A comparison of the acidification efficiencies of nitric and sulfuric acids by two whole‐lake addition experiments. Rudd, J., W., M., Kelly, C., A., Schindler, D., W., & Turner, M., A. Limnology and Oceanography, 35(3):663-679, 1990.
A comparison of the acidification efficiencies of nitric and sulfuric acids by two whole‐lake addition experiments [pdf]Paper  abstract   bibtex   
The acidification efficiencies of nitric and sulfuric acids were compared for 5 yr by separate experimental additions of the acids to the partitioned north and south basins of Lake 302. In the epilimnion, nitric acid was 70% as efficient as sulfuric acid in reducing alkalinity. On a whole-lake basis, acidification by nitric acid was about half as efficient as by sulfuric acid. In-lake processes removed 70 and 57% of the added nitric and sulfuric acids. Before acidification, algal uptake and sediment SO42- removal. NO3- was primarily removed by algal uptake and sedimentation. After acidification, algal uptake of NO3- and SO42- did not change, but rates of uptake in the sediments by bacterial processes increased and dominated in-lake removal. Nitric acid acidified the north basin because the acid additions exceeded the capacity of all biological removal processes. Algal uptake and sedimentation of N could not increase in proportion to increases in NO3- because of P limitation. Sediment-dentrification rates increased tremendously (.approximates. 40-fold) but only removed a portion of the incoming NO3- because dentrification was limited by the rate of transport to the sediment-water interface.

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