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Assessing the Relative Importance of Nitrogen-Retention Processes in a Large Reservoir Using Time-Series Modeling

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Abstract

Nitrogen (N) removal within reservoirs can be substantial, but few studies have reported the relative importance of various N-retention pathways. Assessing N-removal processes in reservoirs is important for quantifying the impacts of reservoirs on downstream water quality. In this study, we used a time-series approach to quantify the relative importance of various N-removal processes in the Saylorville Reservoir in Iowa. Dynamic regression modeling of upstream–downstream changes in key water-quality surrogates (pH, hardness, alkalinity, and suspended solids) and their relation to N concentration changes were used to estimate the relative importances of denitrification, N assimilation by algal uptake, and sedimentation of N on N retention in the reservoir. Assuming that decreasing N concentrations in the reservoir are the sum of these three processes, we estimate that denitrification is the dominant N removal process (60.9 %) followed by algal assimilation (37.9 %) and sedimentation (1.2 %). Our approach represents a new method of establishing the relative importance of N-removal processes in reservoirs and quantifying the impacts of reservoirs on downstream water quality.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mathematics, Western Illinois University, Macomb, IL, USA

    Elizabeth Hansen

  2. Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    Kung-Sik Chan

  3. IIHR—Hydroscience & Engineering, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA

    Christopher S. Jones & Keith Schilling

Authors
  1. Elizabeth Hansen
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  2. Kung-Sik Chan
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  3. Christopher S. Jones
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  4. Keith Schilling
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Correspondence to Kung-Sik Chan.

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Hansen, E., Chan, KS., Jones, C.S. et al. Assessing the Relative Importance of Nitrogen-Retention Processes in a Large Reservoir Using Time-Series Modeling. JABES 21, 152–169 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13253-015-0218-1

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