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NITROGEN CONTENT AND ACIDITY OF RAIN ON THE GEORGIA COAST 1
Author(s) -
Haines Evelyn B.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1976.tb00257.x
Subject(s) - nitrate , nitrogen , ammonia , acid rain , nitrite , environmental chemistry , rainwater harvesting , redfield ratio , chemistry , hydrology (agriculture) , ammonium , environmental science , nutrient , ecology , geology , biology , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , phytoplankton
ABSTRACT: Since nitrogen is a nutrient frequently in short supply in coastal ecosystems, an estimate of the nitrogen input via rain was made for the Georgia coast. Water samples collected in 34 separate storms during a 12 month period were analysed for concentrations of ammonia, nitrate plus nitrite, and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON). The range and average concentration in micromoles of nitrogen per liter was 0.0 to 137 (6.3) for ammonia, 1.0 to 21 (7.9) for nitrate plus nitrite, and 0.0 to 13.6 (4.0) for DON. DON, not usually measured in rain, comprised up to 62% of the total nitrogen content. The annual amount of nitrogen contributed by rain to the coast was about 0.3 g N/m 2 . This value is a small fraction of the calculated nitrogen requirements of coastal plants. More than half the rain samples had pH values less than the CO 2 equilibrium pH of 5.6. Values as low as 4.2 were in the range of pH values reported for acid rain in Europe and the northeastern U.S. Total titratable acidity was measured for 12 summer rainwater samples. The results fox 7 individual storms showed a highly linear relation between hydrogen ion concentration and total acidity. However, the elope of the regression line indicated that increases in acidity were not a result of addition of strong acid alone.