1 Water chemistry and nutrient cycling in tributaries of Lake Superior Amy Marcarelli Department of Biological Sciences 17 March 2014 Photos by A. Marcarelli.

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 Water chemistry and nutrient cycling in tributaries of Lake 

Superior

Amy MarcarelliDepartment of Biological Sciences

17 March 2014

Photos by A. Marcarelli or C. Huckins unless otherwise noted

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Coble et al. in review, J Geophy Res - Biogeosci

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Stream Ecosystem Ecology @ Michigan Tech

Stream – GREAT Lake interactions

Year-round stream biogeochemistry – what 

happens under all that snow?

A. Coble A. Coble

http://marcarelli-lab.bio.mtu.edu/

Monitoring Ecosystem Functions• Nutrient cycling• Material retention• Metabolism

Nutrient spiraling

Uptake Length (Sw)

Uptake Velocity (Vf)

Areal Uptake Rate (U)

𝑈=V f ×𝐶

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Calumet and Wallace Lake – long term monitoring

http://www.nwss.mtu.edu/sites.html

For information on long-term data:

Dr. Robert [email protected]

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Over the last 25 years at the Wallace watershed on Isle Royale, snowmelt has occurred more rapidly earlier in the growing season, resulting in less infiltration and higher runoff (A), concomitant with higher DOC concentrations in stream water (B).

  For information on long-term data:

Dr. Robert Stottlemyer, [email protected]

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Year-round measurements of nutrient uptake in a snowmelt-driven stream

A. A. Coble, A. M. Marcarelli, E. S. Kane 

Discharge

Disch

arg

e (L

s-1

)

0

100

200

300

400

NH4

NH

4 V

f (mm

min

-1)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

SRP

SR

P (m

m m

in-1

)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Detectable Vf Undetectable Vf

DOC

Ma

r M

ay

Se

p

No

v

Ma

r M

ay

Se

p

No

v

Ma

r M

ay

Se

p

No

v

Ma

r M

ay

Se

p

No

v

Jan

Jul

Jan

Jul

Jan

Jul

Jan

Jul

Jan

DO

C V

f (mm

min

-1)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

2013 201420122011

Discharge

Disch

arg

e (L

s-1

)

0

100

200

300

400

NH4

NH

4 V

f (mm

min

-1)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

SRP

SR

P (m

m m

in-1

)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Detectable Vf Undetectable Vf

DOC

Ma

r M

ay

Se

p

No

v

Ma

r M

ay

Se

p

No

v

Ma

r M

ay

Se

p

No

v

Ma

r M

ay

Se

p

No

v

Jan

Jul

Jan

Jul

Jan

Jul

Jan

Jul

Jan

DO

C V

f (mm

min

-1)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

2013 201420122011

Sum

mer

Sum

mer

Sum

mer

Sum

mer

Win

ter

Win

ter

Win

ter

Does in-stream processing of N occur in winter?  Discharge

Disch

arg

e (L

s-1

)

0

100

200

300

400

NH4

NH

4 V

f (mm

min

-1)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

SRP

SR

P (m

m m

in-1

)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Detectable Vf Undetectable Vf

DOC

Ma

r M

ay

Se

p

No

v

Ma

r M

ay

Se

p

No

v

Ma

r M

ay

Se

p

No

v

Ma

r M

ay

Se

p

No

v

Jan

Jul

Jan

Jul

Jan

Jul

Jan

Jul

Jan

DO

C V

f (mm

min

-1)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

2013 201420122011

Yes, Uptake Occurs in Winter Beneath Ice & Snow

Coble et al. in prep, Ecology

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Restoration of the Salmon Trout River, and mechanistic linkages between in-stream fine 

sediment and fluvial fishCasey Huckins, Amy MarcarelliPhD Students: Ashley Coble, Tony Matthys

around 1900:

~ over 100 coaster populations (Newman et al. 1999).

Lake Nipigon

Lake Superior

Nipigon Area

Salmon Trout River

Tobin HarborSiskiwit Bay

Currant RiverPancake River

Now:

scattered remnant populations (Hansen 1994), with small numbers (Huckins, et al. 2008)

Calumet0.003 m3 s-1

Little Huron   0.047 m3 s-1

Big Pup0.078 m3 s-1

Salmon Trout  0.786 m3 s-1

E. Br. Huron  0.180 m3 s-1  

Little Garlic  0.098 m3 s-1

Fish Abundance(2004-2012)

2D Graph 2

Sampling Sites

Fis

h A

bund

ance

(in

div

iduals

*m-2)

0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

Brook Trout Rainbow TroutCoho Salmon

Neighboring Rivers Salmon Trout River

Huckins et al. in prep

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Salmon Trout River water quality monitoring, 2010-2014

2012

Te

mpe

rature (C

)

0

5

10

15

20

25

Dissolve

d Oxyg

en (%

Sa

turation

)

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

2013

Con

duc

tivity

(m

S /

cm

)

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.10

0.12

0.14

0.16

0.18

Marcarelli & Huckins unpublished

Nitrogen Uptake

Calumet

Little Huron

Big PupLittle Garlic

E. Branch Huron

Salmon Trout

NH

4 V

f (mm

min

-1)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

20122013

ns 2012ns 2013 ns 2013

Coble et al. in prep – Limnol. Oceanogr.

[NH4] ug L-1

0 5 10 15 20 25

NH

4 Vf (m

m m

in-1

)

0

2

4

6

8 Salmon trout

2012

2013

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Monitoring stream ecosystem function responses to stamp sand stabilization in Hills Creek

Collaborators: Casey Huckins, Gina Nicholas (Houghton-Keewenaw Conservation District), Rob Aho (USDA-NRCS)

Students: Ashley Coble, James Olson, Tony Matthys

Functions to be monitored:• Nutrient uptake• Particulate and dissolved retention• Nutrient uptake• Organic matter transfer to fishes

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Map of the study streams; underlying imagery from July 2013. Note the large deposits of red-brown sand along Hills Creek and absence of similar deposition from Black Creek and the Gratiot River. Inset show the location of the study area relative to Lake Superior.

Gratiot RiverHills Creek

Black Creek

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Organic matter transfer to fishes

Coarse particulate organic matter retention

Retention of dissolved materials in transient 

storage

Nutrient uptake via nutrient spiraling 

techniques

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0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

Black Creek Hills Creek -Reference

Hills Creek -Restoration

Hills Creek -Stamp Sand

Gratiot

NH4Uptake velocity (m

m / m

in)

notdetected

Ammonium uptake velocity measured using nutrient injections in study streams. The only reach with undetectable nutrient uptake in August 2013 was one dominated by stamp sands on Hills Creek.

Marcarelli, Huckins et al. unpublished

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[email protected]

http://marcarelli-lab.bio.mtu.edu/

Photos by A. Marcarelli or C. Huckins unless otherwise noted

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Name of Academic Institution

Person Presenting

Type of Monitoring Data (e.g., water quality, sediment sampling, species census, etc.)

Location(s) Where Data Collected

Time PeriodData Collected

Data Available Online? (provide web address)

Michigan Tech

Amy Marcarelli,

Water chemistry and nutrient cycling in tributaries of Lake Superior

Various streams in Houghton, Keweenaw, Marquette counties

One historic dataset for 1980 - current; others 2011-2014

Not currently