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Importance of Dissolved Organic Nitrogen to Water Quality in Narragansett Bay
Citation:
Dettmann, E. Importance of Dissolved Organic Nitrogen to Water Quality in Narragansett Bay. Presented at New England Estuarine Research Society (NEERS) Spring Meeting, Portland, ME, April 11 - 13, 2013.
Impact/Purpose:
The purpose of this poster presentation is to describe results of an analysis of available data to determine the importance of dissolved organic nitrogen to water quality in Narragansett Bay. This analysis is designed to inform decisions concerning implementation of water quality and ecological models as part of the ORD Safe and Sustainable Water Resources Research Program’s (SSWR) Project 6.1 (Narragansett Bay and Watershed Sustainability–Demonstration Project) and SSWR Project 2.3.A (Optimized Solutions for Sustainable Nutrient Management). The purpose of the Narragansett Bay and Watershed Sustainability–Demonstration Project is to develop and demonstrate an ecosystem-based management approach that will help achieve more integrated and effective management of nutrients in Southern New England. The purpose of the Optimized Solutions for Sustainable Nutrient Management Project is to develop methods to sustainably manage nutrients in estuaries of the northeastern United States.
Description:
This preliminary analysis of the importance of the dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) pool in Narragansett Bay is being conducted as part of a five-year study of Narragansett Bay and its watershed. This larger study includes water quality and ecological modeling components that focus on the dependence of nutrient, phytoplankton, and dissolved oxygen concentrations in the Bay on nutrient loads from the watershed. DON is often ignored in monitoring programs and water quality and ecological models, even though it can be an important component of the nitrogen pool in estuaries. Preliminary analysis of monitoring data for the water column of Narragansett Bay shows that that there are substantial seasonal variations in the dissolved organic and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) pools, with the DON pool sometimes as much as a factor of ten larger than the DIN pool. Ratios of DON to DIN concentrations at individual stations in the Bay may be even higher. This presentation will preview annual and seasonal DON:DIN ratios in the water column, the spatial distribution of DIN and DON in the Bay, DON and DIN loads from municipal wastewater treatment facilities, major tributaries, and internal sources and sinks, with particular focus on identification of data gaps relevant to the modeling component of this study. Data from other estuaries will be included as necessary to provide perspective.