Particle suspensions and their regions of effect in the Neuse River Estuary: Implications for water quality monitoring

Monitoring of estuarine condition depends on water quality parameters that have significant and interpretable ecological effects and can be assessed either in situ or via rapid laboratory techniques. Two commonly measured parameters are water column turbidity (NTU) and total suspended solids (TSS). Under certain conditions, either of these measures could represent a proxy for runoff and provide rapid, in situ measures to improve protection of the public by decreasing the time required to detect and monitor associated effects (e.g., reduced water clarity and eutrophication). The Neuse River Estuary (NRE) has experienced a decline in water quality due to anthropogenic inputs, including stormwater containing nutrient and particle loads. Water samples were collected from the NRE during both dry weather and storm events over 16 mo across the entire estuarine gradient. Particle size distributions, ratio of particulate organic carbon to nitrogen, chlorophylla (chla), TSS, and NTU were measured in each of these samples, with the data separated into regions based on salinity and depth of sample collection. Particle analyses were directed at identifying suspensions dominated by phytoplankton, runoff particles, or resuspended sediments. Particle size distributions for suspensions in Region I (all samples with salinity less than 2) varied little during sampling, resulting in a robust NTU-TSS relationship. This relationship confirmed the usefulness of turbidity as a measure of runoff and resuspension of recently deposited runoff in the upper NRE. Phytoplankton cells represented a majority of the particles in Region II (surface samples with salinity greater than 2), based on the close relationship between chla and total particle volume in these samples. Suspensions of large, nearly uniform diameter particles, which are likely aggregates and resuspended sediment, were observed in Region III (bottom samples with salinity greater than 2). Using these techniques as part of routine monitoring, particle suspension measures in different hydrographic regions of an estuary provide evidence useful for identifying the source and water quality consequences of particle suspensions (e.g., microbial contamination and algal blooms).