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Dissolved inorganic nitrogen, largely in reduced form ( NH 4 ( T ) ≈ NH 4 ( aq ) + + NH 3 ( aq ) o ), has been documented in thermal waters throughout Yellowstone National Park, with concentrations ranging from a few micromolar along the Firehole River to millimolar concentrations at Washburn Hot Springs. Indirect evidence from rock nitrogen analyses and previous work on organic compounds associated with Washburn Hot Springs and the Mirror Plateau indicate multiple sources for thermal water NH4(T), including Mesozoic marine sedimentary rocks, Eocene lacustrine deposits, and glacial deposits. A positive correlation between NH4(T) concentration and δ18O of thermal water indicates that boiling is an important mechanism...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation
Water samples from short-screen monitoring wells installed along a 90-km transect in southwestern Kansas were analyzed for major ions, trace elements, isotopes (H, B, C, N, O, S, Sr), and dissolved gases (He, Ne, N2, Ar, O2, CH4) to evaluate the geochemistry, radiocarbon ages, and paleorecharge conditions in the unconfined central High Plains aquifer. The primary reactions controlling water chemistry were dedolomitization, cation exchange, feldspar weathering, and O2 reduction and denitrification. Radiocarbon ages adjusted for C mass transfers ranged from <2.6 ka (14C) B.P. near the water table to 12.8 ± 0.9 ka (14C) B.P. at the base of the aquifer, indicating the unconfined central High Plains aquifer contained...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation
Denitrification is a critical process regulating the removal of bioavailable nitrogen (N) from natural and human-altered systems. While it has been extensively studied in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems, there has been limited communication among denitrification scientists working in these individual systems. Here, we compare rates of denitrification and controlling factors across a range of ecosystem types. We suggest that terrestrial, freshwater, and marine systems in which denitrification occurs can be organized along a continuum ranging from (1) those in which nitrification and denitrification are tightly coupled in space and time to (2) those in which nitrate production and denitrification are relatively...
In 2003–2005, systematic studies in four contrasting hydrogeologic settings were undertaken to improve understanding of source and transport controls on nitrate movement to public supply wells (PSW) in principal aquifers of the United States. Chemical, isotopic, and age tracer data show that agricultural fertilizers and urban septic leachate were the primary sources of large nitrate concentrations in PSW capture zones at Modesto, California (Central Valley aquifer system) and York, Nebraska (High Plains aquifer). Urban septic leachate and fertilizer (possibly nonfarm) were the primary sources of large nitrate concentrations in PSW capture zones at Woodbury, Connecticut (glacial aquifer system), and Tampa, Florida...
Denitrification, the reduction of the nitrogen (N) oxides, nitrate (NO3−) and nitrite (NO2−), to the gases nitric oxide (NO), nitrous oxide (N2O), and dinitrogen (N2), is important to primary production, water quality, and the chemistry and physics of the atmosphere at ecosystem, landscape, regional, and global scales. Unfortunately, this process is very difficult to measure, and existing methods are problematic for different reasons in different places at different times. In this paper, we review the major approaches that have been taken to measure denitrification in terrestrial and aquatic environments and discuss the strengths, weaknesses, and future prospects for the different methods. Methodological approaches...
Despite a rapidly growing literature on analytical methods and field applications of O isotope-ratio measurements of NO3− in environmental studies, there is evidence that the reported data may not be comparable because reference materials with widely varying δ18O values have not been readily available. To address this problem, we prepared large quantities of two nitrate salts with contrasting O isotopic compositions for distribution as reference materials for O isotope-ratio measurements: USGS34 (KNO3) with low δ18O and USGS35 (NaNO3) with high δ18O and ‘mass-independent’ δ17O. The procedure used to produce USGS34 involved equilibration of HNO3 with 18O-depleted meteoric water. Nitric acid equilibration is proposed...
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation
Summary Geochemical and isotopic tools were applied at aquifer, transect, and subtransect scales to provide a framework for understanding sources, transport, and fate of dissolved inorganic N in a sandy aquifer near La Pine, Oregon. NO3 is a common contaminant in shallow ground water in this area, whereas high concentrations of NH4–N (up to 39 mg/L) are present in deep ground water. N concentrations, N/Cl ratios, tracer-based apparent ground-water ages, N isotope data, and hydraulic gradients indicate that septic tank effluent is the primary source of NO3. N isotope data, N/Cl and N/C relations, 3H data, and hydraulic considerations point to a natural, sedimentary organic matter source for the high concentrations...
Understanding how changes in land use affect water quality of public supply wells (PSW) is important because of the strong influence of land use on water quality, the rapid pace at which changes in land use are occurring in some parts of the world, and the large contribution of groundwater to the global water supply. In this study, groundwater flow models incorporating particle tracking and reaction were used to analyze the response of water quality in PSW to land use change in four communities: Modesto, California (Central Valley aquifer); York, Nebraska (High Plains aquifer); Woodbury, Connecticut (Glacial aquifer); and Tampa, Florida (Floridan aquifer). The water quality response to measured and hypothetical...
Ammonium (NH4 +) is a major constituent of many contaminated groundwaters, but its movement through aquifers is complex and poorly documented. In this study, processes affecting NH4 + movement in a treated wastewater plume were studied by a combination of techniques including large-scale monitoring of NH4 + distribution; isotopic analyses of coexisting aqueous NH4 +, NO3 −, N2, and sorbed NH4 +; and in situ natural gradient 15NH4 + tracer tests with numerical simulations of 15NH4 +, 15NO3 −, and 15N2 breakthrough data. Combined results indicate that the main mass of NH4 + was moving downgradient at a rate about 0.25 times the groundwater velocity. Retardation factors and groundwater ages indicate that much of the...
Isotopic analysis of nitrate and sulfate minerals from the nitrate ore fields of the Atacama Desert in northern Chile has shown anomalous 17O enrichments in both minerals. Δ17O values of 14–21 ‰ in nitrate and 0.4 to 4 ‰ in sulfate are the most positive found in terrestrial minerals to date. Modeling of atmospheric processes indicates that the Δ17O signatures are the result of photochemical reactions in the troposphere and stratosphere. We conclude that the bulk of the nitrate, sulfate and other soluble salts in some parts of the Atacama Desert must be the result of atmospheric deposition of particles produced by gas to particle conversion, with minor but varying amounts from sea spray and local terrestrial sources....
Categories: Publication; Types: Citation
Ammonium (NH4 +) is a major constituent of many contaminated groundwaters, but its movement through aquifers is complex and poorly documented. In this study, processes affecting NH4 + movement in a treated wastewater plume were studied by a combination of techniques including large-scale monitoring of NH4 + distribution; isotopic analyses of coexisting aqueous NH4 +, NO3 −, N2, and sorbed NH4 +; and in situ natural gradient 15NH4 + tracer tests with numerical simulations of 15NH4 +, 15NO3 −, and 15N2 breakthrough data. Combined results indicate that the main mass of NH4 + was moving downgradient at a rate about 0.25 times the groundwater velocity. Retardation factors and groundwater ages indicate that much of the...
In 2000–2002, three rangeland and six irrigated sites were instrumented to assess the storage and transit time of chemicals in thick (15 to 50 m) unsaturated zones (UZ) in the High Plains. These processes are likely to influence relations between land use and groundwater quality, yet they have not been documented systematically in the High Plains. Land use and climate were important controls on the size of subsoil chloride, nitrate, and pesticide compound reservoirs. The reservoirs under irrigated cropland generally were larger than those under rangeland because more chemicals were applied to cropland than to rangeland. In some cases, chloride and nitrate reservoirs under rangeland were larger than those under cropland,...
The Commission on Atomic Weights and Isotopic Abundances of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry completed its last review of the isotopic compositions of the elements as determined by isotope-ratio mass spectrometry in 2001. That review involved a critical evaluation of the published literature, element by element, and forms the basis of the table of the isotopic compositions of the elements (TICE) presented here. For each element, TICE includes evaluated data from the “best measurement” of the isotope abundances in a single sample, along with a set of representative isotope abundances and uncertainties that accommodate known variations in normal terrestrial materials. The representative isotope...