In this study, we explored opportunities to optimize food-energy-water (FEW) resources by closing nutrient loops in aridland rivers. We evaluated source and sink behavior of nitrogen as nitrate (NO 3-N) in three connected channels associated with an irrigation network, i.e., man-made delivery and drain canals, and the main stem of the Rio Grande river near Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. All three channels are located downstream of a large wastewater treatment plant that is the main contributor of nutrients to this reach of the Rio Grande. We used a mass balance approach paired with stable isotope analysis to link sources and processing of NO 3-N with reaction pathways within the channels over time (a year) and through space (along ∼14-53 km reaches). Results indicated that the growing season was an important period of net sink behavior for the delivery channel and the Rio Grande, but the drain channel was a year-round net source. Stable isotope analyses of 15 N and 18 O found a distinct nitrate signature in the drain associated with biological processing, as well as sites along the Rio Grande impacted by agricultural outflow, but no equivalent signature was present in the delivery channel. Based on our findings, we provide recommendations to help close nutrient loops in our study system and in analogous aridland irrigation networks by (1) minimizing loss during the transfer of nutrients from wastewater facilities to agricultural areas, and (2) minimizing enrichment to downstream aquatic ecosystems by sequestering nutrients that would otherwise escape the nutrient loop.
We introduce “The Integrator,” a novel technique to quantify transport and reaction metrics commonly used to characterize flow systems. This development consists of two products: (1) The Integrator sampling device and (2) its supporting mathematical framework, which is compatible with semi‐continuous sensor data. The use of The Integrator device simplifies the logistics of sample collection and greatly reduces the number of samples needed, making it ideal to characterize systems that are: (1) difficult to access, (2) large and thus intractable or highly heterogeneous, and (3) highly instrumented otherwise but where a more holistic, mechanistic understanding may be gained by monitoring one or more currently untracked elements. We tested and validated The Integrator technique using experimental data collected from a heart rate monitor (high‐quality, high‐frequency data in response to known excitation events) and solute tracer experiments conducted in two contrasting (fourth and seventh order) rivers. In the Supporting Information, we provide details concerning the design of The Integrator device used in our field case studies and provide insight into potential improvements. Despite our case studies focus on the analysis of conservative and reactive transport of solutes in rivers, the principles behind The Integrator technique can be used to monitor water quality in hyporheic zones, aquifers, wetlands, swamps, karsts, oceans, wastewater treatment plants, pipe networks, and air quality. Furthermore, special arrangements of Integrator devices can be used to gather data at spatial and temporal resolutions that are currently unattainable due to high transportation and/or personnel costs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.