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| Titel |
Nitrate isotopic composition and ancillary variables (land use, redox, excess N2, age, water isotopics) in California groundwater |
| VerfasserIn |
Nathan Veale, Jean Moran, Ate Visser, Michael Singleton, Bradley Esser |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2017
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
en
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 19 (2017) |
| Datensatznummer |
250154242
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2017-19313.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Nitrate is a critical water quality issue in California, the United States and the world. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has compiled a large, unique database of California groundwater nitrate isotopic compositions (δ15N-NO3 and δ18O-NO3), acquired largely through more than a decade of coordination with the State of California Groundwater Ambient Monitoring and Assessment (GAMA) program. The water samples are predominantly from shallow aquifers accessed by domestic and monitoring wells. The database of >1,300 nitrate isotopic compositions includes a number of important ancillary parameters: DO, ORP and DOC (measured for 18% of samples); excess air and dissolved N2 (24%); water isotopic composition (δ18O-H2O and δD-H2O) (43%); and tritium/3He groundwater age (27%). Methods used at LLNL include sample preparation by the denitrifier method (for δ15N-NO3 and δ18O-NO3) and Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry with (δ15N-NO3 and δ18O-NO3 and δ18O-H2O and δD-H2O), Noble Gas Mass Spectrometry (NGMS; for excess air and groundwater age), and Membrane Inlet Mass Spectrometry (MIMS; for major dissolved gases and excess N2). Redox indicators (DO, ORP and DOC) in conjunction with excess N2, groundwater age, and nitrate isotopic composition are used to assess the presence or absence, and potentially the rate of, saturated-zone denitrification. Comparison of δ18O-NO3 to δ18O-H2O isotopic composition is used to distinguish synthetic nitrate from nitrification of reduced forms of nitrogen as a source of groundwater nitrate. Groundwater age is used to discern timing and temporal trends in groundwater nitrate isotopic composition. The relationship of nitrate isotopic composition to ancillary parameters (redox, excess N2, water isotopic composition and groundwater age) is explored, along with its relationship to well location, screened interval, and land use, with a focus on the extent of saturated-zone denitrification and the significance of synthetic nitrate as a source of nitrate to California groundwater. |
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