Injection of wastewater into shallow wells is meant to filter nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus out of the wastewater. But a new study suggests that nutrients aren’t entirely eliminated—and may be polluting coastal waters.
nitrogen
Posted inNews
Free-Roaming Bison Graze Life into Grasslands
A new study suggests that Yellowstone’s herd of bison accelerates nutrient cycling, offering a glimpse into the North American plains of yesteryear.
Posted inNews
Nitrogen Needs Could Be Limiting Nature’s Carbon Capacity
A new study suggests that past calculations of biological nitrogen fixation were overestimated by up to 66%—and that farms growing nitrogen-fixing crops may be filling in the gaps, for better or worse.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Arctic Rivers Trade Inorganic Nitrogen for Organic
Climate change is shifting the makeup of a key nutrient in rivers across Russia, Alaska, and Canada, with the potential for ecosystem-wide impacts.
Posted inNews
As the Arctic Warms, Soils Lose Key Nutrients
Climate change heats not only the air and the ocean but also the soil, where key processes that determine fertility and carbon sequestration operate in a fine-tuned balance.
Posted inNews
A Great Whale Conveyor Belt Transports Nutrients Across Oceans
Baleen whales shift huge amounts of nutrients, including nitrogen, from high-latitude feeding waters to tropical breeding areas.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
The “Surprising” Effect of Drying Headwaters on Nitrogen Dynamics
Contrary to predictions, spring rains caused a decrease in nitrogen at watershed outflows in Alabama.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Carbon-Nutrient Ratios Drive Nitrate Removal in Mediterranean Streams
The type of organic matter, and ratio of nutrients to carbon, impact the ability of heterotrophic bacteria to effectively remove certain forms of nitrogen pollution (nitrate) from streams.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Particulate Pollution and its Climate Impacts During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The impacts of COVID-19 on short-lived pollutants highlight the predominant influence of the transportation sector and the resulting changes in regional climates and ecosystems.
Posted inEditors' Highlights
Physics and Biology as Likely Stream Bedfellows
Streambeds are key sites for removal of nutrients and other contaminants through microbial processes, but are limited by diffusion, which can now be modeled from streambed physical properties.