HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (1) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Tabachow, R. M. Articles by Essiger, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Tabachow, R. M. Articles by Essiger, C. Agricola Articles by Tabachow, R. M. Articles by Essiger, C. Related Collections Animal Waste Surface Water Quality Watershed and Landscape Processes Soil Pollution Soil Methods/Instrumentation

TECHNICAL REPORT
Atmospheric Pollutants and Trace Gases

Hurricane-Loaded Soil

Effects on Nitric Oxide Emissions from Soil

Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke Univ., Durham, NC 27708

* Corresponding author (peirce{at}duke.edu)

Received for publication January 19, 2001. The nitric oxide (NO) flux from eastern North Carolina soils subjected to flooding from hurricanes were studied in laboratory experiments. Three sites along the Neuse River basin in eastern North Carolina that sustained different intensities of flooding in September 1999 from Hurricane Floyd were examined. Hurricane Floyd impacted the Neuse River basin by inducing flooding that damaged and disabled hog (Sus scrofa) lagoons and municipal wastewater treatment plants. Between approximately 53 and 325 million liters (14 and 86 million gallons) of untreated hog waste and between approximately 5.7 and 34.4 billion liters (1.5 and 9.1 billion gallons) of untreated municipal wastewater are projected to have entered the Neuse River basin, increasing the concentrations of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and total solids. Phosphorus and total solids are projected to have increased 3.2 and 199.2 mg/L, respectively. Total N was projected to have increased by 9.8 mg/L, which is posited to have increased the NO flux from flooded soils for months after the hurricane. Nitric oxide emissions from soil can adversely affect ozone levels in the lower troposphere. Minimization of NO flux from soil is advantageous, protecting air quality as well as conserving valued nitrogen fertilizers. Hurricane-loaded soils were found to produce more than 30 times greater NO emissions than nonflooded soils with NO fluxes ranging from 0.1 to 102.5 ng N/(m² s).

Abbreviations: NO, nitric oxide • WFPS, water-filled pore space • WWTP, wastewater treatment plant