Investigating hydrological drivers of nitrate export dynamics in two agricultural catchments in Germany using high-frequency data series

Schwientek, Marc; Osenbrück, Karsten; Fleischer, Matthias

doi:10.1007/s12665-013-2322-2

Cited by 50 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…However, precipitation can also be enriched with atmospheric-derived nitrate (Einsiedl and Mayer, 2006). Sebestyen et al (2008) showed for a catchment in an upland forest in Northeast Vermont, USA, that atmospheric-derived nitrate can account for more than 50 % of nitrate concentrations in groundwater, especially during snowmelt. In the same catchment, Campbell et al (2004) estimated the average total N input from atmospheric derived nitrate to be 13.2 kg ha −1 a −1 , which can be significant in such a catchment where atmospheric nitrogen is the most influencing nitrate source.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent years, high-resolution monitoring in karst catchments over extended periods of time has received greater attention (Mellander et al, 2013;Schwientek et al, 2013). Also, spectrophotometrical ultraviolet/visible (UV/VIS) light monitoring, which was originally developed for monitoring waste water treatment plants (Drolc and Vrtovšek, 2010), has been applied to karst springs to continuously monitor nitrate concentrations (Grimmeisen et al, 2012;Pu et al, 2011).…”

Section: Huebsch Et Al: Nitrate Response Of Karst Springs To Highmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mobilisation or dilution? Nitrate response of karst springs to high rainfall events

Huebsch

Fenton

Horan

et al. 2014

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Nitrate (NO −3 ) contamination of groundwater associated with agronomic activity is of major concern in many countries. Where agriculture, thin free draining soils and karst aquifers coincide, groundwater is highly vulnerable to nitrate contamination. As residence times and denitrification potential in such systems are typically low, nitrate can discharge to surface waters unabated. However, such systems also react quickest to agricultural management changes that aim to improve water quality. In response to storm events, nitrate concentrations can alter significantly, i.e. rapidly decreasing or increasing concentrations. The current study examines the response of a specific karst spring situated on a grassland farm in South Ireland to rainfall events utilising high-resolution nitrate and discharge data together with onfarm borehole groundwater fluctuation data. Specifically, the objectives of the study are to formulate a scientific hypothesis of possible scenarios relating to nitrate responses during storm events, and to verify this hypothesis using additional case studies from the literature. This elucidates the controlling key factors that lead to mobilisation and/or dilution of nitrate concentrations during storm events. These were land use, hydrological condition and karstification, which in combination can lead to differential responses of mobilised and/or diluted nitrate concentrations. Furthermore, the results indicate that nitrate response in karst is strongly dependent on nutrient source, whether mobilisation and/or dilution occur and on the pathway taken. This will have consequences for the delivery of nitrate to a surface water receptor. The current study improves our understanding of nitrate responses in karst systems and therefore can guide environmental modellers, policy makers and drinking water managers with respect to the regulations of the European Union (EU) Water Framework Directive (WFD). In future, more research should focus on the high-resolution monitoring of karst aquifers to capture the high variability of hydrochemical processes, which occur at time intervals of hours to days.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Huebsch Et Al: Nitrate Response Of Karst Springs To Highmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobilisation or dilution? Nitrate response of karst springs to high rainfall events

Huebsch

Fenton

Horan

et al. 2014

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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“…Artificial or human‐enhanced discharges such as subsurface drainage and irrigation return flow in agricultural landscapes (Blaen et al, ; Rozemeijer, van der Velde, van Geer, Bierkens, & Broers, ), and waste‐water treatment plant (WWTP) discharge or sewage pipe leakage in urban settings can be important sources of NO 3 − (Duncan, Welty, et al, ; Schwientek, Osenbrück, & Fleischer, ), and the dynamics of these discharges often govern hysteresis and flushing responses during storms (Figure ). Sensor‐based investigations provide unprecedented detail and improved understanding of the dynamics of these discharges and their effects on NO 3 − concentrations and loads in agricultural, urban, and mixed land use settings (Amado, Schilling, Jones, Thomas, & Weber, ; Bowes et al, ; C. S. Jones et al, ).…”

Section: Concentration–discharge Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring the riverine pulse: Applying high‐frequency nitrate data to advance integrative understanding of biogeochemical and hydrological processes

et al. 2019

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“…Recent technological progress in the development of insitu sensors now allows for several solutes to be monitored at sub-hourly time scales . Analyses of these high-frequency measurements have provided substantial insights into biogeochemical processing (Rusjan et al, 2008), solute 55 dynamics (Evans and Davies, 1998;Schwientek et al, 2013), and the temporal evolution of source contributions over the course of individual storm events (Grimaldi et al, 2004). Event-scale studies have also highlighted a general variability in solute responses across storm events that exceeds the variability observed in weekly or monthly grab samples (Bieroza and Heathwaite, 2015;Lloyd et al, 2016).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Concentration-discharge relationships vary among hydrological events, reflecting differences in event characteristics

Knapp

Freyberg

Kiewiet

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Studying the response of streamwater chemistry to changes in discharge can provide valuable insights into how 10 catchments store and release water and solutes. Previous studies have determined concentration-discharge (cQ) relationships from long-term, low-frequency data of a wide range of solutes. These analyses, however, provide little insight into the coupling of solute concentrations and flow during individual hydrologic events. Event-scale cQ relationships have rarely been investigated across a wide range of solutes and over extended periods of time, and thus little is known about differences and similarities between event-scale and long-term cQ relationships. Differences between event-scale and long-term cQ behavior 15 may provide useful information about the processes regulating their transport through the landscape.Here we analyze cQ relationships of 14 different solutes, ranging from major ions to trace metals, as well as electrical conductivity, in the Swiss Erlenbach catchment. From a 2-year time series of sub-hourly solute concentration data we determined long-term cQ relationships for each solute and compared them to cQ relationships of 30 individual events. The 20 long-term cQ behavior of groundwater-sourced solutes was representative of their cQ behavior during hydrologic events. Other solutes, however, exhibited very different cQ patterns at the event and long-term scale. This was particularly true for trace metals as well as atmospheric and/or biologically active solutes, many of which exhibited highly variable cQ behavior from one event to the next. Most of this inter-event variability in cQ behavior can be explained by factors such as catchment wetness, season, event size, input concentrations, and event-water contributions. We present an overview of the processes regulating 25 different groups of solutes, depending on their origin in and pathways through the catchment. Our analysis thus provides insight into controls on solute variations at the hydrologic event scale.

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Investigating hydrological drivers of nitrate export dynamics in two agricultural catchments in Germany using high-frequency data series

Cited by 50 publications

References 36 publications

Mobilisation or dilution? Nitrate response of karst springs to high rainfall events

Mobilisation or dilution? Nitrate response of karst springs to high rainfall events

Monitoring the riverine pulse: Applying high‐frequency nitrate data to advance integrative understanding of biogeochemical and hydrological processes

Concentration-discharge relationships vary among hydrological events, reflecting differences in event characteristics

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