Water column nutrient processing rates in rivermouths of Green Bay, Lake Michigan: Data

Dates

Publication Date: 2019-05-19
Start Date: 2016-04-18
End Date: 2016-09-29

Citation

Larson, J.H., Evans, M.A., Fitzpatrick, F.A., Frost, P.C., Bailey, S.W., Kennedy, R.J., James, W., Richardson, W.B., and Reneau, P., 2019, Water column nutrient processing rates in rivermouths of Green Bay, Lake Michigan: Data: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9XCDEBE.

Summary

Understanding the quantity and form of nutrient loading to large lakes is necessary to understand controls over primary production, phytoplankton community composition and the production of phytotoxins. Nutrient loading estimates to large lakes are primarily made at stream gages that are deliberately placed outside the direct influence of lake processes, but these estimates cannot take into account processes that occur in the biologically active river-to-lake transition zone. These transition zones (rivermouths) sometimes alter nutrient concentrations and ratios substantially, but few studies have directly measured processing rates of nutrients within rivermouths. From April through September 2016, we conducted 23 water column incubation [...]

Summary

Understanding the quantity and form of nutrient loading to large lakes is necessary to understand controls over primary production, phytoplankton community composition and the production of phytotoxins. Nutrient loading estimates to large lakes are primarily made at stream gages that are deliberately placed outside the direct influence of lake processes, but these estimates cannot take into account processes that occur in the biologically active river-to-lake transition zone. These transition zones (rivermouths) sometimes alter nutrient concentrations and ratios substantially, but few studies have directly measured processing rates of nutrients within rivermouths. From April through September 2016, we conducted 23 water column incubation experiments to measure nutrient loss rates in 4 rivermouths. First order loss rates (K) for inorganic nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) indicated greater loss in light than in dark treatments, suggesting primary production increases N and P removal. Variability in K was high across both time and space, and the measured environmental parameters did not appear to be strongly associated with this variation in K for most N and P forms. If the measured K values and water residence times are accurate, then water column processing suggests between 0-99% of the inorganic P and nitrates entering the rivermouth would be lost (i.e., converted to organic or particulate P). However, the highest proportional removal rates occur during late summer when water residence times are long and N and P loads are very low. Still, water column processing appears to be capable of transforming large quantities of dissolved N and P to particulate forms and thus altering its transport and presumably its bioavailability.

Contacts

Point of Contact :: James H Larson
Originator :: James H Larson, Mary A Evans, Faith A Fitzpatrick, Paul C. Frost, Sean W Bailey, Robert J Kennedy, William James, William B Richardson, Paul C Reneau
Metadata Contact :: James H Larson
Distributor :: U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase
SDC Data Owner :: Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center
USGS Mission Area :: Ecosystems

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FieldData.csv		3.73 KB	text/csv
Nutrients.csv		36.63 KB	text/csv
PLSR.csv		5.16 KB	text/csv
PLSRDark.csv		5.2 KB	text/csv
Water column nutrient processing rates in rivermouths of Green Bay, Lake Michigan.xml Original FGDC Metadata	View	62.42 KB	application/fgdc+xml

Related External Resources

Type: Related Primary Publication

Water column nutrient processing rates in rivermouths of Green Bay (Lake Michigan)	https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-018-0517-z

Purpose

To improve our understanding of nutrient dynamics in Great Lakes rivermouth ecosystems.

Water column nutrient processing rates in rivermouths of Green Bay, Lake Michigan: Data

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