Abstract

Combined with human activities, rainfall events have become an important factor affecting the urban ecological environment, particularly in karst areas, where the ecosystem is fragile and more affected by pollution due to the frequent water exchange. To understand the fate of nitrogen in karst urban rivers, samples were collected under various rainfall events classified in four different hydrological conditions. The concentration of nitrogenous species, water isotopes and nitrate dual isotopes were measured. The results showed that nitrate was the primary inorganic nitrogen (>70%) in most of the samples. The nitrate isotopic signature and hydrochemistry suggested that volatilization and denitrification enriched the isotopic composition during low flow conditions (20.0 ± 8.0‰), while a high isotopic signature during high flow conditions suggested an anthropologic source, e.g. domestic waste. A response between accumulated rainfall and nitrate concentration in the studied urban karstic river suggested that antecedent conditions and sources accumulated in an urban area can affect N pollution in an urban area. This study highlighted that careful management in urban areas is required to understand the knowledge of transport flow paths of pollutant during rainfall events.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.