Chesapeake Bay nutrient and plankton dynamics. 2. Sources and sinks of nitrite
The transformations of inorganic nitrogenous nutrients that can lead to the frequently observed high levels of nitrite in the Chesapeake Bay and York River were investigated by a combination of /sup 15/N tracer techniques and assays of the concentrations of chemical constituents (NH/sub 4//sup +/, NO/sub 2//sup -/, NO/sub 3//sup -/, O/sub 2/, N/sub 2/O, and CH/sub 4/). The distributions of N/sub 2/O, NO/sub 2//sup -/, and CH/sub 4/ in the York River suggest that the primary source of N/sub 2/O and NO/sub 2//sup -/, both produced during nitrification, was in the water rather than in the sediments. Our /sup 15/N data indicate that oxidized N can be formed in the water of the bay when physical events cause the mixing of NH/sub 4//sup +/-rich bottom water with more oxygenated surface layers. We also found that NO/sub 3//sup -/ was reduced to NH/sub 4//sup +/ at unexpectedly rapid rates in well oxygenated surface waters. The magnitude and duration of high concentrations of N/sub 2/O and NO/sub 2//sup -/ in these estuarine waters during mixing events might be expected to increase if anthropogenic loading of nutrients causes anoxic conditions in the bay to become more widespread.
- Research Organization:
- Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA
- OSTI ID:
- 6880426
- Journal Information:
- Limnol. Oceanogr.; (United States), Vol. 29:1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
NITRITES
MINERAL CYCLING
TRACER TECHNIQUES
NITROGEN 15
AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS
CHESAPEAKE BAY
NITRIFICATION
ATLANTIC OCEAN
BAYS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN ISOTOPES
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
SEAS
STABLE ISOTOPES
SURFACE WATERS
520101* - Environment
Aquatic- Basic Studies- Radiometric Techniques- (-1989)