Factoring stream turbulence into global assessments of nitrogen pollution
Stream physics set the limits
A combination of physical transport processes and biologically mediated reactions in streams and their sediments removes dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) from the water. Although stream chemistry and biology have been considered the dominant controls on how quickly DIN is removed, Grant et al. show that physics is what sets the limits on removal rates of nitrate (a component of DIN). Residence time in the hyporheic zone (the region below the sediment surface where groundwater and surface water mix) determines the maximum rate at which nitrate can be removed from stream water. Nevertheless, at local scales, chemistry and biology modify how closely to that maximum rate removal occurs.
Science, this issue p. 1266
Abstract
The discharge of excess nitrogen to streams and rivers poses an existential threat to both humans and ecosystems. A seminal study of headwater streams across the United States concluded that in-stream removal of nitrate is controlled primarily by stream chemistry and biology. Reanalysis of these data reveals that stream turbulence (in particular, turbulent mass transfer across the concentration boundary layer) imposes a previously unrecognized upper limit on the rate at which nitrate is removed from streams. The upper limit closely approximates measured nitrate removal rates in streams with low concentrations of this pollutant, a discovery that should inform stream restoration designs and efforts to assess the effects of nitrogen pollution on receiving water quality and the global nitrogen cycle.
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Supplementary Material
Summary
Materials and Methods
Supplementary Text
Table S1
Resources
File (aap8074_grant_sm.pdf)
References and Notes
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21
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Science
Volume 359 | Issue 6381
16 March 2018
16 March 2018
Copyright
Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.
This is an article distributed under the terms of the Science Journals Default License.
Submission history
Received: 29 August 2017
Accepted: 31 January 2018
Published in print: 16 March 2018
Acknowledgments
We thank M. Gooseff and A. Mehring for valuable feedback and the LINX II researchers for data access. Funding: Financial support was provided by the U.S. NSF Partnerships for International Research and Education (grant OISE-1243543) and the University of California Office of the President Multicampus Research Program Initiatives (award MRP-17-455083). Author contributions: S.B.G. conceived of the study and drafted the article; M.A. curated and analyzed the LINX II data set; F.B. and P.C. contributed text on hyporheic exchange and nitrogen cycling, respectively; and M.A.R. helped frame the article. All authors provided edits. Competing interests: None declared. Data and materials availability: The supplementary materials include a derivation of Eq. 1, data reduction methods, an example of how the theory presented here can be coupled to process-based models of nitrogen cycling and transport in the hyporheic zone, and a compilation of the LINX II data used in this study.
Authors
Funding Information
National Science Foundation: OISE 1243543
University of California Office of the President: MRPI-17-455083
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