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U.S. EPA NATIONAL COASTAL ASSESSMENT: PROVIDING A REGIONAL CONTEXT FOR ESTUARINE NUTRIENT CRITERIA
Citation:
NELSON, W. G. U.S. EPA NATIONAL COASTAL ASSESSMENT: PROVIDING A REGIONAL CONTEXT FOR ESTUARINE NUTRIENT CRITERIA. Presented at Region 10 Nutrients Technical Advisory Group, Seattle, WA, July 18 - 19, 2006.
Description:
The presentation presents a summary of the National Coastal Assessment program on the West Coast, including goals and objectives, methodological approaches, and indicators used. The estuarine nutrient data collected from 1999-2000 in Washington, Oregon and California are used to illustrate the range of variability for parameters such as Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen (DIN) and Dissolved Inorganic Phosphate (DIP) in relation to salinity regime. Data from Region 10 states are presented for DIN and DIP in relation to the assessment criteria used in the National Coastal Condition Report II. The DIP criterion, based in large measure on east coast conditions, appears to be inappropriate for the west coast states. Data on DIP from the NCA assessment in South Central Alaska also indicate the need to develop a more reasonable criterion for the western region. The NCA data can be used to provide a regional context for development of protective nutrient criteria that are developed on more intensive and localized sampling data.