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Denitrification rates measured along a salinity gradient in the eutrophic Neuse River estuary, North Carolina, USA

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Abstract

Denitrification rates along a salinity gradient in the eutrophic Neuse River Estuary, North Carolina, were quantified using membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS) within short-term batch incubations. Denitrification rates within the system were highly variable, ranging from 0 to 275 μmol N m−2 h−1. Intrasite variability increased with salinity, but no significant differences were observed across the salinity gradient. Denitrification rates were positively correlated with sediment oxygen demand at the upstream sampling site where sediment organic carbon levels were lowest. This relationship was not observed in the more saline sampling sites. Denitrification rates were highest during winter. On an annual basis, denitrification accounted for 26% of the dissolved inorganic nitrogen and 12% of the total nitrogen supplied to the system.

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  1. North Carolina Division of Coastal Management, North Carolina National Estuarine Research Reserve, 400 Commerce Avenue, 28557, Morehead City, North Carolina

    John M. Fear

  2. Institute of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 3431 Arendell Street, 28557, Morehead City, North Carolina

    Suzanne P. Thompson, Thomas E. Gallo & Hans W. Paerl

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  1. John M. Fear
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Fear, J.M., Thompson, S.P., Gallo, T.E. et al. Denitrification rates measured along a salinity gradient in the eutrophic Neuse River estuary, North Carolina, USA. Estuaries 28, 608–619 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02696071

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