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ESTUARINE WATER QUALITY
IN PARKS OF THE
NORTHEAST COASTAL BARRIER NETWORK
Development and Early Implementation
of Vital Signs Estuarine Nutrient-Enrichment
Monitoring, 2003-06
Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NCBN/NRTR—2009/266
Blaine S. Kopp1
Martha Nielsen2
Dejan Glisic3
Hilary A. Neckles1
1U.S. Geological Survey
Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
196 Whitten Rd.
Augusta, ME 04330
2U.S. Geological Survey
Maine Water Science Center
196 Whitten Rd.
Augusta, ME 04330
3IAP World Services
U.S. Geological Survey
196 Whitten Rd.
Augusta, ME 04330
November 2009
U.S. Department of the Interior
National Park Service
Natural Resource Program Center
Fort Collins, Colorado
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Abstract
This report documents results of pilot tests of a protocol for monitoring estuarine nutrient
enrichment for the Vital Signs Monitoring Program of the National Park Service Northeast
Coastal and Barrier Network. Data collected from four parks during protocol development in
2003-06 are presented: Gateway National Recreation Area, Colonial National Historic Park, Fire
Island National Seashore, and Assateague Island National Seashore. The monitoring approach
incorporates several spatial and temporal designs to address questions at a hierarchy of scales.
Indicators of estuarine response to nutrient enrichment were sampled using a probability design
within park estuaries during a late-summer index period. Monitoring variables consisted of
dissolved-oxygen concentration, chlorophyll a concentration, water temperature, salinity,
attenuation of downwelling photosynthetically available radiation (PAR), and turbidity. The
statistical sampling design allowed the condition of unsampled locations to be inferred from the
distribution of data from a set of randomly positioned “probability” stations. A subset of
sampling stations was sampled repeatedly during the index period, and stations were not rerandomized
in subsequent years. These “trend stations” allowed us to examine temporal
variability within the index period, and to improve the sensitivity of the monitoring protocol to
detecting change through time. Additionally, one index site in each park was equipped for
continuous monitoring throughout the index period. Thus, the protocol includes elements of
probabilistic and targeted spatial sampling, and the temporal intensity ranges from snapshot
assessments to continuous monitoring.
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To open the report, click here (11 MB).