Factors affecting spatial and temporal variability in material exchange between the Southern Everglades wetlands and Florida Bay (USA)

Physical and biological processes controlling spatial and temporal variations in material concentration and exchange between the Southern Everglades wetlands and Florida Bay were studied for 2.5 years in three of the five major creek systems draining the watershed. Daily total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) fluxes were measured for 2 years in Taylor River, and ten 10-day intensive studies were conducted in this creek to estimate the seasonal flux of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), total organic carbon (TOC), and suspended matter. Four 10-day studies were conducted simultaneously in Taylor, McCormick, and Trout Creeks to study the spatial variation in concentration and flux. The annual fluxes of TOC, TN, and TP from the Southern Everglades were estimated from regression equations. The Southern Everglades watershed, a 460-km² area that includes Taylor Slough and the area south of the C-111 canal, exported 7.1 g C m⁻², 0.46 g N m⁻², and 0.007 g P m⁻², annually. Everglades P flux is three to four orders of magnitude lower than published flux estimates from wetlands influenced by terrigenous sedimentary inputs. These low P flux values reflect both the inherently low P content of Everglades surface water and the efficiency of Everglades carbonate sediments and biota in conserving and recycling this limiting nutrient. The seasonal variation of freshwater input to the watershed was responsible for major temporal variations in N, P, and C export to Florida Bay; approximately 99% of the export occurred during the rainy season. Wind-driven forcing was most important during the later stages of the dry season when low freshwater head coincided with southerly winds, resulting in a net import of water and materials into the wetlands. We also observed an east to west decrease in TN:TP ratio from 212:1 to 127:1. Major spatial gradients in N:P ratios and nutrient concentration and flux among the creek were consistent with the westward decrease in surface water runoff from the P-limited Everglades and increased advection of relatively P-rich Gulf of Mexico (GOM) waters into Florida Bay. Comparison of measured nutrient flux from Everglades surface water inputs from this study with published estimates of other sources of nutrients to Florida Bay (i.e. atmospheric deposition, anthropogenic inputs from the Florida Keys, advection from the GOM) show that Everglades runoff represents only 2% of N inputs and 0.5% of P input to Florida Bay.     

Nutrient attenuation in a shallow,gravel-bed river. II. Spatial and temporal changes in nitrogen dynamics and community metabolism

ABSTRACT

Instream processes alter the concentration and bioavailability of nutrients as they are transported downstream. By relating primary production and periphyton composition to changes in nutrient concentration in a gravel-bed river this study made inferences about recycling and attenuation. Where dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) was abundant, concentrations decreased linearly with distance but by less than required to meet the nitrogen demand of primary production. Where DIN was barely measurable photosynthesis was reduced but only by 50%. We infer that recycling sustained primary production even when DIN concentrations were negligibly small. One implication is that DIN removal underestimates attenuation. Further experimental research on recycling and improved modelling is required to better quantify the length of streams adversely affected by nutrients.     

The “Zero-order Model” revisited: Paul Schindler's influence on the development of trace metal scavenging models

In 1975 Paul Schindler produced the first oceanic trace metal scavenging model to explicitly include the role of surface chemistry as a control on trace metal water column residence times. The eighteen years that have elapsed since the publication of Schindler's seminal paper have seen the development of a variety of oceanic scavenging models; yet, the fundamental insight of his Zero-order Model remains the benchmark. This paper describes the role of Paul Schindler's work on surface chemistry in providing a framework for the current generation of trace element scavenging models.     

Kinetics of redox cycling of iron coupled with fulvic acid

The kinetics of conversion of iron(III) (hydr)oxides to ferrous iron mediated by fulvic acid have been investigated in order to improve the understanding of the redox cycling of iron at the oxic-anoxic boundary in natural waters. Under the conditions similar to natural waters, fulvic acid is able to reduce the iron(III) (hydr)oxide. The kinetics of the reaction depend on the reactivity of iron(III) (hydr)oxides and the reducing power of the fulvic acid. The rate of reaction is 60 nm/h obtained under following conditions: total concentration of Fe(III) 1.0 × 10^–4 M, pH 7.5, fulvic acid 5 mg/L. The rate is considered as a net result of reduction and oxidation in the > Fe^III-OH/Fe(II) wheel coupled with fulvic acid. In a real natural water system, reductants other than fulvic acid may be of importance. The results obtained in the laboratory, however, provide evidence that the Fe(OH)₃(s)/Fe(II) redox couple is able to act as an electron-transfer mediator for the oxidation of natural organic substances, such as fulvic acid by molecular oxygen either in the absence of microorganisms or as a supplement to microbial activity.     

Nutrient-chlorophyll trajectories across trophic gradients

We estimate the response of chl-a (mg · m^–3) to changes in concentrations of total phosphorus (TP) by calculating the slopeS = chl-a/TP in chl-a =f(TP) graphs. Results show that in years where algae are P-limited oligotrophic lakes respond less (median slope 0.21) to changes in nutrient concentrations than eutrophic lakes, (median slope 0.31) and these again less than hypereutrophic lakes, (median slope 1.02). We find no saturation value for the slope within the TP range considered (6–480 mg · m^–3). Chl-a in eutrophic lakes responds more frequently to non-nutrient factors than oligotrophic and hypereutrophic lakes. Results obtained by replacing TP with a new nutrient parameter, TP = 0.056 · TP · IN^0.226, in which inorganic nitrogen, IN, is factored in, suggest that nitrogen has an influence on chl-a in oligotrophic lakes. Blue-green algae respond less to changes in TP than other algal species, e.g., diatoms.     

The role of sediments in the phosphorus cycle in Lake Lugano. I. Geochemical approach

The bottom sediment from three coring stations in Lake Lugano (Lago di Lugano) show major differences in their role in the P-cycles related to their geochemistry and characteristics of sedimentation. In the northern basin, the deepest sediment may be considered practically inactive, due to a permanently reduced condition at the sediment-water interface. In the southern basin, the sediments are active with respect to P-recycling with strong seasonal variations. One of the sites (Figino) behaves as a sink for P due to a high iron content and an important rate of detrital sedimentation.     

Measurement of the total nitrogen in lake sediments： Comparison and its environmental significance

Nitrogen cycle is an important bio-geochemical process in the environment. Measurement of the total nitrogen （TN） is a routine experiment in agriculture, biology and environmental sciences. The Kjeldahl method （KM） and elemental analyzer method （EA） are both commonly used to determine TN. Total nitrogen by EA is the sum of nitrate （NO3）, nitrite （NO2）, organic nitrogen and ammonia. Total nitrogen by KM （TKN） is made up of both organic nitrogen and ammonia. A comparative study focused on the two methods is conducted by analysis of TN in 97 samples from the sediment sequence of Gouchi, a salt lake in North China. KM presents a higher degree of accuracy than EA with a standard deviation of 0.007 vs. 0.024. With the presence of nitrate and/or nitrite nitrogen, however, measurement by KM is considerably lower than that by EA. Therefore, for samples from lake sediment sequences or soils in North China, KM is inapplicable to determining TN because of usually high contents of nitrous salt. Despite the inconsistency, use of both methods to the same samples makes sense in reconstructions of climatic and environmental changes from lake sediments. In Lake Gouchi, the contents of nitrate and nitrite nitrogen vary from 1.40% in the lower part of the sequence to 14.77% in the uppermost part, suggesting a gradual evolution process from a fresh water lake to the present-day salt lake.     

SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF NUTRIENTS OF SHALLOW LAKE IN THE ZHALONG WETLAND

1 INTRODUCTIONNitrogen and phosphorus in the water are the nu-trients limited in natural wetlands,which seriously in-fluence on the ecosystem production and the biodiver-sity(Mitsch,Grosselin,2000).Nitrogen and phos-phorus recycles have been interrupted b…     

长白山圆池泥炭氮元素分布特征及其影响因素分析

通过对长白山圆池4个泥炭剖面样品的分析,揭示了其氮元素分布规律。在圆池选取4个具有代表性的采样点,利用泥炭采样器采取新鲜泥炭样品。分析结果表明,4个泥炭剖面氮元素含量在0.014%~3.353%之间;剖面间相比较,其中贫营养泥炭整体含氮量较低;4个泥炭剖面的氮元素分布呈现明显规律,受泥炭上层不同植物、泥炭水分和有机质含量等因素的影响,泥炭剖面中氮元素累积峰可能出现在剖面的表层(0~5cm)或中间层(10~20cm);泥炭剖面氮元素与有机质呈极显著的正相关;泥炭剖面C/N比值变化在9.51~66.98之间,部分剖面层位C/N比值异常高,表明该层位碳的累积速度显著高于氮元素。     

Retrieval of stratospheric O3 and NO2 vertical profiles using zenith scattered light observations

Daily zenith scattered light intensity observations were carried out in the morning twilight hours using home-made UV-visible spectrometer over the tropical station Pune (18‡31′, 73‡51′) for the years 2000–2003. These observations are obtained in the spectral range 462–498 nm for the solar zenith angles (SZAs) varying from 87‡ to 91.5‡. An algorithm has been developed to retrieve vertical profiles of ozone (O₃) and nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) from ground-based measurements using the Chahine iteration method. This retrieval method has been checked using measured and recalculated slant column densities (SCDs) and they are found to be well matching. O₃ and NO₂ vertical profiles have been retrieved using a set of their air mass factors (AMFs) and SCDs measured over a range of 87–91.5‡ SZA during the morning. The vertical profiles obtained by this method are compared with Umkehr profiles and ozonesondes and they are found to be in good agreement. The bulk of the column density is found near layer 20–25 km. Daily total column densities (TCDs) of O₃ and NO₂ along with their stratospheric and tropospheric counterparts are derived using their vertical profiles for the period 2000–2003. The total column, stratospheric column and tropospheric column amounts of both trace gases are found to be maximum in summer and minimum in the winter season. Increasing trend is found in column density of NO₂ in stratospheric, tropospheric and surface layers, but no trend is observed in O₃ columns for above layers during the period 2000–2003