Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus in the Hudson River'

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Carbon, Nitrogen and Phosphorus in the Hudson
River.
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Outline

• Why biogeochemists care about C, N and P
• Forms of each element
• Concentrations of each form of each element
• Some things that matter and some that do not to
  the Hudson River.

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C,N, P who cares

• Major biological consituents
• Can have strong direct and indirect effects on
  water quality.
• Inorganic C- major buffer
• N, P- often the limiting nutrients for algae
• Nitrate and Ammonia can be toxic to humans and
  animals if high enough.
• C, N, and P can all affect Oxygen.

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Carbon

• Inorganic C
• CO2, HCO-3, CO-3
• Sum is Dissolved Inorganic C (DIC).
• Can measure by gas chromatography (direct)
• Or by titration (alkalinity or ANC indirect)
• ANC HCO3- 2CO3 OH--H

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Organic C

• Dissolved Organic C (passes a 0.7 mm pore filter)
• Particulate Organic C (is retained by that
  filter)
• Mostly detritial
• What else does POC include?

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Hudson River
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Nitrogen

• Dissolved inorganic N
• Nitrate (NO3-) nitrite NO2- ammonia (NH4)
• Also gases (N2, N2O)
• Organic N- dissolved (DON), Particulate (PN)
• Often have DIN species and TN (including
  particles).
• Measurement is usually autoanalyzer
  (spectrophotometric) with GC for gas and
  particles (after combustion).

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Sources and fates

• Inorganic C- weathering, metabolism
• Organic C soils and riverine primary production
• Nitrogen- atmospheric deposition on watershed,
  sewage, agriculture
• P- sewage and soil erosion.
• Fates- what matters and where.

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