New Instrument Monitors Nutrient Inputs
Nutrients are a leading cause of water pollution. Natural and
man-made events can lead to dramatic changes in nutrient concentrations and
distributions in coastal waters. Such variations in nutrient levels can occur
rapidly and drastically influence algal growth rates. This can lead to eutrophication,
anoxia, Pfiesteria and red tide blooms, fish kills, and sometimes harmful
human health effects. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently
made a significant first step to protect coastal waters from excessive nutrient
inputs. EPA is setting water quality criteria for nutrients, including nitrogen
and phosphorous, and states are expected to adopt or revise their nutrient standards
by 2004, based on the new criteria. The new criteria are expected to significantly
reduce nutrients in the nationšs waterways. New
nutrient monitoring programs should be established to effectively define and
enforce the new nutrient water quality standards for coastal marine waters.
A new submersible nutrient analyzer, SubChemPak Analyzer,®
was developed for this purpose and is particularly suited for mapping nutrient
distributions in rivers and coastal waters. It is a rapid response, submersible
chemical analyzer designed for high-resolution, real-time measurements of selected
nutrients and other environmentally important chemicals. It utilizes continuous
flow analytical methodologies that are optimized for rapid in-water measurements
of dissolved nitrate, nitrite, iron, and other nutrients.
SubChem Systems, Inc. developed the SubChemPak
Analyzer at the Narragansett Bay Campus. GSO sponsored development and partial
funding was received from the R.I. Slater Center for Ocean Technology (formerly
the URI Ocean Technology Center).