A chemical survey of the Mississippi estuary

Journal Article · Sun Mar 01 04:00:00 EST 1987 · Estuaries; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2307/1352019· OSTI ID:6811006

Fox, L E; Lipschultz, R; Kerkhof, L; Wofsy, S C ^[1]

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1. Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA (USA)

A snap shot survey of the Mississippi estuary was made during a period of low river discharge, when the estuarine mixing zone was within the deltaic channels. Concentrations of H{sup +}, Ca{sup 2+}, inorganic phosphorus and inorganic carbon suggest that the waters of the river and the low salinity (<5%) portion of the estuary are near saturation with respect to calcite and sedimentary calcium phosphate. An input of oxidized nitrogen species and N{sub 2}O was observed in the estuary between O and 4{per thousand} salinity. The concentrations of dissolved NH{sub 4}{sup +} and O{sub 2}, over most of the estuary, appeared to be influenced by decomposition of terrestrial organic matter in bottom sediments. The estuarine bottom also appears to be a source of CH{sub 4} which has been suggested to originate from petroleum shipping and refining operations. Estuarine mixing with offshore Gulf waters was the dominant influence on distributions of dissolved species over most of the estuary (i.e., from salinities > 5%). The phytoplankton abundance (measured as chlorophyll a) increased as the depth of the mixed layer decreased in a manner consistent with the expected for a light-limited ecosystem. Fluxes of NO{sub 3}{sup {minus}} + NO{sub 2}{sup {minus}} and soluble inorganic phosphorus to the Gulf of Mexico were estimated to be 3.4 {plus minus} 0.2 {times} 10{sup 3} g N s{sup {minus}1} and 1.9 {plus minus} g P s{sup {minus}1}, respectively, at the time of this study.

• OSTI ID: 6811006
• Journal Information: Estuaries; (USA), Journal Name: Estuaries; (USA) Vol. 10:1; ISSN ESTUD; ISSN 0160-8347
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020900 -- Petroleum-- Environmental Aspects
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring &amp; Transport-- (1990-)
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKANES
ANIONS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
CALCIUM COMPOUNDS
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
CATIONS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHARGED PARTICLES
CHEMISTRY
CHLOROPHYLL
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
ESTUARIES
HETEROCYCLIC ACIDS
HETEROCYCLIC COMPOUNDS
HYDROCARBONS
HYDROGEN IONS
HYDROGEN IONS 1 PLUS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
IONS
MASS TRANSFER
METHANE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN OXIDES
NONMETALS
NUTRIENTS
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC MATTER
ORGANIC NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PETROLEUM REFINERIES
PHOSPHORUS
PHYTOCHROMES
PHYTOPLANKTON
PIGMENTS
PLANKTON
POLLUTION
POLLUTION SOURCES
PORPHYRINS
PROTEINS
RIVERS
SALINITY
SEDIMENTS
STREAMS
SURFACE WATERS
WATER CHEMISTRY
WATER POLLUTION