Collaborative Research: Assessing the bioavailability of effluent organic nitrogen along a freshwater to saltwater continuum

本研究的目的是研究废水处理设施的出水有机氮（EON）的生物利用度，该设施提供生物营养物去除。本研究的目的是提供基本信息，以便进行可靠的生物测定，以确定污水厂排放的EON对接收地表水的影响及其对富营养化的贡献。介绍了影响地表水中有机氮可用性的已知因素的优秀背景，反映了该合作研究小组的不同背景；环境工程师、生物海洋学家、有机地球化学家、化学海洋学家。本研究的基本假设是EON的生物利用度与盐度浓度和光有关，并且不同盐度位置的地表水生物群可能不同，并且可能具有不同的EON转换和吸收特征。本研究旨在探讨不同种子来源对大豆籽粒生物利用度的影响。该提案提供了一个评估生物种群、藻类生长水平的方案。叶绿素a的测量，基于分子量大小的EON的有效性，以及应用化学方法评估EON的元素组成和分子表征。开发一种生物测定法来测定EON的生物利用度，并确定废水处理厂流出物中可生物降解的量，这种能力将产生深远的影响。首先，它将为水质管理人员和建模人员提供科学依据，以确定是否像现在这样将所有废水中的氮都视为生物可利用性，或者考虑到可能存在的不影响富营养化活动的顽固部分，从而不会导致对鱼类有害的缺氧条件。生物测定工具可以帮助指导污水处理厂的设计，因为可以使用来自不同操作的流出物来确定不同的设计或操作条件是否会影响EON的生物利用度。其他重要的影响是一个暑期迷你学校，可以利用这个项目和切萨皮克湾地区的水质问题作为当地和真实的场景，供公众研究。这项工作将为大规模问题的跨学科研究提供展示和模型。这种类型的培训和教育将对从事该项目的研究生产生长期影响。作为过去NSF研究的一部分，pi也有成功的本科生暑期研究经验。

CBET-0755826MulhollandThe objective of this proposed study is to address the bioavailability of effluent organic nitrogen (EON)) wastewater treatment facilities which provides biological nutrient removal. The research is intended to provide basic information that can lead to reliable bioassays to determine the effect of a wastewater plant discharge EON on the receiving surface water and contribution to eutrophication. An excellent background on known factors that affect the availability of organic nitrogen in surface waters was presented and reflected the diverse backgrounds of this collaborative research group; environmental engineer, biological oceanographer, organic geochemists, and chemical oceanographer. Basic hypothesis for the research is that the bioavailability of EON is related to salinity concentration and light and that the biota in the surface water may be different at different salinity locations and possibly have different EON conversion and uptake characteristics. The research would investigate the effect of different seed sources on the EON bioavailability. The proposal provides a plan to assess the biological populations, the level of algae growth by. Chlorophyll a measurement, the availability of the EON based on molecular weight size, and application of chemistry methods to assess the elemental composition of the EON and molecular characterization. The ability to develop a bioassay for the bioavailability of EON and to determine what amount from wastewater plant effluents is biodegradable will have far reaching impacts. First it would provide water quality managers and modelers scientific basis on whether to treat all effluent nitrogen as bioavailable as they now do or to account for a possible recalcitrant fraction that has not affect on eutrophication activity and thus does not contribute to developing hypoxia conditions that are harmful to fish. The bioassay tool can help guide wastewater plant designs as effluents from different operations can be used to determine if different design or operating conditions affect the EON bioavailability. Other important impacts are a summer mini school that can use this project and water quality issues in the Chesapeake Bay area as local and real scenario for study by the public. The work will be showcase and model for interdisciplinary research on a large scale problem. This type of training and education will have a long term impact on the graduate students working on the project. The PIs have also had successful summer research experiences for undergraduates as part of past NSF studies.