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Real-time Streamflow and Water Quality (Mississippi River Basin Discharge to the Gulf)

Knowledge of temporal variations in nutrient concentrations and flux from the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin to the Gulf of Mexico is critical to understanding the processes that affect the duration and extent of the hypoxic zone which develops each summer in the Gulf. In 2006, in response to these concerns the USGS installed water-quality monitors at three sites for real-time (every two hours) measurements of nitrate concentrations. The sites are:

• Mississippi River at Baton Rouge, LA
• Atchafalaya River at Morgan City. LA
• Wax Lake Outlet (an Atchafalaya River distributary) at Calumet. LA

These data are provisional. These monitors are operated as part of an effort to develop reliable and consistent real-time monitoring capabilities for nutrients. These data have not been screened for anomalous readings. The real-time nutrient sampling effort at Baton Rouge and Wax Lake Outlet is operated in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Morgan City site is operated in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) Gulf of Mexico Program. The Mississippi River at Baton Rouge site will monitor phosphate as well as nitrate. Combined with stream-discharge information, this will allow researchers and data managers to better quantify seasonal variations in nitrate flux, to predict the size of the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico, and adopt efficient management actions that mitigate Gulf hypoxia.

More Mississippi River Basin Streamflow and Water Quality Info