Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
6328796 Science of The Total Environment 2014 13 Pages PDF
Abstract
Agricultural regions in semi-arid to arid climates with associated saline wetlands are one of the most vulnerable environments to nitrate pollution. The Pétrola Basin was declared vulnerable to NO3− pollution by the Regional Government in 1998, and the hypersaline lake was classified as a heavily modified body of water. The study assessed groundwater NO3− through the use of multi-isotopic tracers (δ15N, δ34S, δ13C, δ18O) coupled to hydrochemistry in the aquifer connected to the eutrophic lake. Hydrogeologically, the basin shows two main flow components: regional groundwater flow from recharge areas (Zone 1) to the lake (Zone 2), and a density-driven flow from surface water to the underlying aquifer (Zone 3). In Zones 1 and 2, δ15NNO3 and δ18ONO3 suggest that NO3− from slightly volatilized ammonium synthetic fertilizers is only partially denitrified. The natural attenuation of NO3− can occur by heterotrophic reactions. However, autotrophic reactions cannot be ruled out. In Zone 3, the freshwater-saltwater interface (down to 12-16 m below the ground surface) is a reactive zone for NO3− attenuation. Tritium data suggest that the absence of NO3− in the deepest zones of the aquifer under the lake can be attributed to a regional groundwater flow with long residence time. In hypersaline lakes the geometry of the density-driven flow can play an important role in the transport of chemical species that can be related to denitrification processes.
Related Topics
Life Sciences Environmental Science Environmental Chemistry
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