Visualization of Productivity Zones Based on Nitrogen Mass Balance Model in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island

This study estimate the extension of the riverine nitrogen impacts and the primary productivity for better nutrient management in Narragansett Bay, the coastal area in the Rhode Island, USA. With increased primary production and hypoxia due to anthropogenic emissions of nutrients, understanding the nitrogen inputs into the bay is critical to managing and addressing coastal issues such as eutrophication and hypoxia. However, estimating the extent of nutrient inputs in coastal areas remains challenging.

In this study, three different primary productivity zones were identified to visualize the extent of nitrogen influence from the river in the bay using the N mass balance model. This study also produced the results into a 3D representation for better visualization and nutrient management in the bay. As explained in the manuscript, the three theoretical zone can change over time depending on the nutrient concentration of the freshwater, mixing rate, and the river flow.

As a result, the future work are the required to quantify these factors attributed to the flexibility of these regions better.