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FACTORS AFFECTING SENSITIVITY OF CHEMICAL AND ECOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF MARINE EMBAYMEMTS TO NITROGEN LOADING
Citation:
Dettmann, E H. FACTORS AFFECTING SENSITIVITY OF CHEMICAL AND ECOLOGICAL RESPONSES OF MARINE EMBAYMEMTS TO NITROGEN LOADING. Presented at American Society of Limnology and Oceanography Annual Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT, February 20-25, 2005.
Description:
This paper summarizes an ongoing examination of the primary factors that affect sensitivity of marine embayment responses to nitrogen loading. Included is a discussion of two methods for using these factors: classification of embayments into discrete sensitivity classes and normalization procedures that permit analysis of response along a continuum. The approach considers only characteristics of the embayment, the seaward boundary, and inflowing freshwater. Watershed characteristics are not considered explicitly, but enter the analysis implicitly through effects on parameters such as hydraulic and nitrogen loading, and water color, turbidity, and temperature. Embayment volume and flushing time dominate sensitivity of annual average concentrations of total (inorganic + organic) nitrogen in embayments to nitrogen input. This study is also using mathematical analysis of functional relationships to assess the importance of factors that influence ecologically important properties of embayments such as food web structure, concentrations of dissolved oxygen in the water column, and extent of submerged aquatic vegetation. Various studies show that temperature modulates food web structure. Other relevant parameters include hypsometry, water clarity (including color and turbidity), and stratification.