View in EDS

Nitrogen and oxygen isotopes in nitrate and nitrite in the polluted surface waters from the Arno River Basin (Central Italy).

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Nitrogen and oxygen isotopes in nitrate and nitrite in the polluted surface waters from the Arno River Basin (Central Italy).
Authors: Chemeri, Lorenzo1,2 (AUTHOR) l.chemeri@campus.uniurb.it, Nisi, Barbara3 (AUTHOR), Pierozzi, Andrea4 (AUTHOR), Cabassi, Jacopo3,5 (AUTHOR), Taussi, Marco1 (AUTHOR), Venturi, Stefania2,3,6 (AUTHOR), Delgado Huertas, Antonio7 (AUTHOR), Vaselli, Orlando2,3 (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Environmental Sciences (Elsevier). Jan2026, Vol. 159, p250-262. 13p.
Subject Terms: *Water pollution, *Saltwater encroachment, *Water quality, *Watersheds, *Pollution source apportionment, Nitrogen isotopes
Abstract: • Soil organic nitrogen and sewage are the main source of NO 3 in the ARB waters. • Coupling isotopic values and water chemistry is necessary to trace NO 3 sources. • The nitrification process controls the occurrence of nitrogenated species. • Anthropogenically derived Na+ and Cl- strongly impact surface water quality. • δ15N- and δ18O-NO 2 values provide insights on NO 2 dynamics in surface water. The Arno River Basin (Central Italy) is affected by a considerable anthropogenic pressure due to the presence of large cities and widespread industrial and agricultural practices. In this work, 26 water samples from the Arno River and its main tributaries were analyzed to assess the water pollution status. The geochemical composition of the Arno River changes from the source (dominated by a Ca-HCO 3 facies) to the mouth (where a Na-Cl(SO 4) chemistry prevails) with an increasing quality deterioration, as suggested by the Chemical Water Quality Index, due to anthropogenic contributions and seawater intrusion before flowing into the Ligurian Sea. The Ombrone and Usciana tributaries introduce anthropogenic pollutants into the Arno River, whilst Elsa tributary supplies significant contents of geogenic sulfate. The concentrations of dissolved nitrate and nitrite (up to 63 and 9 mg/L, respectively) and the respective isotopic values of δ15N and δ18O were also determined to understand origin and fate of the N-species in the Arno River Basin surface waters. The combined application of δ15N-NO 3 and δ18O-NO 3 and N-source apportionment modelling allowed the identification of soil organic nitrogen and sewage and domestic wastes as primary sources for dissolved NO 3 -. The δ15N-NO 2 and δ18O-NO 2 values suggest that the nitrification process affects the ARB waters, thus controlling the abundances and proportion of the N-species. Our work indicates that additional efforts are needed to improve management strategies to reduce the release of nitrogenated species to the surface waters of the Arno River Basin, since little progress has been made from the early 2000s. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Environmental Sciences (Elsevier) is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: GreenFILE
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: 8gh
DbLabel: GreenFILE
An: 188152804
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Nitrogen and oxygen isotopes in nitrate and nitrite in the polluted surface waters from the Arno River Basin (Central Italy).
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Chemeri%2C+Lorenzo%22">Chemeri, Lorenzo</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> l.chemeri@campus.uniurb.it</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nisi%2C+Barbara%22">Nisi, Barbara</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pierozzi%2C+Andrea%22">Pierozzi, Andrea</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cabassi%2C+Jacopo%22">Cabassi, Jacopo</searchLink><relatesTo>3,5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Taussi%2C+Marco%22">Taussi, Marco</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Venturi%2C+Stefania%22">Venturi, Stefania</searchLink><relatesTo>2,3,6</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Delgado+Huertas%2C+Antonio%22">Delgado Huertas, Antonio</searchLink><relatesTo>7</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Vaselli%2C+Orlando%22">Vaselli, Orlando</searchLink><relatesTo>2,3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Environmental+Sciences+%28Elsevier%29%22">Journal of Environmental Sciences (Elsevier)</searchLink>. Jan2026, Vol. 159, p250-262. 13p.
– Name: Subject
  Label: Subject Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Water+pollution%22">Water pollution</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Saltwater+encroachment%22">Saltwater encroachment</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Water+quality%22">Water quality</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Watersheds%22">Watersheds</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pollution+source+apportionment%22">Pollution source apportionment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nitrogen+isotopes%22">Nitrogen isotopes</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: • Soil organic nitrogen and sewage are the main source of NO 3 in the ARB waters. • Coupling isotopic values and water chemistry is necessary to trace NO 3 sources. • The nitrification process controls the occurrence of nitrogenated species. • Anthropogenically derived Na+ and Cl- strongly impact surface water quality. • δ15N- and δ18O-NO 2 values provide insights on NO 2 dynamics in surface water. The Arno River Basin (Central Italy) is affected by a considerable anthropogenic pressure due to the presence of large cities and widespread industrial and agricultural practices. In this work, 26 water samples from the Arno River and its main tributaries were analyzed to assess the water pollution status. The geochemical composition of the Arno River changes from the source (dominated by a Ca-HCO 3 facies) to the mouth (where a Na-Cl(SO 4) chemistry prevails) with an increasing quality deterioration, as suggested by the Chemical Water Quality Index, due to anthropogenic contributions and seawater intrusion before flowing into the Ligurian Sea. The Ombrone and Usciana tributaries introduce anthropogenic pollutants into the Arno River, whilst Elsa tributary supplies significant contents of geogenic sulfate. The concentrations of dissolved nitrate and nitrite (up to 63 and 9 mg/L, respectively) and the respective isotopic values of δ15N and δ18O were also determined to understand origin and fate of the N-species in the Arno River Basin surface waters. The combined application of δ15N-NO 3 and δ18O-NO 3 and N-source apportionment modelling allowed the identification of soil organic nitrogen and sewage and domestic wastes as primary sources for dissolved NO 3 -. The δ15N-NO 2 and δ18O-NO 2 values suggest that the nitrification process affects the ARB waters, thus controlling the abundances and proportion of the N-species. Our work indicates that additional efforts are needed to improve management strategies to reduce the release of nitrogenated species to the surface waters of the Arno River Basin, since little progress has been made from the early 2000s. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Environmental Sciences (Elsevier) is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=8gh&AN=188152804
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1016/j.jes.2025.03.064
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 13
        StartPage: 250
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Water pollution
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Saltwater encroachment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Water quality
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Watersheds
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pollution source apportionment
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Nitrogen isotopes
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Nitrogen and oxygen isotopes in nitrate and nitrite in the polluted surface waters from the Arno River Basin (Central Italy).
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Chemeri, Lorenzo
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Nisi, Barbara
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Pierozzi, Andrea
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Cabassi, Jacopo
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Taussi, Marco
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Venturi, Stefania
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Delgado Huertas, Antonio
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Vaselli, Orlando
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Text: Jan2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-print
              Value: 10010742
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 159
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Journal of Environmental Sciences (Elsevier)
              Type: main
ResultId 1