Boynton Inlet 48-hour sampling intensives, June and September 2007

Researchers with the Ocean Chemistry Division of NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory performed two 48-hour intensive studies of the water flowing through the Boynton Inlet at Boynton Beach, Florida, during June and September 2007. These studies were conducted in support of the Florida Area Coastal Environment (FACE) program. Academic partners who also participated in the effort included colleagues with the University of Miami's Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies and the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, Florida Atlantic University's Laboratories for Engineered Environmental Solutions, and the Applied Research Center of Florida International University. Sampling was performed from the southern boardwalk at Boynton Beach during the June intensive and the Boynton Beach Inlet bridge during the September intensive. The sampling strategy was designed to collect water samples over four complete tidal cycles for each intensive; these data would be employed to quantify the total flux of nearshore-source entities into the coastal waters. The first sampling event was conducted on June 4-6, 2007, and the second was conducted on September 26-28, 2007. Data collected include nutrients (silicate, orthophosphate, ammonium, nitrite+nitrate), isotope ratios of nitrogen, the presence or absence of selected biological indicators (Escherichia coli, enterococci, and total coliform), and physical parameters that included pH, salinity, total suspended solids, and turbidity. Critical to this study was the continuous in situ flow rate measurements obtained via an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) mounted on the north side of the inlet. This report presents the data gathered from the two sampling intensives. The data reported herein suggest that inlets are important contributors of nutrient and microbiological loads to the coastal zone. The overall view presented is that the lagoon input into Boynton Inlet may be substantial but is also highly variable.