Document Type

Article

Department/Program

Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Publication Date

7-2021

Journal

Ecological Indicators

Issue

107639

Abstract

Using 15N stable isotope as a tracer to quantify N transformation rates in isotope-enrichment experiments improves understanding of the N cycle in various ecosystems. However, measuring 15N-nitrate (15NO3) in small volumes of water for these experiments is a major challenge due to the inconvenience of preparing samples by traditional techniques. We developed a “REOX/MIMS” method by applying membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS) to determining 15NO3 concentrations in a small volumes of water from isotope-enrichment experiments after converting the dissolved inorganic N to N2. The nitrates (NO3 + NO2) were reduced to NH4+ with zinc powder, and the ammonium (NH4+) was then oxidized to N2 by hypobromite iodine solution. The resulting 29N2 and 30N2 were measured via MIMS. This optimized protocol provides a sensitive (~0.1 μM) and precise (relative standard deviation = 0.1–4.37%) approach to quantify 15NO3 concentrations (0.1–500 µM) in water samples over a wide range of salinities (0–35‰) and in 2 M KCl solution with excellent calibration curves (R2 ≥ 0.9996, p < 0.0001). The method was combined with 15NO3 isotope-enrichment incubation experiments to measure gross nitrification and gross NO3 immobilization rates in various ecosystems. It was rapid, accurate, and cost-effective. Future applications of this efficient approach will inform scientists, modelers and decision makers about mechanisms, sources, fates, and effects of NO3 delivered to or produced in numerous aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.

DOI

doi: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107639

Keywords

REOX/MIMS, 15NO3−, Gross nitrification, Gross NO3−, immobilization, Isotope dilution method

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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