Contribution of Atmospheric Nitrate Deposition to Nitrate Loading in the Chesapeake Bay

摘要

Recent studies have suggested that nitrate introduced into the Chesapeake Bay via atmospheric deposition may be a significant source of excess nutrients. In order to determine if concerns about atmospheric deposition are justified, modeled estimates of wetfall nitrate deposition over the Chesapeake Bay basin, based on monitoring data collected in 1984, were used to estimate basin-wide nitrate loading (1.38 x 10 sup 8 kg) over the land area of the basin. Estimates of transfer coefficients and nitrate loadings to the Bay for various land-use categories were also calculated, using figures developed by the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program. The conservative nature of assumptions made in developing these figures suggests that the actual percentage contribution of atmospheric nitrate deposition may be lower than the estimated value.