Abstract
Denitrification was directly estimated in estuarine sediments of Waquoit Bay, Cape Cod, MA by detection of N2 increases above ambient in the water overlying sediment cores. Denitrification rates (−9 to 712 μmol N2 m−2 h−1 ) were high compared to previous studies, but compared well with estimates of N loss from mass balance studies. The precision of the estimate depended on the N2/02 flux ratio. The N2/02 flux ratio was lower in Waquoit Bay than previously studied estuaries, and estuaries had lower N2/02 flux ratios than shelf sites. The contribution of temperature-driven solubility changes to estuarine fluxes was estimated by modeling sediment temperature variations and found to be potentially important (43 μmol N2 m−2 h−1); however, control incubations indicate the temperature model overestimates solubility driven fluxes. The relatively low fluxes under anaerobic conditions and the low rate of N03 −/N02 − removal from the overlying water indicates coupled nitrification/denitrification produced the observed N2 fluxes.
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Lamontagne, M.G., Valiela, I. Denitrification measured by a direct N2 flux method in sediments of Waquoit Bay, MA. Biogeochemistry 31, 63–83 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00000939
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00000939