Coupling of Watersheds and Coastal Waters in Waquoit Bay

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Nutrient loading from watersheds to coastal waters leads to many effects on nature some of which are drastic enough to attract public attention such as with fin- or shellfish kills. Increased nutrient loading from anthropogenic sources has major impacts on the structure and function of shallow coastal ecosystems. To understand the processes driving nutrient flux in the land/sea margin ecosystems, it is necessary to determine how rates of nutrient loading from watersheds are coupled to the responses of the receiving system. Dr. Valiela and scientists from five other institutions will investigate the coupling in Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts. They will model and measure both the terrestrial and the aquatic components of the area in order to trace the effects of the nutrient supply on the Bay.