Title: The distribution of nutrients and phytoplankton in the North-East Irish Sea
Author: J.R. Allen
Author: E.G. Jones
Author: T.M. Shammon
Author: K.R. Nicholas
Author: S.J. Hawkins
Author: R.G. Hartnoll
Document Type: Monograph
Abstract:
This report is the product of a collaborative research project carried out between Port Erin Marine Laboratory (PEML) and National Rivers Authority (NRA) North West Region during 1995. The aim of this project was to examine spatial trends in nutrient concentrations and associated phytoplankton communities in the northeast Irish Sea. Concentrations of nutrients and their possible effects on phytoplankton are of interest in the Irish Sea as a whole, and in the north-eastern area in particular, for several reasons. Firstly, long-term studies at PEML have shown that concentrations of dissolved inorganic forms of both nitrogen and phosphorus have increased considerably in the Irish Sea since the 1950s and 1960s (fig.l), (Slinn 1990, Shammon et al 1995). Secondly, parts of the English coastal region off the Wirral and West Cumbria are candidate High Natural Dispersion Areas (HNDA) under the EU Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, raising the possibility
that comprehensive treatment of sewage discharged in this area will be of low priority in the future. These HNDA areas receive land-based nutrient inputs from two major industrial discharges and several river catchments. Furthermore, the Irish Sea as a whole is semi-enclosed and there is concern about the ability of anthropogenic inputs to disperse: water residence times in some areas are high, estimated at between three and six months for the north-eastern sector by the MAFF model.
Publisher: National Rivers Authority
Publication Date: 1996
Publication Place: Warrington
Subject Keywords: Marine environment; Nutrient availability; Nutrients; Water quality surveys; Eutrophication
Geographic Keywords: EA North West; Cumbria
Extent: 26; + figures
Permalink: http://www.environmentdata.org/archive/ealit:3457
Total file downloads: 280
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