Poster Details
REDUCING PHOSPHORUS LOADS IN LAKE ERIE AT SUBWATERSHED SCALE
Increased loading of phosphorus to the watersheds of Lake Erie through agricultural and urban runoff has been thought to be the main culprit for recent algal blooms. The excess availability of resources for the algae results in an overabundance of these organisms. Because of its municipality sizes and animal operations, the Portage River is important in understanding and tracking areas of high P runoff that could be contributing to algal blooms.
Stable isotopes of oxygen in phosphate can be used to determine the source of P since oxygen isotopes differ depending on sources. Water samples were taken at various reaches of the Portage River. Temperature was also taken at time of sampling. Samples were processed for silver phosphate and then analyzed for ?18O. From this analysis, we will be able to determine whether the sources of P are inorganic.
Gabrielle Metzner (Primary Presenter/Author), Bowling Green State University, gmetzne@bgsu.edu;