Estimation of nutrient (N and P) fluxes into Newark Bay, USA

This study was conducted in northern New Jersey, USA, to estimate the nutrient fluxes from the Passaic River, the Hackensack River and other sources into Newark Bay and the nutrient residence time in Newark Bay. Biweekly total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) and orthophosphate concentration data in the Passaic River, the Hackensack River, and Newark Bay for over 15 years (2004-2019) were collected along with daily river discharge data from the public database. The annual TIN and orthophosphate (ortho-P) loading from the Passaic River ranged from 915 x 10(3) kg y(-1) to 251 x 10(4) kg y(-1) and 94 x 10(3) kg y(-1) to 372 x 10(3) kg y(-1), respectively. The annual TIN and ortho-P loading from the Hackensack River ranged from 3.13 x 10(3) kg y(-1) to 234 x 10(3) kg y(-1) and 0.28 x 10(3) kg y(-1) to 6.97 x 10(3) kg y(-1), respectively. Seasonal variation results indicated that hurricane events highly increased TIN and ortho-P loading from riverine input and reduced residence time in Newark Bay.

Automated summary

This study was conducted to estimate nutrient fluxes and residence time in Newark Bay by collecting biweekly concentration data of total inorganic nitrogen (TIN) and orthophosphate from the Passaic River, the Hackensack River, and Newark Bay over a period of 15 years (2004-2019). The annual loading of TIN and ortho-P from the Passaic River ranged from 915 x 10(3) kg y(-1) to 251 x 10(4) kg y(-1) and 94 x 10(3) kg y(-1) to 372 x 10(3) kg y(-1) respectively. The annual loading of TIN and ortho-P from the Hackensack River ranged from 3.13 x 10(3) kg y(-1) to 234 x 10(3) kg y(-1) and 0.28 x 10(3) kg y(-1) to 6.97 x 10(3) kg y(-1) respectively. Seasonal variation showed that hurricane events significantly increased nutrient loading from riverine input and decreased residence time in Newark Bay.