Non-point source pollution in Indian agriculture: Estimation of nitrogen losses from rice crop using remote sensing and GIS

The paper presents a detailed understanding of nitrogenous fertilizer use in Indian agriculture and estimation of seasonal nitrogen loosses from rice crop in Indo-Gangetic plain region, the ‘food bowl’ of the Indian sub-continent. An integrated methodology was developed for quantification of different forms of nitrogen losses from rice crop using remote sensing derived inputs, field data of fertilizer application, collateral data of soil and rainfall and nitrogen loss coefficients derived from published nitrogen dynamics studies. The spatial patterns of nitrogen losses in autumn or ‘kharif’ and spring or ‘rabi’ season rice at 1 × 1 km grid were generated using image processing and GIS. The nitrogen losses through leaching in form of urea-N, ammonium-N (NH₄-N) and nitrate-N (NO₃-N) are dominant over ammonia volatilization loss. The study results indicate that nitrogen loss through leaching in kharif and rabi rice is of the order of 34.9% and 39.8% of the applied nitrogenous fertilizer in the Indo-Gangetic plain region. This study provides a significant insight to the role of nitrogenous fertilizer as a major non-point source pollutant from agriculture.     

The Effects of Environmental Conditions on Concentration and Emission of Ammonia in Chicken Farms during Summer Season

This paper presents a field study conducted in northwest Turkey and characterizes the NH₃ concentration and emission measured in summer season from three chicken farms. The influence of environmental conditions on NH₃ concentration and emission was also investigated in this study. Ammonia concentration, temperature, relative humidity and airflow rate were continuously recorded for four sequential days. The environmental conditions were measured using a multifunction temperature and humidity‐meter with a hot wire probe. Portable multiple gas detectors with electro‐chemical sensors were used to measure NH₃ concentration. The NH₃ emission rates for houses were calculated by multiplying simultaneously measured NH₃ concentrations and air flow rates. The average daily mean (ADM) house concentrations of house 1 (H1), house 2 (H2), and house 3 (H3) were measured as 4.43, 3.71, and 6.20 ppm, respectively. NH₃ concentration was inversely proportional to temperature (r = ?0.279), relative humidity (r = ?0.063) and airflow rate (r = ?0.554) for all monitored houses. The ADM house NH₃ emission was 135 g/(h house) for H1, 255 g/(h house) for H2, and 117 g/(h house) for H3. The combined average emission rate in this study (0.26 g/(d bird)) was lower than the emission rate measured in chicken farms in the USA. However, our results were comparable to rates calculated in European studies because house design, ventilation system and bird diet applied in Turkish chicken farms are very similar to those employed in European countries. The NH₃ emissions were significantly correlated to NH₃ concentrations (r = 0.45, p ≤ 0.001) and airflow rates (r = 0.97, p ≤ 0.001). A clear diurnal pattern was obtained for NH₃ concentrations rather than NH₃ emissions at the end of the study.     

The use of monitoring data for identifying factors influencing phytoplankton bloom dynamics in the eutrophic Taw Estuary, SW England

Using the Taw Estuary as an example, data routinely collected by the Environment Agency for England and Wales over the period 1990-2004 were interrogated to identify the drivers of excessive algal growth. The estuary was highly productive with chlorophyll concentrations regularly exceeding 100 μg L⁻¹, mostly during periods of low freshwater input from the River Taw when estuarine water residence times were longest. However, algal growth in mid estuary was often inhibited by ammonia inputs from the adjacent sewage treatment works. The reported approach demonstrates the value of applying conventional statistical analyses in a structured way to existing monitoring data and is recommended as a useful tool for the rapid assessment of eutrophication. However, future estuarine monitoring should include the collection of dissolved organic nutrient data and targeted high temporal resolution data because the drivers of eutrophication are complex and often very specific to a particular estuary.     

青岛湾潮间带活体底栖有孔虫Ammonia aomoriensis (Asano,1951)壳体δ18O值的季节变化

近岸浅水底栖有孔虫是陆架海区古环境重建的重要手段,但是至今对其活体的研究非常缺乏。2014年6月至2015年5月对青岛湾潮间带活体底栖有孔虫Ammonia aomoriensis进行了连续12个月的采样,用虎红染色以确认活体。对壳径范围在200~550μm的活体壳体,以每增加50μm壳径为一组,进行δ18O测试。结果显示,A.aomoriensis壳体δ18O的月平均值的季节变化趋势与温度和盐度一致,与温度反相关,与盐度正相关,即青岛湾A.aomoriensis壳体δ18O值受温度和海水δ18O的影响,其壳体δ18O值表现出了很好的季节性波动。但是A.aomoriensis壳体δ18O的变化滞后于所测温度和盐度约2个月,其记录的是虫体在生长周期内在真实钙化温度下分馏所得的δ18O值。     

大叶藻(Zostera marina)的热值和元素含量(碳、氮、磷)及其相关性

选取辽宁獐子岛近岸海域大叶藻样品,对其须根、根状茎和不同生长阶段叶片的灰分含量、热值和元素含量(碳、氮、磷)及其相关性进行研究,结果表明:在不同生长阶段,叶片长度随着生长顺序先增大后减小;灰分含量随着叶片生长逐渐升高,且极显著小于根状茎和须根(P0.01);不同部位干质量热值差异极显著(P0.01),以初生叶最高,为(14.89±0.040)k J/g,后逐渐减小,在须根中最小,为(8.15±0.079)k J/g;不同生长阶段叶片的去灰分热值差异不大,但极显著大于须根和根状茎(P0.01);碳、氮、磷含量均呈同一趋势:初生叶幼叶成熟叶1成熟叶2衰老叶根状茎须根;N/P比值为27.08,说明大叶藻存在P限制;N/P比值在根状茎中最大,须根中最小,这说明大叶藻存在能量的转移和存贮;大叶藻不同部位灰分含量与干质量热值、去灰分热值、碳含量、氮含量、磷含量之间呈极显著的负相关(P0.01),干质量热值与碳含量、氮含量、磷含量之间呈极显著的正相关(P0.01);大叶藻不同部位的热值与碳、氮、磷元素含量之间均呈显著的线性关系(P0.05)。     

Contribution to the atmospheric NH3 budget

The paper deals with recent measurements of NH₃ applying an improved Indophenolblue method after Bertheolot. Aircraft measurements show a marked difference of the absolute concentration of NH₃ between summer and winter. This seasonal difference indicates the effectiveness of biogenic NH₃ sources during the summer months. Quantitative analysis of the source strength of different soils show the influence of the temperature at the ground and of the pH-value of the soil. The main sources of NH₃ are continental, but microbiological activity in the soil alone cannot fully explain the NH₃ flux into the atmosphere.     

Preliminary15N studies on atmospheric nitrogenous trace gases

Preliminary nitrogen isotope data for ammonia from animal urine, fuel combustion, fertilizer use and fertilizer factories have been measured or estimated. It turns out that direct nitrogen isotope measurements of atmospheric ammonia at Jülich are in the expected range calculated from the ranges of different sources. For deposition of atmospheric ammonium in Jülich-rain a depletion in¹⁵N with respect to atmospheric ammonia has been found which is explained by isotope fractionations during rainout and washout. In correspondence with this fractionation model are nitrogen isotope data of rain-ammonium from coastal areas, which are enriched in¹⁵N due to the fact that sea water acts as a sink for atmospheric ammonia.For Jülich rain-nitrate a pronounced seasonal trend has been detected with lower¹⁵N data in spring and summer than in autumn and winter. This trend is interpreted by different nitrogen isotope data of anthropogenic and natural nitric oxides which have been measured or estimated from isotope fractionation effects during nitrification and denitrification reactions in soils. It should be possible to get better global estimations for anthropogenic and natural nitric oxides from nitrogen isotope measurements.     

Ammonia measurements at Niwot Ridge,Colorado and point arena,California using the tungsten oxide denuder tube technique

The applicability of the tungsten oxide denuder tube technique for the measurement of ammonia in the rural troposphere was investigated. The technique is based on selective chemisorption of NH₃ from a gas stream, thermal desorption, conversion to NO, and analysis by NO–O₃ chemiluminescence. Nitric acid, which is also collected and desorbed as NO, was distinguished from NH₃ by differences in desorption temperature. Substituted amines were also collected, but desorbed at a slightly lower temperature than NH₃ in dry air. At high relative humidities, alkylamines may be hydrolyzed to NH₃ on the denuder surface and hence detected as NH₃. Overheating of the denuder tube during the temperature-programmed desorption was found to cause significant irreversible degradation of system performance.The technique was used to measure NH₃ mixing ratios at two rural locations in the United States. At a mountain site in Colorado during the winter of 1984, the average NH₃ mixing ratio was 0.20 ppbv (=0.08 ppbv). At an isolated coastal site in northern California during the spring of 1985, the average NH₃ mixing ratio was 0.36 ppbv (=0.17 ppbv). Correlations of the latter measurements with wind direction and NO _x level suggest that the NH₃ mixing ratio in Pacific marine air at 40°N is <-0.25 ppbv.     

Microstructure of NH4Cl-NH3-H2O system studied by ATR-FTIR, Raman and MD simulation

The solubilities of ammonium chloride in aqueous ammonia decreased first and then increased with increasing ammonia concentrations, but the mechanism of this phenomenon has not been clarified. In the present work, the ATR-FTIR and Raman spectroscopy were employed to investigate the corresponding mechanism. The spectra analysis was focused on the region between 2500 and 4000 cm-1. It was firstly discovered that the N-H???N hydrogen bonds between ammonium ions and ammonia molecule was mainly formed in the NH4Cl-NH3-H2O system with concentrations higher than 10% ammonia, but N-H???O hydrogen bonds between ammonium ions and water molecule took advantage in the system with lower ammonia concentrations. Correspondingly, the phenomena of hydrogen bonding redshift and blueshift was observed respectively compared in NH3?H2O solution. Moreover, the hydrogen bonding structure of the saturated solution was obtained by means of MD simulation. The present work provides some theoretical basis for the separation of ammonium potassium chloride.     

Remote sensing of nutrients in a subtropical African reservoir: testing utility of Landsat 8

Remote sensing is useful for water quality assessments but current remote sensing applications favour parameters that are easy to detect such as chlorophyll-a. An assessment of the utility of Landsat 8 for detecting nutrients was conducted in Mazvikadei reservoir in Zimbabwe. The main objective was to determine whether nutrients often overlooked by remote sensing and yet are the main determinants of water quality can be remotely sensed. Sampling targeted ammonia, nitrates and reactive phosphorus from May to October 2015. In situ nutrient concentrations were regressed against reflectance derived from Landsat 8 imagery. Strong negative relationships were found between ammonia and the near-infrared band in July (R² = 0.80, p < 0.05) as well as between nitrates and the blue band (R² = 0.67, p < 0.05) in June. Overall, the results suggest that the cool dry season is the optimum time to use Landsat 8 for monitoring nutrients in tropical lakes.