Phosphorus Dynamics in the Water Column and Sediments of Barnegat Bay, New Jersey

Abstract

ABSTRACT Paudel, B.; Weston, N.; O'Connor, J.; Sutter, L., and Velinsky, D., 2017. Phosphorus dynamics in the water column and sediments of Barnegat Bay, New Jersey. In: Buchanan, G.A.; Belton, T.J., and Paudel, B. (eds.), A Comprehensive Assessment of Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey. Phosphorus (P) loadings are higher in northern Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, relative to southern Bay, whereas ambient dissolved P is higher in the southern part of the Bay. This study investigated the mechanism for higher water-column P in the southern part of the Bay relative to the northern Bay. The authors hypothesized that sediments may be the source of P to the water column in the southern Bay. Water-column samples and sediment cores were collected from 20 stations along the N-S gradient of the Bay on three dates (spring, summer, and fall) in 2014–15. Benthic sediment P flux experiments were conducted under oxic and anoxic conditions. Phosphorus was sequentially extracted from sediments into five operationally d...