A New in Situ Method for Tracing Denitrification in Riparian Groundwater

Andrea Popp and her colleagues used a miniRUEDI to study the dynamics of the biogeochemical N2 turnover in a river/groundwater system over a six-month period (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2020, 54). In addition to N2, they analysed He, Ar and Kr concentrations in the water in order to quantify the air-derived N2 component in the groundwater. These miniRUEDI data allowed them to rigorously quantify the N2 excess produced by denitrification, and to unravel the spatio-temporal dynamics of N2 denitrification in the riparian groundwater system. The results show that denitrification is highly variable in space and time, emphasizing the need for spatially and temporally resolved data to accurately account for denitrification dynamics in groundwater.

Full paper: “A New in Situ Method for Tracing Denitrification in Riparian Groundwater”, Environ. Sci. Technol. 2020, 54, 3, 1562-1572, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b05393