Sources, loads and dispersion of dissolved inorganic nutrients in Paranaguá Bay

Abstract

The present study focuses on the nutrient sources and gradients in Paranagua Bay (Southern Brazil), where nutrient inputs are related to losses from fertilizer loading in Paranagua harbour and the discharge of untreated waste water. The input of dissolved inorganic nutrients to the bay from the harbour and city, as well as from river and atmospheric deposition, amounted to 642 t year−1 DIN-N and 92 t year−1 PO4-P. Harbour losses accounted for 6 % of total DIN-N and 39 % of total PO4-P loads to the bay, whereas sewage inputs from the city were responsible for 21 % and 22 %, respectively. River inputs made up 68 % of DIN-N, mainly in the form of nitrate, and 35 % of PO4-P loads, while atmospheric wet deposition was estimated to be in the order of 5 % of DIN-N and 4 % of PO4-P loads. Local maxima in nutrient levels deriving from highly concentrated sewage discharge were observed in front of the harbour and city of Paranagua, but the plumes are diluted rapidly due to short residence times. DIN concentrations are negatively correlated with salinity, indicating the importance of freshwater input as a main factor controlling nitrogen distribution. Elevated phosphate levels in the stratified middle section of the bay may result both from harbour emissions and phosphate remobilization from sediments. Generally lower DIN and PO4 concentrations during the warmer rainy season are supposed to be due to intensified assimilation rates especially in the middle section of the bay where dense phytoplankton blooms are observed. The bay as a whole cannot be classified as being seriously eutrophic, albeit eutrophication symptoms prevail in some restricted locations in front of Paranagua harbour.