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Whole-system estimation of denitrification in a plains river: a comparison of two methods

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Abstract.

Whole-system denitrification in the South Platte River was measured over a 13-month period using an open-channel N2 method and mass-balance measurements. Concentrations of dissolved N2 were measured with high precision by membrane-inlet mass spectrometry and estimates of denitrification were based on the mass flux of N2, after correction for reaeration and groundwater flux. Open-channel estimates of denitrification ranged from 0 to 3.08 g N m−2 d−1 and the mean annual rate was 1.62 g N m−2 d−1, which corresponds to removal of approximately 34% of the nitrate transported by the river over a distance of 18.5 km. Over the same period of time, estimates of denitrification based on mass-balance measurements ranged from 0.29 to 5.25 g N m−2 d−1 and the mean annual rate was 2.11 g N m−2 d−1. The two methods revealed similar seasonal patterns of denitrification the highest rates were measured from late April to August and the lowest rates were in winter. Both methods provide whole-system estimates of denitrification in running waters; where reaeration rate coefficients are low and flux of groundwater is well quantified, the open-channel method has fewer sources of uncertainty and is easier to implement.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Limnology, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, 80309-0216, Boulder, CO, USA

    Alena L. Pribyl, James H. Mccutchan, William M. Lewis & James F. Saunders III

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  1. Alena L. Pribyl
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  2. James H. Mccutchan
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  3. William M. Lewis
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  4. James F. Saunders III
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Correspondence to James H. Mccutchan.

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Pribyl, A., Mccutchan, J., Lewis, W. et al. Whole-system estimation of denitrification in a plains river: a comparison of two methods. Biogeochemistry 73, 439–455 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-004-0565-4

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