Physical and chemical characteristics of the nearshore zone of Lake Ontario

Lake Michigan: Nearshore variability and a nearshore–offshore distinction in water quality

“…A consistent pattern is emerging on water quality regions extending from shore in similarity with previous lake-wide studies for Lake Michigan (Table 5), other Great Lakes (Yurista et al unpublished) and more regional studies in Lake Ontario (Makarewicz et al, 2012).…”

Exploring spatial trends and causes in Lake Ontario coastal chemistry: Nutrients and pigments

“…Water samples were collected monthly from May through September in each year (with occasional samples from October and November) from 39 sites along the southern shore of Lake Ontario from the Niagara River in the west to Chaumont Bay in the east using a Van Dorn type water sampler ( Fig. 1) (e.g., Makarewicz et al, 2012a). Sites were selected to cover a wide variety of habitat types that included rivers, embayments, coastal shoreside waters, and offshore waters along the southern and eastern shores of Lake Ontario.…”

“…Nutrients, chlorophyll, and even temperature were more variable and reached higher levels in the nearshore than in the offshore (Makarewicz and Howell, 2007;Makarewicz et al 2012a). A recurring pattern was a drop in these features away from the shoreline with little or subtle decline beyond 1 to 3 km from the shore.…”

“…Wide variability in nutrients, major ions, suspended solids, and Escherichia coli was observed over the nearshore; variability correlated with proximity to the shoreline and within geographic areas. Howell et al (2012a) and Makarewicz et al (2012a) have suggested that a thin band of water with a unique but variable water chemistry compared to both offshore waters and tributaries may extend up to 4 km into the open waters along the southern coast of Lake Ontario during the late spring and summer. For example, at the Rochester nearshore sites in June, temperature, specific conductance, TP, and turbidity were elevated out to at least 3-4 km from the shoreline (Makarewicz et al, 2012a,b).…”

Using SWAT to determine reference nutrient conditions for small and large streams

“…Weekly samples were taken from 3 August 2010 through 23 August 2011. Adapted fromMakarewicz et al (2012).…”