Temporal and spatial dynamics of a “Rust-Belt” urban stream: Metabolic and water quality responses to hardened land

Highly resolved (30-min period) measurements of dissolved oxygen, temperature, conductivity, and turbidity in streams over 2–6 days during dry and wet periods within and outside the heavily urbanized city of Syracuse, NY are used to calculate gross primary production (GPP), total ecosystem respiration (ER) and total and net ecosystem production (NEP). Based on results, it is proposed that a city’s stream metabolism and water quality may be regarded in a “Jekyll–Hyde” analogy, i.e., under dry conditions, this stream behaved much like a headwater system (Jekyll), but had far greater discharge as well as rapid swings in conductivity, turbidity, temperature, and oxygen concentrations during storm events (Hyde). Such dynamics could be damped by increasing soft, absorbent surfaces (green infrastructure) within the city.