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Effects of Nutrient Enrichment on Stream Ecosystems (NEET)

Status: Active
Principal Investigator: Christoper Mebane

USGS scientists taking water quality samples in Upper Snake River marsh area. Photo taken: Date
Photo by Christopher Mebane, USGS
The U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program has studied the effects of nutrient enrichment on stream ecosystems in agricultural settings. The study included chemical, physical, and biological sampling of 30 streams located in the upper Snake River basin of Idaho and Nevada. The upper Snake River study area is one of eight areas in contrasting agricultural settings that have been studied as part of the National NAWQA studies. The Idaho study sites are located in rangeland or cropland settings and encompass a range of very low to very high nutrient concentrations. Topics of particular interest in the study include:

  • seasonal patterns between nutrients, flows, algae and plants in streams
  • rooted aquatic plant vs. algae growth
  • stream metabolism and nutrient transport processes
  • field sample technique improvement