Aircraft measurements of nitrogen and phosphorus in and around the Lake Tahoe Basin: Implications for possible sources of atmospheric pollutants to Lake Tahoe. Zhang, Q., Carroll, J., J., Dixon, A., J., & Anastasio, C. Environmental Science & Technology, 36(23):4981-4989, 2002.
Aircraft measurements of nitrogen and phosphorus in and around the Lake Tahoe Basin: Implications for possible sources of atmospheric pollutants to Lake Tahoe [pdf]Paper  abstract   bibtex   
Atmospheric deposition of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) into Lake Tahoe appears to have been a major factor responsible for the shifting of the lake's nutrient response from N-limited to P-limited. To characterize atmospheric N and P in and around the Lake Tahoe Basin during summer, samples were collected using an instrumented aircraft flown over three locations: the Sierra Nevada foothills east of Sacramento ("low-Sierra"), further east and higher in the Sierra ("mid-Sierra"), and in the Tahoe Basin. Measurements were also made within the smoke plume downwind of an intense forest fire just outside the Tahoe Basin. Samples were collected using a denuder-filter pack sampling system (DFP) and analyzed for gaseous and water-soluble particle components including HNO3/NO3-, NH3/NH4+, organic N (ON), total N, SRP (soluble reactive phosphate) and total P. The average total gaseous and particulate N concentrations (+/- 1sigma) measured over the low- and mid-Sierra were 660 (+/- 270) and 630 (+/- 350) nmol N/m(3)-air, respectively. Total airborne N concentrations in the Tahoe samples were one-half to one-fifth of these values. The forest fire plume had the highest concentration of atmospheric N (860 nmol N/m(3)-air) and a greater contribution of organic N (ON) to the total N compared to nonsmoky conditions. Airborne P was rarely observed over the low- and mid-Sierra but was present at low concentrations over Lake Tahoe, with average (+/- 1sigma) concentrations of 2.3 +/- 2.9 and 2.8 +/- 0.8 nmol p/m(3)-air under typical clear air and slightly smoky air conditions, respectively. Phosphorus in the forest fire plume was present at concentrations similar to10 times greater than over the Tahoe Basin. P in these samples included both fine and coarse particulate phosphate as well as unidentified, possibly organic, gaseous P species. Overall, our results suggest that out-of-basin emissions could be significant sources of nitrogen to Lake Tahoe during the summer and that forest fires could be important sources of both N and P,. [References: 39] 39

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