2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference

March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH

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5/25/2021 | 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM | Benthic and pelagic inorganic nutrient processing rates at the interface between a river and lake | Virtual Platform

Benthic and pelagic inorganic nutrient processing rates at the interface between a river and lake

The interface between lotic and lentic ecosystems is often a zone of intense metabolic activity, as primary production in streams and rivers can be light limited whereas nutrients often limit primary production in lake ecosystems. Here we developed a simple model to describe the combined effects of water column processing and sediment flux on nutrient dynamics of river water as it passes through a rivermouth. We then used measured rates of nutrient processing to estimate the role of the Fox rivermouth in altering riverine loads of nutrients prior to the river water entering Lake Michigan. Within the range of conditions that likely occur in the Fox rivermouth, discharge, water residence time and overall concentration of nutrients in river water strongly drive variation in the rivermouth effect in both absolute and relative terms. Applying the model to conditions within the Fox rivermouth suggests this ecosystem is often a net sink for SRP and source for ammonia (NH4). These results demonstrate that the interface zone between lotic and lentic systems has the potential to substantially alter the load and character of nutrients as river waters pass through rivermouths to adjacent nearshore areas.

Freshwater continuum
Transport
Models

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Presenters/Authors

James Larson (), U.S. Geological Survey, jhlarson@usgs.gov;