Saint Louis River Estuary Water Chemistry, Wisconsin, Minnesota, USA 2012 - 2013

These data pertain to water and sediments collected from the Saint Louis River Estuary
(SLRE) and its nearby water sources by Luke Loken and collaborators for his Masters thesis
and additional publications. In brief, we sampled SLRE surface waters and sediments for a
variety of physical, chemical, and biological attributes. Ten estuary stations were sampled
approximately monthly from April 2012 through September 2013. On four of the sampling
campaigns, water was collected from an additional 20 sites. Sites were selected to represent
a gradient from the Saint Louis River to Lake Superior and included several tributaries that
drain directly into the estuary. This design aimed to understand the spatial and temporal
mixing pattern of the estuary as it receives water from several rivers, 2 waste water
treatment plant, and Lake Superior. We sampled the estuary to assess the magnitude and
timing of source water contributions to the estuary and establish a baseline of chemical and
physical measurements to aid in future limnological research. Additionally, we performed
nitrogen and carbon cycling rate experiments to determine the estuary-wide influence on
nitrate, ammonium, and dissolved organic carbon. This included 8 sediment denitrification, 1
nitrification, and 2 breakdown dissolved organic carbon (BDOD) surveys. This work was funded
by the Minnesota and Wisconsin Sea Grant and in coordination with the establishment of the
Lake Superior National Estuary Research Reserve (LSNERR).