A tale of two interfaces: Dynamic nitrate removal in the hyporheic zone of a tidal fresh river

Abstract:

At the interface of rivers and oceans, tidal freshwater zones (TFZs) stretch for tens to hundreds of kilometers but are rarely monitored for nitrogen export due to their complex hydrodynamics. Field observations from the TFZ of White Clay Creek (Delaware, USA) show that river discharge and nitrate export rates decrease during rising tide, while hyporheic storage increases. During falling tide, river discharge and nitrate export rates increase, while stored hyporheic water is released to the river. We estimate that 11% of river water exchanges through the hyporheic zone of this TFZ due to tidal pumping alone. We developed a one-dimensional, coupled fluid flow and solute transport model to quantify the influence of tidal pumping on nitrate removal in the riverbed. Tidal pumping promotes a deep, oscillating zone of aerobic respiration that limits denitrification near the sediment-water interface. As tide rises, groundwater residence times in shallow riverbed sediments increase, which causes a doubling of denitrification rates relative to falling tide. Given a uniform substrate along TFZs, removal rates of groundwater-borne nitrate should decrease as tidal amplitude increases downstream. Denitrification hot spots should occur in less permeable, organic-rich sediment under low tidal ranges. Because TFZs connect lowland nitrogen sources to the ocean, it is imperative that we expand monitoring efforts and elucidate their role in nitrogen export to the coast.