Atmospheric deposition of nutrients to north Florida rivers: A multivariate statistical analysis. Final report. Master's thesis
Atmospheric nutrient input to the Apalachicola Bay estuary was studied because it has been demonstrated that atmospheric deposition can be a major source of nutrients to eastern U.S. estuaries. Besides the Apalachicola River, the Sopchoppy and the Ochlockonee were also selected for a comparative analysis. Receptor model, absolute principal of component analysis (APCA), and mass balance methods were applied in the study. The results of the study show that nitrogen is probably not a limiting nutrient in the three rivers because their N:P mole ratios are nearly 3 times higher than the Redfield ratio for photosynthesis. The total atmospheric nitrogen depositions in the three river watershed are at least as great as their river fluxes. In the Apalachicola River, the atmospheric source of nitrogen is found to be several times higher than the largest possible input of urban sewage. Atmospheric deposition, therefore, might be the dominant nitrogen source entering the estuary. The results of APCA show that Apalachicola River water is mainly a mixture of components that correspond in their compositions to aged rain, ground water, and fresh rain. Atmospheric nitrate deposition is the result of the air pollution, i.e., acid rain. The studies also show that the annual average deposition of nitrate has a narrow range, mainly from 5.8 to 11.5 kg/ha/yr in most of the NADP sites in the 8 southeastern states. Since all the software and data sets employed in the study are accessible nationwide, the methods could be applied in other watersheds.
- Research Organization:
- International Business Machines Corp., Armonk, NY (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 7236340
- Report Number(s):
- PB-92-188036/XAB; CNN: NA90AA-H-CZ809
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (M.S.). Sponsored by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Washington, DC. Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, and Florida State Dept. of Environmental Regulation, Tallahassee. Office of Coastal Management
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT
AIR POLLUTION
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
FLORIDA
WATER POLLUTION
NITRATES
DEPOSITION
ACID RAIN
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ESTUARIES
MONITORING
MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS
NITROGEN CYCLE
NUTRIENTS
RIVERS
WATERSHEDS
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
MATHEMATICS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NORTH AMERICA
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
RAIN
STATISTICS
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
USA
540320* - Environment
Aquatic- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
010900 - Coal
Lignite
& Peat- Environmental Aspects