Abstract
In situ measurements of inorganic nitrogen fluxes and riverbed oxygen consumption were made on sediments in 3, 9, and 16 m of water at the mouth of the York River during stratified and destratified water conditions. Ammonia was regenerated, the rate of which increased with depth and oxygen concentration in the overlying water. Nitrate and nitrite fluxes from the sediment were minimal or non-existent during stratification at the 16-m station but increased and the nutrients were taken up by the sediments under destratified conditions. At the 3-m station, which is above the halocline when developed, nitrate and nitrite appeared to be the major forms of nitrogen being released by the sediments. Oxygen consumption by the riverbed at the 16 and 9-m stations was higher during the increased oxygen tensions associated with vertical destratification. The 3-m station maintained the highest rates of oxygen consumption throughout the sampling period. The in situ incubation of bottom water alone at all three stations indicated negligible rates of oxygen uptake.
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Phoel, W.C., Webb, K.L., D’Elia, C.F. (1981). Inorganic Nitrogen Regeneration and Total Oxygen Consumption by the Sediments at the Mouth of the York River, Virginia. In: Neilson, B.J., Cronin, L.E. (eds) Estuaries and Nutrients. Contemporary Issues in Science and Society. Humana Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5826-1_32
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-5826-1_32
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