I see Pitch Pine generally along a sandy Quabbin shorline where they grow well. Unfortunately, many are partially inundated now and will die. I've seen this happen when beaver's dam a stream.
For me, it's always sad when a living thing dies. According to Tufts, it's called 'cellular anoxia', loss of green leaf tissue. See here.

Dec. 9, 2018, 8:13 a.m., sunny, 18f.