Grantee Research Project Results
2006 Progress Report: Past and Present Water Quality in Florida Coastal Waters
EPA Grant Number: X832302C001Subproject: this is subproject number 001 , established and managed by the Center Director under grant X832302
(EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
Center: Water Innovation Network for Sustainable Small Systems
Center Director: Reckhow, David A.
Title: Past and Present Water Quality in Florida Coastal Waters
Investigators: Smoak, Donny , Waters, Matthew N , Riedinger-Whitmore, Melanie
Institution: University of South Florida
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period: September 1, 2005 through August 31, 2008
Project Period Covered by this Report: September 1, 2005 through August 31, 2006
RFA: Targeted Research Center (2004) Recipients Lists
Research Category: Hazardous Waste/Remediation , Targeted Research
Objective:
Nutrient enrichment of natural waters in Florida is a pressing concern, and possible relationships between nutrient enrichment have been proposed as causes of red tides, but evidence for this is circumstantial at best. Project 1 addresses this issue and hopes to understand some of the sources of nutrients and history of enrichment using natural radioisotope tracers, stable isotopes, N and P concentrations, and elemental ratios in cores.
Progress Summary:
This project seeks to identify the pigment, Gyroxanthin-diester, in sediment core samples from Tampa and Sarasota Bay to determine the feasibility of using Gyroxanthin-diester in the sediments to reconstruct past occurrence of Florida Red Tide at selected bay sites. Two sediment cores were collected in Sarasota Bay near Mote Marine Laboratory, and cores were collected from the Terra Ceia (one core) and Apollo Beach (two cores) area of Tampa Bay. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses of the pigments have been performed on five cores and has identified Gyroxanthin-diester in all cores. The researchers on this project aim to identify the pigment Gyroxanthin-diester in sediment core samples from Tampa and Sarasota Bay. Gyroxanthin-diester is unique to Florida Red Tide (Karenia brevis) and has been used to identify red tide in the water column. Their goal is to determine the feasibility of using Gyroxanthin-diester in the sediments to reconstruct past occurrence of Florida red tide at selected bay sites. Two sediment cores were collected in Sarasota Bay near Mote Marine Laboratory, and cores were collected from the Terra Ceia (one core) and Apollo Beach (two cores) area of Tampa Bay. HPLC analysis of the pigments have been performed on all five cores. Initial results have identified Gyroxanthin-diester in all four cores. This is a preliminary identification based on comparison with a monoculture sample of K. brevis and comparison with published spectra of Gyroxanthin-diester in water samples. The next step is to perform a series of experiments on sediment samples to confirm our identification of Gyroxanthin-diester. Lead-210 was measured on the Sarasota Bay cores, but the results were not suitable for dating. Lead-210 will be measured on the other cores as soon as counting time is available.
Supplemental Keywords:
water, watersheds, groundwater, land, soil, marine, estuary, chemicals, toxics, PCB, heavy metals, ecosystem, restoration, terrestrial, aquatic, habitat, innovative technology, remediation, restoration, public policy, decision making, modeling, monitoring, analytical, remote sensing, Florida, FL, EPA Region 4, social science, Florida (FL), Phosphate rock mining (SIC 1475), water, orthophosphate, total phosphorus, Tampa Bay, Bishops Harbor, Cockroach Bay, sediment, pore water.,, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Water, Watersheds, Water & Watershed, Ecology and Ecosystems, Environmental Monitoring, coastal watershed, nutrient flux, water quality, coastal ecosystems, watershed assessment, remediation, hazardous waste, aquatic ecosystemsRelevant Websites:
http://www.stpt.usf.edu/cspace/cspace.asp Exit
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractMain Center Abstract and Reports:
X832302 Water Innovation Network for Sustainable Small Systems Subprojects under this Center: (EPA does not fund or establish subprojects; EPA awards and manages the overall grant for this center).
X832302C001 Past and Present Water Quality in Florida Coastal Waters
X832302C002 Cyanobacteria Proliferation and Eutrophication in Florida Lakes
X832302C003 Reactive Metal Particle Emulsions for Removal of PCBs
X832302C004 The Social and Environmental Dimensions of Xeriscaping: A Pathway for Ameliorating Coastal Environments
X832302C005 An Historical Perspective on the Economic and Environmental Impacts of the Phosphate Industry on the Tampa Bay Region
X832302C006 Interfacing SWAT and PHABSIM: A Potential GIS-based Water Resource Management Tool
X832302C007 Acquisition of Counters for Gamma-Emitting Radioisotopes
X832302C008 Guided Surface Vehicles
X832302C009 Science Journalism
X832302C010 Administration and Outreach
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.