Phosphate Characteristics and Bioavailability of Suspended Sediments from Streams Draining into Lake Erie

Suspended sediments from major U.S. tributaries draining into Lake Erie were analyzed for phosphorus. Analyses included: sediment concentration, reactive and total filtered P, and total P on water samples. Recovered sediment total P was determined by perchloric and persulfate extraction. Sediment was fractionated for NaOH-P citrate-dithionite-bicarbonate (CDB)-P, HCl-P, and organic P. New York streams had the highest suspended solids and the lowest content of most sediment fractions except HCl-P. NaOH-P and CDB-P were highest in sediments from Ohio tributaries; these fractions are considered to be bioavailable with NaOH-P more available than CDB-P. Digestion with perchloric acid consistently removed more P than the persulfate method. The difference in the two methods was negatively correlated with HCl-P.