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A mass balance approach was used in an attempt to quantify nutrient flux to the nearshore at the West Coast, Barbados, W.I. Total nitrogen and total phosphorus levels of the groundwater at inland pumping stations and above beach margins, as well as in the water of the nearshore zone and approximately 2 km offshore, were obtained. Nearshore groundwater seepage rates and salinity data were also taken. This study attempted to use this raw data to estimate flushing rates, nutrient loading rates, and nutrient loss rates, to ultimately create a picture of the fate of nutrients as they travel in groundwater into the nearshore zone. Annual loading for the entire West Coast was calculated at 1.46 x 105 kg NO3---N for nitrogen and 1.19 x 103 kg PO4 3---P for phosphorus. Mean nutrient levels in groundwater above the beach margin were estimated at 969.83 muM for nitrogen and 3.63 muM for phosphorus. For nitrogen and phosphorus respectively, these levels were twice and three times higher than at the pumping stations farther inland; and there was also a fourfold and fivefold drop in nitrogen and phosphorus, respectively, in the nearshore zone relative to this groundwater above the beach margin. This indicated that the dense coastal population at the West Coast was adding significant amounts of nutrient to groundwater after it had left the inland pumping stations. There were no patterns of gradation in nutrient concentrations detected within the immediate nearshore, making completion of an accurate mass balance impossible, though indicating that there was significant advection of submarine groundwater offshore, beyond the study zone. This may contribute to the poor health of West Coast reefs, where sewage and fertiliser leaching and runoff are suspected as the primary sources for nutrient input to submarine groundwater to the south and northern parts of the West Coast, respectively.

No description available.