QUESTION OF NITRIFICATION IN THE PASSAIC RIVER, NEW-JERSEY - ANALYSIS OF HISTORICAL DATA AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION

被引:21
作者
CIRELLO, J
RAPAPORT, RA
STROM, PF
MATULEWICH, VA
MORRIS, ML
GOETZ, S
FINSTEIN, MS
机构
[1] Department of Environmental Science, Cook College, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick
关键词
D O I
10.1016/0043-1354(79)90048-4
中图分类号
X [环境科学、安全科学];
学科分类号
08 ; 0830 ;
摘要
Historical NH4+ and NO3- data from six stations on the Passaic River, New Jersey, were analyzed. The data for five of the stations span 1963 to 1976, and for the sixth station 1947 to 1976. Some of the conclusions reached are as follows: 1. (1) The concentration of NH4+ fluctuated widely, but the trend was towards an increase with time. 2. (2) The concentration of NH4+ was elevated during a period of extreme drought (1963 to 1966). 3. (3) The concentration of NO3- tended to increase smoothly with time. 4. (4) The concentration of NH4+ increases longitudinally (with downstream travel). 5. (5) The loads (concentration × stream-flow) of both nitrogen species tended to increase with time. 6. (6) Substantial NO3- enters the stream from non-point sources. 7. (7) The potential for instream nitrification is not fully realized, as represented by elevated levels of NH4+. Item (7) was puzzling because conditions in the Passaic, especially in the summer, appear to be favorable for nitrification. The point was clarified, in part through an experimental investigation. River water samples, with and without added NH4Cl, were incubated, and the course of the first step of nitrification was followed through the appearance of NO2-. (The second step of nitrification was inactive during the experimental period.) The added NH4Cl enhanced nitrification in samples from the uppermost stations (native NH4+-N approximately 0.1 mg l-1, but had little or no effect in samples from the middle and lower reaches (native NH4+-N > 0.5 mg l-1). Consequently, it was inferred that over most of the river's mainstem the growth of NH4+-oxidizing bacteria was not substrate limited. There was also no indication of other nutrient limitations or of the presence of any inhibitors. This led to a projection of a 60-fold increase in the population density of planktonic NH4+-oxidizers over a certain stretch of the river. However, no increase in the most-probable-number (MPN) of NH4+-oxidizing bacteria was observed, which is consistent with item (7). In fact, at the end of a quiescent segment of the river the MPN's were anomalously low. This is attributed to the removal of cells from the water column through settling. This reasoning is extended to suggest that, throughout the river, settling may be the mechanism preventing a response of planktonic nitrifiers to the enrichment with NH4+ from pollution sources. In turn, this could prevent a full expression of the potential for nitrification. The analyses are discussed from a regulatory perspective. It is concluded that the nitrification component of the Passaic's self-purification capacity is overburdened, and first became so in 1953. © 1979.
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页码:525 / 537
页数:13
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