No widespread signature of the COVID-19 quarantine period on water quality across a spectrum of coastal systems in the United States of America.

ABSTRACT: During the recent COVID-19 related quarantine period, anecdotal evidence emerged pointing to a rapid, sharp improvement in water quality in some localities. Here we present results from an analysis of the impacts of the COVID-19 quarantine period using two long-term coastal water quality datasets. These datasets rely on sampling that operates at appropriate timescales to quantify the influence of reduced human activity on coastal water quality and span coastal ecosystems ranging from low human influence to highly urbanized systems. We tested two hypotheses: 1) reduced tourism during the COVID-19 quarantine period would lead to improved coastal water quality, and 2) water quality improvements would scale to the level of human influence, meaning that highly urbanized or tourist-centric water

SUBMITTER: Wetz MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9751947 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature