Title: Analysis of phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations in the Great Miami and Little Miami basins in Ohio, USA from 2015 to 2017
Abstract
Concentrations of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) in the Great Miami (GM) and Little Miami (LM) basins still remain among the highest detected in the United States. The recent nutrient analysis from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency revealed slightly above average P and N for the recorded period. To assess the temporal changes of nutrient concentrations, this short communication examined datasets collected in the GM and LM basins for three consecutive years—from 2015 to 2017. Our results indicated abrupt spikes of N concentrations in 2017 for six sample sites. By mapping 3 years of data, we found high annual differences in levels of P in the middle and southeast zones of the watersheds. The concentration levels of N did not change much over 3 years, except for specific hotspots in the middle section of the region. Our results could benefit environmental scientists and watershed managers in identifying optimum conditions and adopting new strategies and tools to further mitigate the input of P and N nutrients into the river systems of the GM and LM basins.