Is there any isotopic fractionation of nitrate associated with diffusion and advection?
Priscillia Semaoune A B , Mathieu Sebilo A , Joëlle Templier A and Sylvie Derenne AA Laboratoire de Biogéochimie et écologie des milieux continentaux, UMR CNRS/UPMC 7618, 4 place Jussieu, F-75252, Paris, France.
B Corresponding author. Email: semaoune.priscillia@gmail.com
Environmental Chemistry 9(2) 158-162 https://doi.org/10.1071/EN11143
Submitted: 18 November 2011 Accepted: 2 April 2012 Published: 4 May 2012
Journal Compilation © CSIRO Publishing 2012 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND
Environmental context. Anthropogenic nitrogen inputs have significant effects on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, the extent of which can be traced by using the natural stable isotopic composition of nitrate to integrate the sources of nitrogen and the biological processes of their production. In ecosystems, nitrates are transported by diffusion in water and advection of water masses, but these physical processes have not been characterised in terms of isotopic fractionation. We report experiments demonstrating that physical transport processes have a negligible effect on the isotopic composition of dissolved nitrate.
Abstract. We experimentally investigated the effect of the physical process of transport (diffusion and advection) on the isotopic composition of nitrate (δ15N and δ18O). Strict diffusion of nitrate in water was studied using a modified Richter apparatus. The combination of diffusion and advection processes was followed by elution of nitrate solution onto silica gel column. No significant isotopic fractionation was observed.
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