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Indicators of Groundwater Potential for Nitrate Transformation in a Reductive Environment
Author(s) -
Perović Marija,
Obradović Vesna,
Kovačević Srđan,
Mitrinović David,
Živančev Nevena,
Nenin Tanja
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
water environment research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.356
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1554-7531
pISSN - 1061-4303
DOI - 10.2175/106143016x14733681696121
Subject(s) - nitrate , denitrification , anoxic waters , groundwater , environmental chemistry , aquifer , chemistry , ammonium , nitrogen , tracer , environmental science , groundwater pollution , geology , physics , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry , nuclear physics
Increasing nitrate concentration in many shallow aquifers has become a global environmental problem. In order to determine anoxic aquifer sensitivity to nitrate pollution and potential for nitrogen conservation, we have qualified potential nitrate transformation pathways, by conducting field tests, tracer study, physicochemical and microbiological analysis of the groundwater. Combination of in situ measuring and laboratory analysis of physicochemical properties and selected biological activity reactivity tests (BART TM ), has enabled estimation of different pathways of NO 3 − reduction. During five days of nitrate enrichment experiment there was no observed increase in NO 3 − concentration, nor any observed decrease of TN (total nitrogen) in the groundwater, while NH 4 + production rates increased (with the peak concentrations of 4.97 mg N/L) on the first day of the experiment. We assume that inhibited respiratory denitrification and enhanced DNRA (dissimilatory reduction of nitrate to ammonium) may preserve available nitrogen in a bioavailable form of ammonium.