TY - JOUR
T1 - Evaluation of management strategies for reducing nitrogen loadings to four US estuaries
AU - Whitall, D.
AU - Castro, M.
AU - Driscoll, C.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by funding from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the Jessie B. Cox Charitable Trust, the John Merck Fund, the Merck Family Fund and the Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust. We would like to thank Paul Stacey (CT Department of Environmental Protection) and Rick Haueber (USEPA) for helpful discussions on management scenarios. We would also like to thank Kathy Fallon Lambert (Hubbard Brook Research Foundation) for her help with Table 3 and in the research and development of the management scenarios.
PY - 2004/10/15
Y1 - 2004/10/15
N2 - In this study we used the Watershed Assessment Tool for Evaluating Reduction Strategies for Nitrogen (WATERSN) model to evaluate a variety of management strategies for reducing nitrogen (N) loads to four US east coast estuaries: Casco Bay, Long Island Sound, Chesapeake Bay and Pamlico Sound. These management strategies encompass reductions in atmospheric emissions and deposition of N from sources including, fossil fuel burning utility emissions and mobile NOx emissions, N treatment in wastewater and controls on agricultural N inputs. We find that in primarily urban watersheds biological removal of N in wastewater treatment produces the greatest reduction in N loading (32-57% reductions), while in less urban watersheds, reductions in agricultural loading are more effective (5-56% reductions) in decreasing N loads to coastal ecosystems. Because anthropogenic N inputs are derived from a variety of sources, we also examined an integrated scenario targeting all major N sources; this resulted in 35-58% reductions in N loading. Nitrogen pollution originates from multiple sources and is transported through several media (air, soil, water); a major challenge of the development of N management strategies will be the control of multiple sources to effectively reduce N loads to estuaries.
AB - In this study we used the Watershed Assessment Tool for Evaluating Reduction Strategies for Nitrogen (WATERSN) model to evaluate a variety of management strategies for reducing nitrogen (N) loads to four US east coast estuaries: Casco Bay, Long Island Sound, Chesapeake Bay and Pamlico Sound. These management strategies encompass reductions in atmospheric emissions and deposition of N from sources including, fossil fuel burning utility emissions and mobile NOx emissions, N treatment in wastewater and controls on agricultural N inputs. We find that in primarily urban watersheds biological removal of N in wastewater treatment produces the greatest reduction in N loading (32-57% reductions), while in less urban watersheds, reductions in agricultural loading are more effective (5-56% reductions) in decreasing N loads to coastal ecosystems. Because anthropogenic N inputs are derived from a variety of sources, we also examined an integrated scenario targeting all major N sources; this resulted in 35-58% reductions in N loading. Nitrogen pollution originates from multiple sources and is transported through several media (air, soil, water); a major challenge of the development of N management strategies will be the control of multiple sources to effectively reduce N loads to estuaries.
KW - Estuaries
KW - Eutrophication
KW - Nitrogen pollution
KW - Nutrient management
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U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2004.05.006
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2004.05.006
M3 - Article
C2 - 15364517
AN - SCOPUS:4444271418
VL - 333
SP - 25
EP - 36
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
SN - 0048-9697
IS - 1-3
ER -