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Phytoplankton Patterns in Massachusetts Bay—1992–2007

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Abstract

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) conducts a comprehensive multidisciplinary monitoring program in Massachusetts Bay, Cape Cod Bay, and Boston Harbor to assess the environmental effects of a relocated secondary-treated effluent outfall. Through 2007, 8.7 years of baseline data and 7.3 years of postdiversion data (16 total years), including species level estimates of phytoplankton and zooplankton abundance, have been collected. MWRA’s monitoring program and other studies make this region one of the most thoroughly studied and well-described marine systems in the world. The data show that the diversion of MWRA effluent from the harbor to the bay has decreased nutrients concentrations and improved water quality in the harbor (e.g., higher dissolved oxygen, lower chlorophyll). The diversion also resulted in an increase in dissolved inorganic nutrients (especially ammonium) in the vicinity of the bay outfall, but no obvious impacts such as increased biomass or decreased bottom water dissolved oxygen have been observed. Regional changes in phytoplankton and zooplankton unrelated to the diversion have been seen, and it is clear that the bays are closely connected both physically and ecologically with the greater Gulf of Maine. Direct responses to modifications of the nutrient field within a 10 × 10-km area centered near the midpoint of the 2-km long outfall diffuser in Massachusetts Bay (a.k.a. the nearfield) have not been seen in the plankton community. However, plankton variability in the bays has been linked to large regional to hemispheric scale (NAO) processes.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the field scientists from Battelle, MWRA, and MWRA HOM2 contract team for their dedication and commitment to excellence in conducting the MWRA water quality surveys in Massachusetts and Cape Cod Bays. They have performed with distinction under both ideal and challenging weather conditions. Without them, this paper would not be possible. Laboratory scientists from Battelle, the University of Rhode Island, and MWRA are also thanked for their conduct of the nutrient analysis under the HOM study series. Rocky Geyer’s input on the physics of Massachusetts Bay is gratefully acknowledged. One author (DB) acknowledges the support provided by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program (Grant RD83244301).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Battelle, 397 Washington Street, Duxbury, MA, 02332, USA

    Carlton D. Hunt & P. Scott Libby

  2. Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI, 02882, USA

    David G. Borkman

  3. Estuarine Research Center, Morgan State University, St. Leonard, MD, 20685, USA

    Richard Lacouture

  4. Biology Department and School for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, North Dartmouth, MA, 02747, USA

    Jefferson T. Turner

  5. Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, 100 First Avenue, Boston, MA, 02129, USA

    Michael J. Mickelson

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  1. Carlton D. Hunt
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Correspondence to Carlton D. Hunt.

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Hunt, C.D., Borkman, D.G., Libby, P.S. et al. Phytoplankton Patterns in Massachusetts Bay—1992–2007. Estuaries and Coasts 33, 448–470 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-008-9125-9

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