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http://dx.doi.org/10.11614/KSL.2015.48.3.147

Introduction of Kjeldahl Digestion Method for Nitrogen Stable Isotope Analysis (δ15N-NO3 and δ15NNH4) and Case Study for Tracing Nitrogen Source  

Kim, Min-Seob (Department of Environmental Measurement & Analysis Center, National Institute of Environmental Research)
Park, Tae-Jin (Department of Fundamental Environment Research, National Institute of Environmental Research)
Yoon, Suk-Hee (Department of Environmental Measurement & Analysis Center, National Institute of Environmental Research)
Lim, Bo-La (Department of Environmental Measurement & Analysis Center, National Institute of Environmental Research)
Shin, Kyung-Hoon (Department of Marine Science and Convergence Technology, Hanyang University)
Kwon, Oh-Sang (Department of Watershed and Total Load Management Research Division, National Institute of Environmental Research)
Lee, Won-Seok (Department of Environmental Measurement & Analysis Center, National Institute of Environmental Research)
Publication Information
Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment / v.48, no.3, 2015 , pp. 147-152 More about this Journal
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) loading from domestic, agricultural and industrial sources can lead to excessive growth of macrophytes or phytoplankton in aquatic environment. Many studies have used nitrogen stable isotope ratios to identify anthropogenic nitrogen in aquatic systems as a useful method for studying nitrogen cycle. In this study to evaluate the precision and accuracy of Kjeldahl processes, two reference materials (IAEA-NO-3, N-1) were analyzed repeatedly. Measured the ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{15}N-NH_4$ values of IAEA-NO-3 and IAEA-N-1 were $4.7{\pm}0.2$‰ and $0.4{\pm}0.3$‰, respectively, which are within recommended values of analytical uncertainties. Also, we investigated spatial patterns of ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{15}N-NH_4$ in effluent plumes from a waste water treatment plant in Han River, Korea. ${\delta}^{15}N-NO_3$ and ${\delta}^{15}N-NH_4$ values are enriched at downstream areas of water treatment plant suggesting that dissolved nitrogen in effluent plumes should be one of the main N sources in those areas. The current study clarifies the reliability of Kjeldahl analytical method and the usefulness of stable isotopic techniques to trace the contamination source of dissolved nitrogen such as nitrate and ammonia.
Keywords
Kjedahl method; nitrogen isotope analysis; stable isotope; nitrogen source trace; mixing model;
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