University of Rhode Island DigitalCommons@URI Open Access Dissertations 2014 INVESTIGATION OF NITROGEN CYCLING USING STABLE NITROGEN AND OXYGEN ISOTOPES IN NARRAGANSETT BAY, RI Courtney Elizabeth Schmidt University of Rhode Island,
[email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss Recommended Citation Schmidt, Courtney Elizabeth, "INVESTIGATION OF NITROGEN CYCLING USING STABLE NITROGEN AND OXYGEN ISOTOPES IN NARRAGANSETT BAY, RI" (2014). Open Access Dissertations. Paper 209. https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/209 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@URI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@URI. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. INVESTIGATION OF NITROGEN CYCLING USING STABLE NITROGEN AND OXYGEN ISOTOPES IN NARRAGANSETT BAY, RI BY COURTNEY ELIZABETH SCHMIDT A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN OCEANOGRAPHY UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 2014 DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DISSERTATION OF COURTNEY ELIZABETH SCHMIDT APPROVED: Thesis Committee: Major Professor Rebecca Robinson Candace Oviatt Arthur Gold Nassar H. Zawia DEAN OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF RHODE ISLAND 2014 ABSTRACT Estuaries regulate nitrogen (N) fluxes transported from land to the open ocean through uptake and denitrification. In Narragansett Bay, anthropogenic N loading has increased over the last century with evidence for eutrophication in some regions of Narragansett Bay. Increased concerns over eutrophication prompted upgrades at wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs) to decrease the amount of nitrogen discharged. The upgrade to tertiary treatment – where bioavailable nitrogen is reduced and removed through denitrification – has occurred at multiple facilities throughout Narragansett Bay’s watershed.