Utilizing herbicide degradation products and artificial sweeteners as stable tracers to examine agricultural and urban nutrient sources within two tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay

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dc.contributor.advisorTorrents, Albaen_US
dc.contributor.advisorMcConnell, Lauraen_US
dc.contributor.authorGeis Asteggiante, Lucia Giorginaen_US
dc.contributor.departmentCivil Engineeringen_US
dc.contributor.publisherDigital Repository at the University of Marylanden_US
dc.contributor.publisherUniversity of Maryland (College Park, Md.)en_US
dc.date.accessioned2014-02-06T06:32:03Z
dc.date.available2014-02-06T06:32:03Z
dc.date.issued2013en_US
dc.description.abstractEutrophication of the Chesapeake Bay has contributed to a decline in ecosystem health within the watershed. In this study, MESA (a metabolite of metolachlor) and sucralose were proposed as stable tracers that could be used to discriminate nutrient contributions from agricultural versus urban sources. Two estuaries of the Chesapeake Bay were chosen as model systems: the Choptank River (agricultural) and the Anacostia River (urban). Surface water samples were collected and analyzed for herbicides, metabolites, artificial sweeteners and nutrients. Results supported the hypothesis that sucralose is present in waterways influenced by wastewater plants, and MESA was correlated with changes in nitrate concentration in the Choptank indicating agricultural sources. This work provides proof of concept that tracers can be used in the Chesapeake Bay region to distinguish the influence of urban and agricultural nutrient loads and provides a path to better assess restoration efforts and improved allocation of total maximum daily loads.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/14849
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.subject.pqcontrolledEnvironmental engineeringen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledChesapeake Bayen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledMESAen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledNitrateen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledOrtho-phosphorusen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledSucraloseen_US
dc.subject.pquncontrolledTraceren_US
dc.titleUtilizing herbicide degradation products and artificial sweeteners as stable tracers to examine agricultural and urban nutrient sources within two tributaries of the Chesapeake Bayen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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