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Poster Abstracts
Title: Remote robotic monitoring of suspensoid-based water quality in Onondaga Creek, NY.
Authors:
Anthony R. Prestigiacomo, Steven W. Effler, David M. O'Donnell, MaryGail Perkins,
Upstate Freshwater Institute Inc., Syracuse, NY
Edward Michalenko
Onondaga Lake Clean Corp, Syracuse NY
Abstract: Onondaga Creek, and downstream Onondaga Lake are strongly impacted by excessively high sediment loading caused by historic solution mining of NaCl in the watershed by a soda ash manufacturer. Sediment concentrations in, and loading carried by, Onondaga Creek increase strongly during runoff events. The detailed dynamics of suspended solids loading and related optical properties of turbidity and beam attenuation coefficient are assessed and presented for a creek site located upstream of the City of Syracuse, over the May-October interval of 2003. Monitoring is conducted by a remote computer-controlled robotic monitoring unit, which draws stream water through it continuously. Monitoring (probes/sensor: temperature specific conductance, turbidity, and beam attenuation coefficient) and sample collection (ISCO® samples; laboratory analysis of suspended solids) are controlled through telemetry by a base station computer. Data will be delivered in near-real-time to a web site (www.ourlake.org), which also currently receives and displays data from robotic deployments on Onondaga Lake and the river that receives the lake outflow, for dissemination to the community, lake managers, and the research community. Probe measurements are made at 15 min intervals, and samples collected at least daily, during base flow conditions. These frequencies can be increased during runoff events. Evaluations of suspended solids concentrations, turbidity, andbeam attenuation coefficient, as a function of stream flow, are presented.
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Title:
Inorganic tripton in the Finger Lakes of New York
Authors:
Feng Peng and Steven W. Effler
Upstate Freshwater Institute Inc.,Syracuse, NY
Abstract: Individual particle analysis by scanning electron microscopy interfaced with automated image analysis and X-ray microanalysis (IPA/SAX) was used to characterize inorganic tripton in 11 Finger Lakes of New York. SAX provides combined chemical (elemental) and morphological characterization of a large number of individual particles. Results are presented in terms of particle projected area per unit volume (PAV, cm2/L), consistent with the optical impacts of the suspended particulate material. PAV is partitioned into generic particle types based on particles' elemental compositions, leading to resolution of origins of these particles as to allochthonous/terrigenous (e.g., clay minerals and quartz) versus autochthonous (e.g., CaCO3 precipitation) sources. Based on samples collected on four occasions in the summer of 1996, clay mineral particles dominate the particle populations in most of these lakes, while CaCO3 precipitates are the most important component in two eastern lakes (Owasco and Otisco). Regulation of common optical properties in these systems by inorganic tripton is established based on the PAV results and paired optical measurements [turbidity (Tn) and Secchi disc transparency (SD)] made at the time of sample collection. Inorganic tripton PAV is found to account for > 75% of the variations observed in the total populations of both Tn and 1/SD, according to linear models. Furthermore, the inter-system differences in optical properties can also be well explained (> 65%) by the levels of inorganic tripton in these systems.
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Title: New York's Near-Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring Network
Authors:
David M. O'Donnell, Steven W. Effler, Susan M. Doerr O'Donnell, Tony Presigacomo
Upstate Freshwater Institute Inc., Syracuse, NY
Abstract: New technologies in remote robotic computer driven monitoring and probe/sensor measurements provide increased capabilities to meet contemporary challenges of protecting water quality, and offer rare opportunities for research and education. The challenges and opportunities in New York are particularly great, because of the richness of the state's aquatic resources and the acute demands on their quality. New York's emerging robotic monitoring network is described, that by the end of 2002 will include 15 robotic monitoring units, located on: Lake George (1 unit), the Finger Lakes (3 units; Otisco, Skaneateles, and Cayuga), Onondaga Lake and its tributaries (3 units), Seneca River (3 units), and reservoirs and tributaries of New York City's water supply (5 units). There are two types of monitoring units, profiling buoys (lakes, reservoirs and rivers), and stream monitors that make measurements on water withdrawn from the stream. The array of robotic measurements presently made within the New York network is presented. In all cases, robotic measurements are being delivered in near-real-time to data centers accessible by water quality managers, and in some cases data are posted in engaging formats in near-real-time at dedicated web sites to engage communities in their local environments. Examples of robotic monitoring data are presented that depict an array of phenomena and impacts. Demonstrations accessing near-real-time water quality monitoring data from multiple sites will be made. Programs are underway to integrate the near-real-monitoring capabilities of portions of the network with existing and evolving mathematical models to provide powerful near-real-time modeling capabilities.
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Title: Estimation of metabolic rates through robotic in situ diel DO measurements
Authors:
Rakesh K. Gelda, Steven W. Effler, , and Susan M. Doerr O'Donnell, David M. O'Donnell
Upstate Freshwater Institute Inc., Syracuse, NY
Abstract: Primary production and community respiration are important metabolic processes in aquatic ecosystems that need to be quantified in various water quality models (e.g., eutrophication). The advent of robotic monitoring capabilities for a number of water quality parameters has made it feasible to estimate these processes remotely, in near-real-time, and thereby support related near-real-time water quality models. Here we demonstrate the capability for eutrophic Onondaga Lake, N.Y. Estimates of net primary production, community respiration (R') and gross primary production (Pg) are developed and presented for the productive layers of the lake, for time scales ranging from diel to several months, based on four months of robotic diel (mostly hourly) profiles of dissolved oxygen (DO) and temperature. Profiling sequences are controlled by an on-board computer, and collected data are delivered to a remote base station computer through cellular telephone communications. Metabolic rate calculations are made through application of a DO mass balance framework that also accommodates inputs and losses of DO mediated by exchange across the air-water interface and across the lower boundary of the productive layers. Study average estimates of R' (1.5 gO2·m‑3·d‑1) and Pg (1.6 gO2·m‑3·d‑1) obtained by this non-isolated community approach are consistent with levels reported in the literature for similar chlorophyll levels, based on isolated (light/dark bottle) protocols. The non-isolated (robotic) approach is expected to provide reliable estimates of these rates for productive systems at time scales as small as several days to a week. Protocols to fully automate the calculations will be presented.
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Title: Geologic Sections of the Onondaga Creek Valley and some Tributary Valleys
Authors:
Bill Kappel
US Geological Survey, Ithaca, NY
Abstract: Geologic Sections of the Onondaga Valley and some Tributary Valleys - Geologic data from numerous drilling projects in the Syracuse region were collected and synthesized into a series of geologic sections across the Onondaga Valley, and some tributary valleys. Most geologic sections rely on data collected for the Interstate Highway system (Interstates 81, 481, 690, and 90) as well as many individual site assessments (construction of large buildings and bridges, and contaminant site assessments). The compilation of these sections show that the glacial history of the valley is complex and apparently much different than the Finger Lake valleys to the west. The geologic sections will be used to construct a geologic model of the glacial sediments in the Onondaga Valley and this geologic model will serve as the framework for the USGS regional ground-water-flow model.
Title:Hydrogeology of the Onondaga Valley - Preliminary Data Assessments
Authors:
Bill Kappel
US Geological Survey, Ithaca, NY
Abstract: Hydrogeology of the Onondaga Valley - Preliminary Data Assessments - Many forms of data have been collected in and near the Onondaga Valley as part of the development of a regional ground-water-flow model of the unconsolidated sediments in the valley. All of the data is input to a Geographic Information System (GIS) and some initial assessments of the data are presented, including a shaded-relief map of the surface topography as well as a shaded-relief map of the bedrock surface in the Onondaga Valley (Tully to Baldwinsville). Preliminary assessment of continuous core taken during the 2002 drilling program are presented as stratigraphic profiles of specific conductance of matrix water at four drillsites in the main valley. These and other data served as the subject of a recently completed MS thesis by Amanda Baldauf (SUNY-ESF) titled "The Origin of Onondaga Valley Brines: A Geochemical Investigation"
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Title: Optical Teledetection of Chlorophyll a in Central New York Lakes and Rivers: A Cross-System Comparison
Authors:
Herman J. Gons
NIOO-KNAW Centre for Limnology, Nieuwersluis, NL
Martin T. Auer
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
Abstract: Optical teledetection (OTD), an approach for near-real time assessment of phytoplankton biomass, is based on the mathematical decomposition of spectral reflectance data, i.e. measurements of intrinsic water color. Most commonly associated with airborne and satellite platforms, these optical techniques can also be applied from research vessels, providing opportunities for exceptional levels of spatial resolution. While OTD has been successfully applied to clear oceanic waters, estimation of chlorophyll a in (Chl-a) coastal and inland waters has been problematic. A recently-developed Chl-a retrieval algorithm based on the near-infrared to red reflectance waveband ratio provides a satisfactory means for applying OTD to turbid inland and coastal waters. This poster reports on efforts to apply this algorithm in assessing algal biomass in several central New York lake and river environments. Subsurface irradiance reflectance was estimated from above-water measurements with a PhotoResearch PR-650 SpectraColorimeter. Paired measurements of Chl-a were made for each site. The algorithm performed well for mesotrophic to eutrophic sites in Central New York, manifesting a behavior similar to that of optically deep, well-mixed lakes, rivers, estuaries and coastal waters elsewhere. Efforts to apply OTD to Skaneateles Lake, a very clear, oligotrophic system, met with less success and call for development of a new algorithm
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Title: Seasonality in Bioavailable Particulate Phosphorus Loads from Onondaga Creek
Authors:
Daniel M. Nover and Martin T. Auer
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
Abstract: Establishment of an accurate and appropriate Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) for phosphorus requires that the bioavailability, i.e. ability to support algal growth, of this critical nutrient be quantified. It is generally accepted that the soluble component of the phosphorus analyte is entirely available to algae, either directly or through enzyme-mediated reactions. Such is not the case for particulate phosphorus, where bioavailability may vary widely (e.g. 5-75%) depending on the source of the particulate matter. Algal bioassays, complemented by chemical analyses, provide a means of characterizing the bioavailability of particulate phosphorus. Here, we describe the results of a suite of algal bioassays and chemical measurements conducted on samples collected near the mouth of Onondaga Creek over the March – October interval of 1999. Assay results are utilized together with information on stream flow and phosphorus concentrations to compare loadings of bioavailable P under base flow and storm event conditions. An approach for integrating biological and chemical assay results into a conceptual framework useful for mathematical modeling is presented.
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Title: A Geo-Statistical Analysis Of The Distribution and Toxicity of Contaminated Sediments in Onondaga Lake
Authors:
Donald J. Hughes
Hughes Consulting Services, Syracuse, NY
Myrna Hall, Jerry Mead, and Patty Thompson
Geographic Modeling Services, Jamesville, NY
Abstract: Onondaga Lake, situated in Syracuse, NY, was designated a Federal Superfund site in 1994 due to extensive sediment contamination, as well as surrounding hazardous waste sites which continue to contribute pollutants. We applied geo-statistical modeling procedures to assess the extent and degree of contamination throughout the top 30-cm of sediments. This analysis, which incorporates data from 132 core samples collected in years 1992 and 2000, illustrates the areal distribution of contamination throughout the lake. We then calculated the toxicity levels for benthic (bottom dwelling) organisms using the New York State sediment screening criteria guidelines (DEC 1999) in order to better understand the extent and level of risk posed by the multiple contaminants present in the top, bio-available layer of sediment. We focused on benthic organism toxicity because the benthic organism effects levels have been developed across numerous contaminants, while those for humans are currently quite limited. Benthic organisms are in direct contact with surface sediments, and consequently experience the most direct toxic effects.
Our analysis shows that in the southeast corner of the lake, BTEX (benzene, toluene ethylbenzene, and xylenes), chlorinated benzenes, PAHs (polyaromatic hydrocarbons), and mercury are all present at concentrations well in excess of sediment screening levels established by New York State DEC. Varying levels of PAHs in total, and naphthalene in particular, contaminate the southern one-third of the lake. The central and northern portions of the lake are much less affected by the organic compounds that we examined, but are still highly contaminated by mercury. Mercury covers the broadest area by far, with approximately 950 hectares (2350 acres) at or above a level expected to cause "severe" toxicity to benthic organisms. Chlorinated benzenes occur at concentrations up to 3600 times NYS screening level criteria, but over a much smaller area. Thus, it is likely that restoration of the benthos of the lake would require significant remedial actions, such as removal or capping of sediments.
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Title: The Return of the Native? The origin of grazing zooplankton in Onondaga Lake following industry shutdown.
Authors:
Nelson G. Hairston, Jr., Colleen M. Kearns, Jennifer A. Fox, Torrance Hanley
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Abstract:
Industrial pollution of Onondaga Lake during the twentieth century caused many native species of zooplankton to disappear from the water column, including the major cladoceran algal grazers Daphnia pulicaria, Daphnia ambigua. Because these species can have a significant impacts on algal biomass, water clarity, lake primary productivity and the rates and routes of nutrient cycling, their absence substantially altered the functioning of the pelagic ecosystem of Onondaga Lake. After major chemical industry activity ceased in 1986, Daphnia species native to upstate New York rapidly reinvaded the water column of Onondaga Lake, and it is of interest to know if the populations were founded by individuals dispersing from outside the Onondaga Lake basin, or if they came from the hatching of long-lived dormant eggs laid when the native species were present in the early 1900s.
The conditions for dormant-egg survival were explored by documenting the distribution of heavy metals buried in the lake sediments along with the fraction of eggs that could be hatched. Sediments from Oneida Lake served as a reference system for egg hatching in sediments with much lower heavy metal concentrations. Dormant eggs laid after the species reinvaded Onondaga Lake in 1987 readily hatched in the lab, whereas those from deeper sediments, coincident with peak heavy metal concentrations did not. In Oneida Lake, however, dormant eggs generally also could not be hatched from sediments much older than the mid-1980s. A striking exception is the high fraction of the dormant eggs of the abundant rotifer, Brachionus calyciflorus, that hatched from Onondaga Lake sediments as old as 80 years despite being buried in heavy-metal laden sediments.
The source of Daphnia species reinvading Onondaga Lake in the 1980s was studied using molecular genetic markers. For Daphnia pulicaria, we found an mtDNA sequence that is present at three different time horizons (1930, 1950 and recent) in Onondaga Lake sediments, but is completely absent from populations in other upstate New York lakes. This strongly suggests that D. pulicaria was re-established by the hatching of dormant eggs laid in the past within the lake. Similarly, the Daphnia galeata population that appeared in Onondaga Lake in 1987 had a microsatellite DNA sequence distinct from populations living in other nearby lakes. In this case, however, the unique sequence is similar to that of this species from a European lake. This result is consistent with Derek Taylor's conclusion that the D. galeata in Onondaga Lake is a hybrid population of native North American and European genotypes. These results suggest D. galeata invaded from an outside source population.
Our results show that the re-establishing zooplankton populations in Onondaga Lake following the shutdown of chemical plants along its shore originated from diverse sources both inside and outside the lake basin
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