Sedimentary phosphorus cycling and a phosphorus mass balance for the Green Bay (Lake Michigan) ecosystem

The tributaries of Green Bay have long been recognized as major sources of phosphorus in the Lake Michigan basin. The status of Green Bay as a sink or source of phosphorus for Lake Michigan proper has been less well defined. The bay receives nearly 70% of its annual load of phosphorus (700 metric tons (t)??year-1) from a single source: the Fox River. Most of this phosphorus is deposited in sediments accumulating at rates that reach 160 mg??cm-2??year-1 with an average of 20 mg??cm-2 year-1. The phosphorus content of these sediments varies from <5 to >70 ??mol??g-1. Deposition is highly focused, with ???0% of the total sediment accumulation and at least 80% of the phosphorus burial occurring within 20% of the surface area of the bay. Diagenetic and stoichiometric models of phosphorus cycling imply that >80% of the phosphorus deposited is permanently buried. External phosphorus loading to the bay is combined with sediment fluxes of phophorus to arrive at a simple phosphorus budget. Green Bay acts as an efficient nutrient trap, with the sediments retaining an estimated 70-90% of the external phosphorus inputs before flowing into Lake Michigan.