Total ammonia and coliform concentrations at the end of the Mississippi River from 1900 to 2019

Total ammonia (TA) concentrations (NH 3 + NH 4 + ) at four locations at the terminal end of the Mississippi River, the largest river on the North American continent, were assembled to examine trends and relationships with point and non-point loadings from 1980 to 2019 and compared to values in 1900...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental monitoring and assessment 2023-02, Vol.195 (2), p.278, Article 278
Main Author: Turner, R. Eugene
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air pollution
Ammonia
Ammonia - analysis
Aquatic ecosystems
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
Bacteria
Biodegradation
Clean Water Act-US
Coliforms
Data collection
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecology
Ecosystem
Ecotoxicology
Enterobacteriaceae
Environment
Environmental Management
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental science
Feces
Fertilizers
Freshwater
Freshwater ecosystems
Gram-Negative Bacteria
Hypoxia
In situ temperature
Inland water environment
Monitoring/Environmental Analysis
Nitrogen
Rivers
Sediments
Sewage
Sewer systems
Sewerage
Solubility
Stabilizers
Temperature
Toxicity
Trends
Water quality
Watershed management
Watersheds
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Summary:Total ammonia (TA) concentrations (NH 3 + NH 4 + ) at four locations at the terminal end of the Mississippi River, the largest river on the North American continent, were assembled to examine trends and relationships with point and non-point loadings from 1980 to 2019 and compared to values in 1900 to 1901. TA concentrations were lowest in 1900 to 1901, highest in 1980 and then declined, and then rose slightly in the last 2 decades. Variations in individual measurements and in situ temperature are indirectly related because of the influence temperature has on ammonia solubility and protein degradation rates. Importantly, the average annual concentrations of TA were directly related to both total coliform and fecal coliform densities. The highest measured average annual TA concentrations in the river (15.5 ± 1.5 SE µmol in 1985) were below the currently recommended toxicity thresholds for freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Sewerage loadings are implicated as controlling factors on TA concentrations, not nitrogen stabilizers added to fertilizers to reduce ammonia conversion to nitrate, nor the fertilizer loadings.
ISSN:0167-6369
1573-2959
DOI:10.1007/s10661-022-10903-1