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A METHOD TO INCORPORATE ECOLOGY INTO RESIDENCE TIME OF CHEMICALS IN EMBAYMENTS: LOCAL EFFECT TIME
Citation:
Abdelrhman, M. A METHOD TO INCORPORATE ECOLOGY INTO RESIDENCE TIME OF CHEMICALS IN EMBAYMENTS: LOCAL EFFECT TIME . Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, KS, 2(3):247-252, (2006).
Impact/Purpose:
To determine a method for the direct connection between residence times and ecological effects
Description:
Residence times are classically defined by the physical and chemical aspects of water bodies rather than by their ecological implications. Therefore, a more clear and direct connection between the residence times and ecological effects is necessary to quantitatively relate these time scales to ecology. The concept of "local effect time" (LET) for embayments is proposed in this paper as a time scale with spatial resolution that relates to ecological components and their spatial distribution within an embayment. The LET can predict the susceptibility of real-world ecological components to change from one condition to another. It can provide an efficient way to allow managers and agencies to evaluate the degree of stress or relief from current or projected changes in the loading of contaminants or nutrients. The steps for calculating LETs and defining their correlation with the existing ecological components and processes of an embayment are presented along with an illustrative application to loading from riverine inflow. The LET successfully identified the areas within the water body that could be prone to ecological changes due to the loading rate of freshwater and its constituents.