Potential rates and environmental controls of denitrification and nitrous oxide production in a temperate urbanized estuary

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2010

Authors

Teixeira, C (Author) Other; Magalhaes, C (Author) Other; Rui Boaventura (Author) FEUP; Adriano Bordalo (Author) ICBAS

Journal

Title: Marine Environmental Research

Vol. 70 No. 5

Pages: 336-342

ISSN: 0141-1136

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 37 Citations

ISI Web of Science

Scopus - 40 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences > Earth and related Environmental sciences

CORDIS: Natural sciences > Environmental science > Water science

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-003-0QB

DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2010.07.001

Abstract (EN): Denitrification may play a major role in inorganic nitrogen removal from estuarine ecosystems particularly in those subjected to increased nitrate and organic matter loads The Douro estuary (NW Portugal) suffers from both problems freshwater Input of nitrate and organic load from untreated wastewater discharges To assess how these factors might control sediment denitrification a 12-month survey was designed Denitrification potential and nitrous oxide (N(2)O) production were measured at different locations using the slurry acetylene blockage technique Denitrification rate ranged from 04 to 38 nmol N g(-1) h(-1) increasing towards the river mouth following an urban pollution gradient N(2)O production a powerful greenhouse gas implicated on the destruction of the ozone layer was significantly related with sediment organic matter and accounted for 0 5-47% of the N gases produced Additional enrichment experiments were consistent with the results found in the environment showing that sediments from the upper less urban stretch of the estuary mostly sandy respond positively to carbon and inversely in organic rich sediments from the lower estuary the denitrification potential was limited by nitrate availability The obtained results confirmed denitrification as an important process for the removal of nitrate in estuaries The presence of wastewater discharges appears to stimulate nitrogen removal but also the production of N(2)O a powerful greenhouse gas exacerbating the N(2)O N(2) ratio and thus should be controlled

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 7