Presenter(s)

Rachel Kristine Buzeta

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Description

The global population has increased exponentially causing several challenges surrounding sustainability, including greater food production needs. To meet these demands and boost agricultural productivity, more efficient practices and fertilizers are used. Synthetic fertilizers and other nutrient sources have resulted in water quality degradation and pollution. Much of the Great Miami River Watershed’s streams and aquifers in southwestern Ohio are affected by nitrate contaminants originating from anthropogenic sources including synthetic and organic fertilizer used for agriculture, human wastes (domestic, industrial, and municipal wastes), and urbanization. High nitrate concentrations cause ecological disturbances across all trophic levels. Nitrate levels greater than 10 mg/L also pose a danger to human health, if the contaminant reaches drinking water sources. Water quality monitoring stations report nitrate concentrations in surface and groundwater, but a nitrate contaminant source has not been identified. Here we used isotope ratios of nitrogen (δ15N) and oxygen (δ18O) in nitrates to identify sources for surface and groundwater. Initially we fingerprinted the isotopic composition of the main nitrate contaminant sources in the watershed. Our results show a distinct low δ15N for commercial synthetic fertilizers (0.4±4‰) and high δ15N for animal and human waste (13.0±1.3‰). Further sampling along the Great Miami Mad, and Stillwater River provides insights into contaminant sources contributing to elevated nitrate levels in each river. In general, the δ15N from river samples collected during the low river flow lies within a range of human and animal waste, whereas δ15N values of groundwater suggest that the nitrates might have been derived from soil organic matter or synthetic fertilizers. This research provides a regional baseline for nitrate contaminant source tracing and helps to better inform state and local water quality and nutrient management planning.

Publication Date

4-24-2019

Project Designation

Honors Thesis

Primary Advisor

Zelalem K. Bedaso

Primary Advisor's Department

Geology

Keywords

Stander Symposium project

Nitrate contaminant tracing in surface and groundwater in the Great Miami River Watershed: Environmental Isotope Approach

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