Suspended solids and total phosphorus loads and their spatial differences in a lake-rich river basin as determined by automatic monitoring network.

Turbidity datasets recorded by sensors during 2009-2012 were collected in five observation sites in the 2046-km2 Karjaanjoki River Basin in southern Finland. From these and water sample-based data, total phosphorus (TP) and total suspended solids (TSS) fluxes were determined. Based on calculations made with combined sensor- and water sample-based dataset, the annual loading from the Karjaanjoki Basin in 2009-2012 varied between 11,300 and 23,900[corrected] kg of TP and 3300-8400 t of TSS. As compared with two other river basins discharging into the Baltic Sea in southern Finland, the TP loading from Karjaanjoki was low because the summed retention in the two major lakes Hiidenvesi and Lohjanjärvi was high: 48 and 49% of the TSS and TP loadings generated in their upstream catchments, respectively. Depending on how water sampling took place in relation to peak flow events, differences of annual fluxes as determined by "water samples only" vs. "sensors and water samples" data varied between -22 and 26 for TP and -31 and 39% for TSS. This study proved automatic monitoring being useful when spatial differences and lake retention of riverine fluxes are explored. Moreover, the loading estimates calculated on the base of well-functioning and well-maintained automatic monitoring system, supported with water sampling during periods when devices were off, are undoubtedly more accurate than those based on manual grab water sampling only. The findings of this study were in line with, and well contribute to, earlier Finnish and international research on automatic water quality monitoring.