Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2010AL90B

Nitrogen Retention in Riverine Shoal Habitat of Central Alabama: An assessment of Direct and Indirect Mechanisms

Institute: Alabama
Year Established: 2010 Start Date: 2010-03-01 End Date: 2011-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $25,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $51,251

Principal Investigators: Jennifer Edmonds

Abstract: Water quality in the Mobile River basin has been altered by point and non-point source pollution from urban and agricultural runoff with serious consequences for the diverse fauna found throughout this drainage system. Of particular concern are elevated river nutrient concentrations, as these pollutants can contribute to hypoxic events in recipient coastal ecosystems, depressing fisheries yields, and discouraging tourism as has been documented in the Gulf of Mexico over the last two decades. Understanding and predicting the capacity of rivers to retain nutrients and alleviate coastal eutrophication is critical to management of point and non-point source contributions and is the focus of the research delineated in this proposal.