Water Quality in Three Local Bayous: Relationships Among Parameters with Spatial Visualization in GIS
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Abstract
The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationships among the parameters of temperature, nutrient levels, chlorophyll-a and dissolved oxygen. Each bayou was sampled monthly, from May through August, for 8 water quality parameters at 8 sites in each bayou. The data were analyzed by conducting correlations among the parameters. Interestingly, no significant, positive correlations were found among the four parameters of interest, nutrient levels, chlorophyll-a, temperature and dissolved oxygen (D.O.) was found. Increases in chlorophyll-a levels were not accompanied by increases in nutrient levels. Thus, the traditional view of nutrient loads increasing as rainfall carries fertilizer and other land based nutrients into the bayous was not supported by the results of the study. The study also focused on the relationship between temperature and dissolved oxygen levels . The traditional view of this relationship, that as waters warm, oxygen will be lost to the atmosphere was again, not supported by the data.