Unusually High Nitrate Concentrations in Some Midwest United States Streams in 2013 Following the 2012 Drought

Abstract:

Nitrogen sources in the Mississippi River basin have been linked to degradation of stream ecology and to Gulf of Mexico hypoxia. In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency characterized water-quality stressors and ecological conditions in 100 wadeable streams across the Midwestern United States. Relatively wet conditions (2013) followed a severe drought (2012); this dry-wet pattern has been shown to be associated with elevated nitrogen concentrations and loads in streams. Nitrate concentrations during the May to August 2013 sampling period ranged from <0.04 mg L^-1 to 41.8 mg L^-1 as N, with a mean of 5.31 mg L^-1. The highest concentrations were in Iowa and Minnesota (means of 14.4 and 10.2 mg L^-1, respectively). Nitrate concentration departure from normal was positively correlated to the 2013–2012 antecedent precipitation index, a measure of the departure from normal precipitation. Correlations to watershed characteristics and nitrogen and oxygen isotopes of nitrate indicate that inorganic fertilizer and manure use in crop production, principally corn, were the dominant sources of nitrate. The anomalously high nitrate levels in parts of the Midwest in 2013 coincided with reported higher-than-normal nitrate loads in the Mississippi River. Because forecasts of future climate indicate that more frequent floods and droughts are likely in the Midwest, nitrate anomalies such as those measured in response to the dry-wet pattern in 2012 and 2013 could become more frequent.