| Project Abstract: |
The Mississippi National River and Recreational Area (MISS) protects a highly developed strech of the Mississippi River within the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. Water quality in the corridor is affected by point and nonpoint source pollutants, and is a management concern of high priority. Many agencies monitor water quality within the corridor, but to date the data have not been analyzed and interpreted with respect to MISS. For this project, the principle investigators will analyze water quality data to provide an improved understanding of current water quality conditions and recent water quality trends throughout MISS.
Water quality variables will be selected for analysis based on park management interest, data availability, and consistency with the core and advanced suite of water quality variables selected by GLKN. Likely variable include temperature, pH, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, total nitrogen, nitrate- plus nitrite-nitrogen, ammonia- plus ammonium-nitrogen, total phosphorus, ortho-phosphate, total chlorophyll a , total suspended solids, and turbidity.
The principle investigators will assess current water quality conditions and analyze 30-year trends at 7 sites on the Mississippi River, determine downstream spatial trends in water quality, and calculate loads at three sites where adequate flow data exist. |
