 10th to 17th, 2006 in the waters on the northern, western and eastern sides of the island where there are living reefs. Data was collected regarding alkalinity, temperature, salinity and pH at depths ranging from 1 to 30 meters. This data was used in conjunction with software available through the US Department of Energy's Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CIDIAC) to calculate aragonite and calcite mineral saturation states. Additional water samples were transported back to the lab at SUNY Brockport and analyzed for major cations and anions using ICP-AES and ion chromatography. The results present a picture of a well-mixed ocean system. The pH and alkalinity were lower than expected and did show some variation with depth. Calculated mineral saturation states indicate that the waters surrounding San Salvador are less than optimal for the synthesis of aragonite by reef building corals.