Table of Contents

• Coverage
• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
• Data Files
• Related Publications
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Project Information
• Funding

The Neuse River Estuary Water Quality Dataset is a compilation of the biological, chemical and physical water quality data that was collected along the length of the Neuse River Estuary, NC from March 14, 1985 to February 15, 1989 and from January 24, 1994 to the present.  The primary purpose of this dataset was to provide long-term environmental information to supplement experimental, process-based research, including the Atlantic Coast Environmental Indicators Consortium (ACE-INC) project as well as other laboratory studies.  

This dataset contains auxiliary YSI data related to the dataset Neuse River Estuary WQ, https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/767391.

Bi-weekly water sampling and in situ measurements were performed at fixed sampling stations.  In situ measurements were performed throughout the water column in 0.5 meter depth increments.  Parameters measured include: temperature, salinity, specific conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, chlorophyll fluorescence, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), turbidity, and barometric pressure.

Methods
Water sampling was conducted bi-weekly. When collection was split over two days, a single date was used based on the upstream or majority stations.

Stations were selected to cover the entire length of the Neuse River Estuary from Streets Ferry Bridge (Station 0) to the mouth of the estuary where it flows into Pamlico Sound.  When possible, efforts were made to select locations with key stationary features (channel markers, buoys and land markers) to allow easy station identification in the field.

Surface water samples were collected by submerging 10 liter high-density polyethylene containers just below the water surface or by filling the containers with surface water collected from bucket casts.  Bottom water samples were collected with a horizontal plastic Van Dorn sampler. Starting December 2007, all samples collected with diaphragm pump and a weighted, marked hose. All containers were kept in dark coolers at ambient temperature during transport to the laboratory.  All filtration was done within a few hours of collection and when conditions permitted, on board the research vessel.

Prior to the 09/13/2000 sampling date, in situ measurements were performed at discrete depths using a Hydrolab Data Sonde 3 equipped with a multiprobe and SVR3 display logger.  Beginning on the 09/13/2000 sampling date, in situ measurements were performed at discrete depths on the sunlit side of the research vessel using a Yellow Springs Instruments (YSI Incoporated, Ohio) multiparameter sonde (Model 6600 or 6600 EDS-S Extended Deployment System) equipped with a YSI conductivity/temperature probe (Model 6560), a YSI chlorophyll probe (Model 6025), a YSI pH probe (Model 6561 or 6566), a YSI pulsed dissolved oxygen probe (Model 6562), a self cleaning YSI turbidity probe (Model 6026 or 6136), and beginning on the 07/30/2003 sampling date, a flat Li-Cor sensor (UWQ-PAR 6067).  The YSI sonde was coupled to a either a YSI 610 DM datalogger or a YSI 650 MDS Multi-parameter Display System datalogger.  In situ measurements were performed at the surface (approximately 0.2 meters) and at the bottom of the water column (approximately 0.5 meters from the sediment layer).  These data are included in the worksheet titled "NRE Dataset."  In situ measurements were also performed throughout the water column in 0.5 meter depth increments.  These data are included in the worksheet titled "NRE YSI Profiles."  The data were stored on the datalogger and downloaded to Ecowin software upon return to the laboratory.

Distance (in river kilometers) was calculated using ESRI ArcGIS software.  Distances were calculated using projected station locations (North Carolina State Plane 1983 meters projection).  Distances from station 0 through 30 (upper river stations) were measured along the main channel of the river. Distances from stations 30 to 180 were measured as straight lines between stations

BCO-DMO Processing Notes:
- added conventional header with dataset name, PI name, version date
- modified parameter names to conform with BCO-DMO naming conventions
- appended the AMS station coordinate information

NSF Award Abstract:

Climatic perturbations by drought-flood cycles, tropical storms, and hurricanes are increasingly important in Mid-Atlantic estuaries, leading to ecosystem-scale responses of the plankton system with significant trophic implications. Recent observations support an emerging paradigm that climate dominates nutrient enrichment in these ecosystems, explaining seasonal and interannual variability of phytoplankton floral composition, biomass (chl-a), and primary production (PP). This project will evaluate this paradigm in the two largest estuaries in the United States, Chesapeake Bay (CB) and Albemarle-Pamlico Sound-Neuse River Estuary (APS-NRE) by quantifying responses to climatic perturbations. This project will: (1) resolve long-term trends of plankton biomass/production from high variability driven by climatic forcing, such as drought-flood cycles that generate significant departures from the norm; (2) quantify the role of episodic wind and precipitation events, such as those associated with frontal passages, tropical storms, and hurricanes, that evoke consequential spikes of biomass/production outside the resolution of traditional methods. The field program will focus on event-scale forcing of phytoplankton dynamics by collecting shipboard, aircraft remote sensing, and satellite (SeaWiFS, MODIS-A) data, analyzing extensive monitoring data for CB and APS-NRE to develop context, and quantifying effects of climatic perturbations on phytoplankton dynamics as departures from long-term averages. The rapid-response sampling will be paired with numerical simulations using coupled hydrodynamic biogeochemical models based on the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS). This combination of observations and modeling will be used to explore mechanistic links and test empirical relationships obtained from field data.

Intellectual Merit. Drought-flood cycles, tropical storms, and hurricanes are occurring at increasing severity and frequency, exerting significant pressures on land margin ecosystems. Research and monitoring in these ecosystems has focused singularly on eutrophication for nearly five decades. Recognition of climatic perturbations as the underlying cause of phytoplankton variability represents a significant departure from this singular focus. This project will combine observations and modeling to significantly extend our knowledge of how climate regulates phytoplankton dynamics in estuaries. Progress in calibrating and validating hydrodynamic biogeochemical models with data collected in CB and APS-NRE by this project will lead to predictive capabilities thus far unattained, allowing us to evaluate the paradigm that climatic perturbations regulate phytoplankton dynamics in estuaries.

Broader Impacts: Addressing the effects of climatic perturbations on phytoplankton dynamics in estuaries with a combination of data collection, analysis, and mechanistic modeling has societal benefits for scientists and resource managers. Applications in addition to ?basic? science include the consideration of climatic forcing in designing effective nutrient management strategies. Specific impacts include: (1) quantifying the effects of climatic perturbations on planktonic processes for important estuarine-coastal ecosystems; (2) extending empirically-based water quality criteria forward by enabling predictions of floral composition, chl-a, and PP in changing climate conditions; (3) combining observations and mechanistic models to support scenario analysis, allowing us to distinguish long-term trends from variability imposed by climate. This project will offer a graduate course in physical transport processes and plankton productivity that will benefit from this research, support two Ph.D. students, and train undergraduates in NSF REU and minority outreach programs at HPL-UMCES and IMS-UNC. The main products will be peer-reviewed publications and presentations at scientific meetings. The three PIs maintain active web sites that will be used to distribute results and data.

NOTE:

Dr. Harding was the original Lead PI. Dr. Michael R. Roman was named as substitute PI when Dr. Harding served as a Program Director in the NSF Biological Oceanography Program for two years, and through his move to UCLA thereafter. Dr. Harding is responsible for the data holdings on this project and for coordinating their submittal to BCO-DMO.