Water-Related News

‘Nutrient fingerprints’ help researchers track pollution

With multiple sources of pollutants spilling into Tampa Bay – but limited funding to address them all – it’s critical that bay managers identify the most important causes of contamination so we all get the biggest bang for our bucks.

Two researchers, one from the University of South Florida and another from Florida International University (FIU) in Miami, are taking different high-tech approaches to identify sources of nutrients and fecal coliform bacteria, both of which impair waters in Tampa Bay and its many tributaries.

One project emerged from a concept that the Ocean Conservancy proposed to a small group of private citizens and experts in Spring 2022 in St. Pete. The gist of the pitch, presented by Ocean Conservancy’s JP Brooker and Chris Robbins, was this: If we use cutting-edge science to pinpoint the sources of nutrients, we can more effectively tailor place- or policy-based interventions to reduce those nutrient sources and the harmful algal blooms they fuel. While this research is just beginning, it promises to help provide cost-effective solutions that will be even more important as the region’s population continues to grow. The “Nutrient Fingerprint Project” was born.

Nutrient Fingerprints Help Identify Culprits

Like a detective tracking a murder suspect based on his fingerprints, researchers from FIU are tracking nutrient pollution based on their unique fingerprints. The work here follows a similar study in Biscayne Bay, where Kassidy Troxell, now an assistant professor at FIU, tracked phosphorus loadings to a bay with significant seagrass losses and major fish kills every summer for three years.