Articles | Volume 21, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-2179-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-21-2179-2025
Research article
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02 Oct 2025
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 02 Oct 2025

The coupled oxygen and carbon dynamics in the subsurface waters of the Gulf and Lower St. Lawrence Estuary and implications for artificial oxygenation

William A. Nesbitt, Samuel W. Stevens, Alfonso O. Mucci, Lennart Gerke, Toste Tanhua, Gwénaëlle Chaillou, and Douglas W. R. Wallace

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Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-2400', Anders Stigebrandt, 27 Jun 2025
    • AC1: 'Reply on RC1', William Nesbitt, 23 Jul 2025
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-2400', Xianghui Guo, 06 Jul 2025
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC2', William Nesbitt, 23 Jul 2025
  • RC3: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-2400', Anonymous Referee #3, 23 Jul 2025
    • AC3: 'Reply on RC3', William Nesbitt, 26 Jul 2025

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
AR by William Nesbitt on behalf of the Authors (29 Jul 2025)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (06 Aug 2025) by Xinping Hu
RR by Anonymous Referee #3 (11 Aug 2025)
RR by Anders Stigebrandt (21 Aug 2025)
ED: Publish as is (22 Aug 2025) by Xinping Hu
AR by William Nesbitt on behalf of the Authors (28 Aug 2025)  Manuscript 
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Co-editor-in-chief
The reoxygenation of the traditional hypoxic deep water of Gulf of St. Lawrence is a novel topic; this has not been addressed in the past. If reoxygenation would be implemented, it would represent an encouraging effort in the midst of reports on the dire consequences of climate change and ocean deoxygenation.
Short summary
We combine two decades of oxygen data with new carbon observations and a tracer-informed model to quantify oxygen loss and carbon buildup in the deep waters of the Gulf and Lower St. Lawrence Estuary. We then test a novel idea: reoxygenating these waters with the oxygen produced as a by-product from green-hydrogen production. Our results suggest this could significantly reduce hypoxia, though full recovery would require larger inputs.
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