Surface Water Quality Assessment of Apostle Island National Lakeshore - 2004

Abstract

NRRI and Apostle Island National Lakeshore staff sampled five open water sites in Lake Superior and 3 island lagoon sites three times during summer and fall 2004. The NPS Co^re ^uite parameters (temperature, specific conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH; NPS 2002) and water clarity were measured at all sites each sampling trip. Water and sediment samples were collected for additional chemical and biological analyses, along with zooplankton and benthic invertebrate sampling. The Core Suite of water quality parameters has been established by the NPS as part of a basic set of water quality measurements to be made for all monitored NPS aquatic resources along with lake level in lakes and some measure of flow in running waters (NPS 2002). NRRI also recommended to GLKN that a measure of water quality such as secchi depth for lakes, and transparency tube clarity for streams and lakes and wetlands too shallow for secchi depth measurement should always be considered as an additional Core Suite parameter (Axler et al. 2005a). A second set of water quality measurements is called the Advanced ^uite which includes parameters such as chlorophyll-a, nutrients (forms of nitrogen and phosphorus), major anions and cations, micronutrients, etc.