The Dominant Role of the Water Column in Nitrogen Removal and N2O Emissions in Large Rivers
Abstract Rivers are important sites for nitrogen (N) cycling processes. N removal is thought to occur predominantly in the benthic zone and the role of the water column is frequently neglected. Here, we find that the water‐air and sediment‐water fluxes of N2 and N2O decreased, while the water column...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-06-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098955 |
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| author | Junfeng Wang Xinghui Xia Shaoda Liu Sibo Zhang Ling Zhang Chenrun Jiang Zhenrui Zhang Yuan Xin Xin Chen Jing Huang Jiaao Bao William H. McDowell Greg Michalski Zhifeng Yang Jun Xia |
| author_facet | Junfeng Wang Xinghui Xia Shaoda Liu Sibo Zhang Ling Zhang Chenrun Jiang Zhenrui Zhang Yuan Xin Xin Chen Jing Huang Jiaao Bao William H. McDowell Greg Michalski Zhifeng Yang Jun Xia |
| author_sort | Junfeng Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Rivers are important sites for nitrogen (N) cycling processes. N removal is thought to occur predominantly in the benthic zone and the role of the water column is frequently neglected. Here, we find that the water‐air and sediment‐water fluxes of N2 and N2O decreased, while the water column production increased with stream order through 4‐year observations across six river networks in China. The water column contribution increased with stream order and accounted for more than 50% in rivers above fifth order. The increase in the contact area of suspended sediment (SPS)‐water caused by higher SPS concentrations and river depths resulted in the shift as river size increased. N removal and N2O emissions would be underestimated approximately by 50% if neglecting water column processes for the six river networks. This study highlights the necessity and provides a pathway to incorporate water column processes into models to balance the global N budget. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2d939bbaaaf24b8ca6b1f6a92d5c7ab9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-2d939bbaaaf24b8ca6b1f6a92d5c7ab92025-01-22T14:38:16ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072022-06-014912n/an/a10.1029/2022GL098955The Dominant Role of the Water Column in Nitrogen Removal and N2O Emissions in Large RiversJunfeng Wang0Xinghui Xia1Shaoda Liu2Sibo Zhang3Ling Zhang4Chenrun Jiang5Zhenrui Zhang6Yuan Xin7Xin Chen8Jing Huang9Jiaao Bao10William H. McDowell11Greg Michalski12Zhifeng Yang13Jun Xia14Key Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment Beijing Normal University Beijing ChinaKey Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment Beijing Normal University Beijing ChinaKey Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment Beijing Normal University Beijing ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Quality Improvement and Ecological Restoration for Watersheds Institute of Environmental and Ecological Engineering Guangdong University of Technology Guangzhou ChinaKey Laboratory of Yellow River Sediment Research Yellow River Institute of Hydraulic Research Zhengzhou ChinaKey Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment Beijing Normal University Beijing ChinaKey Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment Beijing Normal University Beijing ChinaKey Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment Beijing Normal University Beijing ChinaKey Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment Beijing Normal University Beijing ChinaKey Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment Beijing Normal University Beijing ChinaKey Laboratory of Water and Sediment Sciences of Ministry of Education, State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment Beijing Normal University Beijing ChinaDepartment of Natural Resources and the Environment University of New Hampshire Durham NH USADepartment of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences Purdue University West Lafayette IN USAGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Water Quality Improvement and Ecological Restoration for Watersheds Institute of Environmental and Ecological Engineering Guangdong University of Technology Guangzhou ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Sciences Wuhan University Wuhan ChinaAbstract Rivers are important sites for nitrogen (N) cycling processes. N removal is thought to occur predominantly in the benthic zone and the role of the water column is frequently neglected. Here, we find that the water‐air and sediment‐water fluxes of N2 and N2O decreased, while the water column production increased with stream order through 4‐year observations across six river networks in China. The water column contribution increased with stream order and accounted for more than 50% in rivers above fifth order. The increase in the contact area of suspended sediment (SPS)‐water caused by higher SPS concentrations and river depths resulted in the shift as river size increased. N removal and N2O emissions would be underestimated approximately by 50% if neglecting water column processes for the six river networks. This study highlights the necessity and provides a pathway to incorporate water column processes into models to balance the global N budget.https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098955riverwater columnnitrogen cyclingnitrous oxidegreenhouse gas |
| spellingShingle | Junfeng Wang Xinghui Xia Shaoda Liu Sibo Zhang Ling Zhang Chenrun Jiang Zhenrui Zhang Yuan Xin Xin Chen Jing Huang Jiaao Bao William H. McDowell Greg Michalski Zhifeng Yang Jun Xia The Dominant Role of the Water Column in Nitrogen Removal and N2O Emissions in Large Rivers Geophysical Research Letters river water column nitrogen cycling nitrous oxide greenhouse gas |
| title | The Dominant Role of the Water Column in Nitrogen Removal and N2O Emissions in Large Rivers |
| title_full | The Dominant Role of the Water Column in Nitrogen Removal and N2O Emissions in Large Rivers |
| title_fullStr | The Dominant Role of the Water Column in Nitrogen Removal and N2O Emissions in Large Rivers |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Dominant Role of the Water Column in Nitrogen Removal and N2O Emissions in Large Rivers |
| title_short | The Dominant Role of the Water Column in Nitrogen Removal and N2O Emissions in Large Rivers |
| title_sort | dominant role of the water column in nitrogen removal and n2o emissions in large rivers |
| topic | river water column nitrogen cycling nitrous oxide greenhouse gas |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098955 |
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