The effect of salinity on nutrient release from riverine and tributary estuarine sediments to the Chesapeake Bay under oxidizing and reducing conditions

The primary objective of this study was to determine the salinity effect on nutrient release and the denitrification rate in a sediment-water system. To accomplish this objective, bench-scale microcosm studies of York River sediments and Occoquan Reservoir sediments were conducted. Seawater and freshwater were mixed in various ratios to simulate seasonal, salinity-varying environments in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributary estuaries. Experiments were conducted under aerobic, anaerobic, and anoxic conditions. The results showed that high salinity can cause flocculation of particles and result in lower concentration of phosphate under aerobic conditions, but the flocculation effect was not obvious under anaerobic conditions. The release of ammonia was governed by the salinity; the increasing salinity accelerated the release of ammonia by ion exchange. The denitrification rate under anoxic conditions in the system was not influenced by the salinity.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Environmental Planning

Department dc:contributor.department

Environmental Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Year dc:date.issued

1988

Author dc:creator

• Lee, Wen-Hsiung

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/10919/80053

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/80053