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Though the act was small, the researchers from the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole and Great Pond Foundation hope it can unlock the source of nitrogen that has been increasingly choking the 890-acre coastal pond along the Island’s south shore.

For the next several months, the team will be collecting groundwater samples from all around Meshacket Cove and Slough Cove in a hurried search for nitrogen plumes.

The Island’s great ponds have seen high levels of nitrogen for years and warnings over algal blooms have become regular events. While Edgartown Great Pond is not the most polluted pond on the Island, Great Pond Foundation executive director Emily Reddington said she’s seen a rapid decline of its ecosystem. ...

Two years ago, the foundation and MBL traced most of the nitrogen influx to wastewater. But where that was coming from was still in question, with the possible culprits ranging from the town’s wastewater plant to the hundreds of unsewered homes flanking the pond.

The new research from the Marine Biological Laboratory and the Great Pond Foundation looks to track the groundwater through the watershed to pinpoint its origin.

Source: Tracing the Source of Pond Nitrogen | The Vineyard Gazette