Potomac River Monitoring Programs

1
Potomac River Monitoring Programs

• R. Christian Jones and Donald P. Kelso
• Department of Environmental Science and Policy
• George Mason University

2
Current Potomac River Monitoring Programs
Department of Environmental Science
Policy George Mason University

• Gunston Cove Study
• Tidal Occoquan River Belmont Bay Continuous
  Monitor

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Gunston Cove Area of the Tidal Freshwater Potomac
River

• Gunston Cove
• Depth 1-2 m
• Reduced tidal velocities
• Sparse SAV
• River Channel
• Depth 12-15 m
• Strong tidal velocities
• SAV along margins

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Since 1984, water quality, plankton, fish and
benthos have been monitor-ed on a generally
semimonthly basis at a number of sites in the
Gunston Cove area.
Noman Cole PCP
Monitoring Site Key ? water quality and
plankton ?fish trawl fish seine
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Water Quality and Plankton VariablesGMU Gunston
Cove Study

• Water Quality Variables
• Temperature
• Conductivity
• Dissolved oxygen
• pH
• N NO3-, NH4, organic N
• P PO4-3, Total P
• BOD
• TSS, VSS
• Chloride
• Alkalinity

• Plankton Variables
• Surface Chlorophyll a
• Chlorophyll a
• Photosynthetic rate (mgC/L/hr) at light sat.
• PBmax (mgC/mgChla/hr)
• Phytoplankton cell density by species
• Phytoplankton biovolume by species
• Microzooplankton (44 µm net) abundance
• Macrozooplankton (202 µm net) abundance

• Fish Trawling and Seining

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Gunston Cove Study - 2006

• Profiles and chl a Semimonthly at 2 sites
• Nutrient samples (analyzed as part of DNR
  program) Semimonthly at 2 sites
• Fish seining and trawling at 3 sites each
  semimonthly
• Phytoplankton samples will preserved for possible
  later analysis
• Zooplankton will not be done

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Tidal Occoquan River Belmont Bay Continuous
Monitor
8
Tidal Occoquan River Belmont Bay Continuous
Monitor

• YSI 6600 connected to YSI 6200 with cell phone
  connection
• Sampling and communication protocol integrated
  with Md DNR eyes on the bay
• Staffed by Sara Clark, GMU graduate assistant and
  masters thesis student
• Nutrient analyses on a weekly to biweekly basis
  coinciding with sonde exchange