Application of Nitrogen and Oxygen Isotopes for Source and Fate Identification of Nitrate Pollution in Surface Water: A Review
Source abstract
Abstract
Nitrate pollution in surface water has become an environmental problem of global concern. The effective way for controlling the nitrate pollution of surface water is to identify the pollution source and reduce the input of nitrate. In recent decades, nitrogen (δ15N) and oxygen (δ18O) isotopes of nitrate has been used as an effective approach for identifying the source and fate of nitrate pollution in surface water. However, owing to the complexity of nitrate pollution source and the influence of isotopic fractionation, the application of this method has some limitations. In this work, we systematically discussed the fundamental principle of using nitrogen and oxygen isotopes to trace the nitrate source, the fate identification of nitrate, and the major testing techniques. Subsequently, the applications of nitrogen and oxygen isotopes for source identification of surface water were illustrated. However, there are still significant gaps in the application of the source identification and transformation mechanisms to nitrate and many research questions on these topics need to be addressed.
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Research context
OpenAlex topics: Groundwater and Isotope Geochemistry · Isotope Analysis in Ecology · Marine and coastal ecosystems
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China
State Key Laboratory of Eco-hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China
Funding
National Natural Science Foundation of China
References (88)
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