Assessment of coastal water quality at Fort Matanzas National Monument, 2012
Wright W , Gregory MB, Asper J. 2013. Assessment of coastal water quality at Fort Matanzas National Monument, 2012. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/SECN/NRDS—2013/451. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/2193728
The Southeast Coast Network conducted an assessment of water and sediment quality at Fort Matanzas National Monument as a part of the Network’s Vital Signs Monitoring program in July 2012. Monitoring was conducted following methods and standards developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a part of the National Coastal Assessment Program and included parameter estimates of water clarity, chlorophyll a, total dissolved nitrogen, phosphorous, and dissolved oxygen. Overall water quality index rating for the park area is fair, with three sites rated as poor, 20 rated as fair and eight rated as good. Individual site ratings indicated better water quality conditions in the waters immediately surrounding the park than in areas to the north and south of the park. Poor site ratings near the southern boundary of the assessed area may indicate an area of emerging concern. Water clarity was rated as good at 45% of sites in the assessed area with 19% rated as poor. Chlorophyll a levels were rated as fair at 81% of sites in the assessed area with 19% rated as poor. Dissolved inorganic nitrogen and dissolved inorganic phosphorus levels were each rated as good at the five sites nearest the park. DIN levels were rated as fair at all sites whereas DIP levels rated as fair in 65% of the sites, mainly in areas to the north and south of the Fort Matanzas. Dissolved oxygen levels were rated good at 65% of the sites and fair at 35% of the sites. No sites were rated poor due to low dissolved oxygen levels.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Wright, Wendy; Gregory, M.; Asper, Jennifer
- Date of Issue
- 2013-03
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/2193728
- Units
- FOMA , NRSS , SECN
- Keywords
- chlorophyll a, Estuary, Marine Water Quality Monitoring, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Sediment, Water Quality
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Water Chemistry