Water Stewardship Information Sources

Citation Graham, G, Allen, DM and Finkbeiner, B. 2015. Climate controls on nitrate concentration variability in the Abbotsford-Sumas aquifer, British Columbia, Canada. Environmental Earth Science 73:2895-2907.
Organization Environment Canada
URL http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12665-014-3072-5
Abstract/Description or Keywords Understanding the linkage between temporal climate variability and groundwater nitrate concentration variability in monitoring well records is key to interpreting the impacts of changes in land-use practices and assessing groundwater quality trends. This study explores the coupling of climate variability and groundwater nitrate concentration variability in the Abbotsford-Sumas aquifer. Over the period of 1992–2009, the average groundwater nitrate concentration in the aquifer remained fairly steady at approximately 15 mg/L nitrate-N. Normalized nitrate data for 19 individual monitoring wells were assessed for a range of intrinsic factors including precipitation, depth to water table, depth below water table, and apparent groundwater age. At a broad scale, there is a negative correlation between nitrate concentration and apparent groundwater age. Each dedicated monitoring well shows unique, non-uniform cyclical variability in nitrate concentrations that appears to correspond with seasonal (1 year) cycles in precipitation as well as longer-period cycles (~5 years), possibly due to ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) or the Pacific North American (PNA) pattern. These precipitation cycles appear to influence nitrate concentrations by approximately ±30 % of the critical concentration (10 mg/L NO3–N). Not all wells show direct correlation due to many complex local-scale factors that influence nitrate leaching including spatially and temporally variable nutrient management practices and soil/crop nitrogen dynamics (anthropogenic and agronomic factors).
Information Type article
Regional Watershed Lower Fraser
Sub-watershed if known
Aquifer #
Comments
Project status complete
Contact Name Diana Allen
Contact Email [email protected]