Estimates of anthropogenic nitrogen loading and eutrophication indicators for the Bay of F

A 2021 study funded by Fisheries and Oceans Canada applied a Nitrogen Loading Model to estimate Total Nitrogen Load from human sources for 109 coastal watersheds bordering the Bay of Fundy and Scotian Shelf. The dataset includes calculated loads from point and non-point sources like wastewater and fertilizer, plus two eutrophication risk indicators for 40 coastal embayments. This research was published in Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science (Kelly et al., 2021).

Use Cases

• Modeling eutrophication risk based on calculated nitrogen residency (∆N) and estuary loading rate indicators.
• Assessing watershed-level anthropogenic nitrogen contributions based on point and non-point source inputs.
• Correlating land-use activities with coastal water quality based on fertilizer, wastewater, and atmospheric deposition data.
• Prioritizing conservation or remediation efforts for coastal embayments based on predicted dissolved oxygen problems or loss of aquatic vegetation.

Strengths

• Covers 109 distinct coastal watersheds, providing broad spatial coverage for the region.
• Includes two specific calculated indicators (∆N and estuary loading rate) for 40 coastal embayments.
• Model framework integrates multiple anthropogenic sources: wastewater, atmospheric deposition, land use, fertilizer, and regional industries.
• Data is peer-reviewed and published in a scientific journal (Kelly et al., 2021).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the specific Atlantic Canada study area.

Provenance

Source

Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Collection Method

Nitrogen Loading Model (NLM) framework applied to point and non-point source inputs.

Time Range

Study published in 2021; temporal coverage of underlying data not specified.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-24 08:33:53.472721; freshness should be verified.

Geography

109 coastal watersheds bordering the Bay of Fundy and Scotian Shelf, Atlantic Canada.