USING LONG TERM MONITORING DATA TO INVESTIGATE WATER QUALITY IN BUZZARDS BAY, MA – FROM NITROGEN TO DISSOLVED OXYGEN

Buzzards Bay is a shallow estuary in Massachusetts whose coastline consists of a variety of river-fed and groundwater-fed embayments, many of which the state has classified as nutrient impaired. For more than thirty years, the Buzzards Bay Coalition has maintained a water quality monitoring program using a combination of laboratory analyzed nutrient samples and field measurements taken by trained citizen scientists.  Baywatchers data provides incredible spatial resolution and insight into local ecosystem dynamics. However the data must also be assessed carefully due to natural variability across embayments, the periodic nature of the measurements, and occasional data gaps at some locations. To better understand trends in nutrients and dissolved oxygen in Buzzards Bay, data was grouped and analyzed by spatial and environmental factors. Embayments varied in both the frequency of low dissolved oxygen measurements (<6 mg/L) as well as if low dissolved oxygen was becoming more or less prevalent. This variability highlights the importance of carefully considering environmental impacts and nutrient sources within embayments as opposed to a more generalized bay-wide approach.

Presentation Preference: Oral

Primary Presenter: Kristin Huizenga, Woodwell Climate Research Center and Buzzards Bay Coalition (khuizenga@woodwellclimate.org)

Authors:

Kristin Huizenga, Woodwell Climate Research Center and Buzzards Bay Coalition  (khuizenga@woodwellclimate.org)

Christopher Neill, Woodwell Climate Research Center  (cneill@woodwellclimate.org)

Rachel Jakuba, Buzzards Bay Coalition  (jakuba@savebuzzardsbay.org)

Richard McHorney, Marine Biological Laboratory  (rmchorney@mbl.edu)

Tony Williams, Buzzards Bay Coalition  (williams@savebuzzardsbay.org)