Abstract
The total phosphorus data from 1968 to 1982 in the Lake Erie central basin trend study area was analyzed to determine in-lake responses to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) phosphorus loading reduction program. The available data for each year were divided into five subsets according to time of year and depth of the water column. Each data subset was regressed as a function of time and total phosphorus loadings to Lake Erie. Linear regression analysis indicates that the in-lake phosphorus concentrations have been decreasing and are well correlated with decreased loadings to the lake. The highest rate of phosphorus decrease with time (0.56 ± 0.10 mg · m −3 yr −1) was obtained by using epilimnetic concentrations from April to December for each year. This data subset also shows the best correlation with decreasing phosphorus loadings. From 1968 to 1982, Lake Erie offshore phosphorus concentrations responded to decreasing external phosphorus loadings at a rate of 0.45 ± 0.09 mg · m −3 per thousand metric tonnes.
Published Version
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