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Nitrate |
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Nitrogen is required by all organisms for the
basic processes of life to make proteins, to grow, and to reproduce. Nitrogen is
very common and found in many forms in the environment. Inorganic forms include
nitrate (NO3), nitrite (NO2), ammonia (NH3),
and nitrogen gas (N2). Organic nitrogen is found in the cells of all
living things and is a component of proteins, peptides, and amino acids.
Nitrogen is continually recycled throughout the environment in its various forms
in the “Nitrogen Cycle”. Nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia are common forms of
nitrogen in water. Excessive
concentrations can be harmful to humans and wildlife. Together with phosphorus,
nitrogen concentrations in excess amounts can lead to eutrophication, causing
dramatic increases in aquatic plant growth and changes in the types of plants
and animals that live in a water body. Nitrogen
concentrations are influenced by such things as wastewater and septic system
effluent, fertilizer runoff, animal waste, and fossil fuel combustion. The We measure nitrate using the zinc reduction
method in which a series of tablets are added to the sample water causing it to
turn a shade of pink whose intensity is proportional to the amount of nitrate in
the sample. We report our results in
mg/L.
(Source: http://bcn.boulder.co.us/basin/data/BACT/info/index.html, http://www.epa.gov/owow/monitoring/volunteer/stream/)
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