ORCID Profile
0000-0003-1242-7311
Current Organisation
Southern Cross University
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Isotope Geochemistry | Geochemistry | Inorganic Geochemistry | Chemical Oceanography | Biological Oceanography | Other Chemical Sciences | Ecosystem Function | Environmental Chemistry (incl. Atmospheric Chemistry) | Wastewater treatment processes | Wastewater Treatment Processes | Environmental engineering | Environmentally sustainable engineering | Environmental Science and Management | Environmental Technologies | Environmental Engineering | Modelling and simulation | Organic Geochemistry | Microbial Ecology | Environmental Management | Soil Chemistry (excl. Carbon Sequestration Science) | Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified | Environmental Monitoring | Geochemistry not elsewhere classified |
Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Coastal and Estuarine Environments | Physical and Chemical Conditions of Water in Coastal and Estuarine Environments | Coastal and Estuarine Water Management | Ecosystem Adaptation to Climate Change | Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Fresh, Ground and Surface Water Environments | Effects of Climate Change and Variability on Australia (excl. Social Impacts) | Climate Change Mitigation Strategies | Climate Variability (excl. Social Impacts) | Soils not elsewhere classified | Management of Solid Waste from Animal Production | Integrated (ecosystem) assessment and management | Expanding Knowledge in Technology | Climate change | Rehabilitation of Degraded Fresh, Ground and Surface Water Environments | Physical and Chemical Conditions of Water in Marine Environments | Integrated (ecosystem) assessment and management | Management of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Plant Production | Physical and Chemical Conditions of Water in Fresh, Ground and Surface Water Environments (excl. Urban and Industrial Use) | Expanding Knowledge in the Environmental Sciences | Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Marine Environments |
Publisher: Society of Exploration Geophysicists
Date: 19-08-2013
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 26-03-2015
DOI: 10.1007/S11356-015-4238-8
Abstract: The remediation of four estrogenic endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), estrone (E1), estradiol (E2), ethinylestradiol (EE2) and estriol (E3), was measured in saturated and unsaturated carbonate sand-filled columns dosed with wastewater from a sewage treatment plant. The estrogen equivalency (EEQ) of inlet wastewater was 1.2 ng L(-1) and was remediated to an EEQ of 0.5 ng L(-1) through the unsaturated carbonate sand-filled columns. The high surface area of carbonate sand and associated high microbial activity may have assisted the degradation of these estrogens. The fully saturated sand columns showed an increase in total estrogenic potency with an EEQ of 2.4 ng L(-1), which was double that of the inlet wastewater. There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in total estrogenic potency between aerobic and anaerobic columns. The breakdown of conjugated estrogens to estrogenic EDCs formed under long residence time and reducing conditions may have been responsible for the increase in the fully saturated columns. This may also be explained by the desorption of previously sorbed estrogenic EDCs. The effect of additional filter materials, such as basalt sediment and coconut fibre, on estrogenic EDC reduction was also tested. None of these amendments provided improvements in estrogen remediation relative to the unamended unsaturated carbonate sand columns. Aerobic carbonate sand filters have good potential to be used as on-site wastewater treatment systems for the reduction of estrogenic EDCs. However, the use of fully saturated sand filters, which are used to promote denitrification, and the loss of nitrogen as N2 were shown to cause an increase in EEQ. The potential for the accumulation of estrogenic EDCs under anaerobic conditions needs to be considered when designing on-site sand filtration systems required to reduce nitrogen. Furthermore, the accumulation of estrogens under anaerobic conditions such as under soil absorption systems or leachate fields has the potential to contaminate groundwater especially when the water table levels fluctuate.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2016
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 04-2014
DOI: 10.1002/2013GB004598
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 21-11-2019
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS13147
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2020
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 15-03-2010
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-07-2021
DOI: 10.1038/S41396-021-01038-1
Abstract: Tropical scleractinian corals support a erse assemblage of microbial symbionts. This ‘microbiome’ possesses the requisite functional ersity to conduct a range of nitrogen (N) transformations including denitrification, nitrification, nitrogen fixation and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA). Very little direct evidence has been presented to date verifying that these processes are active within tropical corals. Here we use a combination of stable isotope techniques, nutrient uptake calculations and captured metagenomics to quantify rates of nitrogen cycling processes in a selection of tropical scleractinian corals. Denitrification activity was detected in all species, albeit with very low rates, signifying limited importance in holobiont N removal. Relatively greater nitrogen fixation activity confirms that corals are net N importers to reef systems. Low net nitrification activity suggests limited N regeneration capacity however substantial gross nitrification activity may be concealed through nitrate consumption. Based on nrfA gene abundance and measured inorganic N fluxes, we calculated significant DNRA activity in the studied corals, which has important implications for coral reef N cycling and warrants more targeted investigation. Through the quantification and characterisation of all relevant N-cycling processes, this study provides clarity on the subject of tropical coral-associated biogeochemical N-cycling.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2021
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-10-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-022-33872-Y
Abstract: Anaerobic microorganisms are thought to play a critical role in regulating the flux of short-chain gaseous alkanes (SCGAs including ethane, propane and butane) from terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems to the atmosphere. Sulfate has been confirmed to act as electron acceptor supporting microbial anaerobic oxidation of SCGAs, yet several other energetically more favourable acceptors co-exist with these gases in anaerobic environments. Here, we show that a bioreactor seeded with biomass from a wastewater treatment facility can perform anaerobic propane oxidation coupled to nitrate reduction to dinitrogen gas and ammonium. The bioreactor was operated for more than 1000 days, and we used 13 C- and 15 N-labelling experiments, metagenomic, metatranscriptomic, metaproteomic and metabolite analyses to characterize the microbial community and the metabolic processes. The data collectively suggest that a species representing a novel order within the bacterial class Symbiobacteriia is responsible for the observed nitrate-dependent propane oxidation. The closed genome of this organism, which we designate as ‘ Candidatus Alkanivorans nitratireducens’, encodes pathways for oxidation of propane to CO 2 via fumarate addition, and for nitrate reduction, with all the key genes expressed during nitrate-dependent propane oxidation. Our results suggest that nitrate is a relevant electron sink for SCGA oxidation in anaerobic environments, constituting a new microbially-mediated link between the carbon and nitrogen cycles.
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 04-2019
DOI: 10.1029/2019PA003587
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 08-2017
DOI: 10.1002/2017GC006949
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 20-03-2020
DOI: 10.1038/S41467-020-15278-W
Abstract: Anthropogenic nutrient discharge to coastal marine environments is commonly associated with excessive algal growth and ecosystem degradation. However in the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), the response to enhanced terrestrial nutrient inputs since European settlement in the 1850’s remains unclear. Here we use a 333 year old composite record (1680–2012) of 15 N/ 14 N in coral skeleton-bound organic matter to understand how nitrogen cycling in the coastal GBR has responded to increased anthropogenic nutrient inputs. Our major robust finding is that the coral record shows a long-term decline in skeletal 15 N/ 14 N towards the present. We argue that this decline is evidence for increased coastal nitrogen fixation rather than a direct reflection of anthropogenic nitrogen inputs. Reducing phosphorus discharge and availability would short-circuit the nitrogen fixation feedback loop and help avoid future acute and chronic eutrophication in the coastal GBR.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2019
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2018
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-2017
DOI: 10.1002/HYP.11196
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-11-2007
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2004
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2011
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2011.08.052
Abstract: Free surface water constructed wetlands (CWs) provide a buffer between domestic wastewater treatment plants and natural waterways. Understanding the biogeochemical processes in CWs is crucial to improve their performance. In this study we measured a range of water and sediment parameters, and biogeochemical processes, in an effort to describe the processing of nutrients within two wetland cells in series. As a whole the studied CW effectively absorbed both nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) emanating from the waste treatment plant. However the two in idual cells showed marked differences related to the availability of oxygen within the water column and the sediments. In one cell we speculated that the prevalence of surface plant species reduced its ability to function as a net nutrient sink. Here we observed a build-up of sediment organic matter, sediment anoxia, a decoupling of nitrification-denitrification, and a flux of N and P out of the sediments to the overlying water. The availability of DO in the surface sediments of the second studied cell led to improved coupling between nitrification-denitrification and a net uptake of both NH4+ and PO4(3-). We hypothesise that the dominance of deeply rooted macrophytes in the second cell was responsible for the improved sediment quality.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2016
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 02-2019
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS12847
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2018
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2013
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-05-2015
DOI: 10.1111/GCB.12923
Abstract: Nitrous oxide is a powerful, long-lived greenhouse gas, but we know little about the role of estuarine areas in the global N2 O budget. This review summarizes 56 studies of N2 O fluxes and associated biogeochemical controlling factors in estuarine open waters, salt marshes, mangroves, and intertidal sediments. The majority of in situ N2 O production occurs as a result of sediment denitrification, although the water column contributes N2 O through nitrification in suspended particles. The most important factors controlling N2 O fluxes seem to be dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and oxygen availability, which in turn are affected by tidal cycles, groundwater inputs, and macrophyte density. The heterogeneity of coastal environments leads to a high variability in observations, but on average estuarine open water, intertidal and vegetated environments are sites of a small positive N2 O flux to the atmosphere (range 0.15-0.91 median 0.31 Tg N2 O-N yr(-1) ). Global changes in macrophyte distribution and anthropogenic nitrogen loading are expected to increase N2 O emissions from estuaries. We estimate that a doubling of current median NO3 (-) concentrations would increase the global estuary water-air N2 O flux by about 0.45 Tg N2 O-N yr(-1) or about 190%. A loss of 50% of mangrove habitat, being converted to unvegetated intertidal area, would result in a net decrease in N2 O emissions of 0.002 Tg N2 O-N yr(-1) . In contrast, conversion of 50% of salt marsh to unvegetated area would result in a net increase of 0.001 Tg N2 O-N yr(-1) . Decreased oxygen concentrations may inhibit production of N2 O by nitrification however, sediment denitrification and the associated ratio of N2 O:N2 is expected to increase.
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
Date: 23-07-2021
Abstract: Abstract. Upwelling of nutrient-rich deep waters make eastern boundary upwelling systems (EBUSs), such as the Humboldt Current system, hot spots of marine productivity. Associated settling of organic matter to depth and consecutive aerobic decomposition results in large subsurface water volumes being oxygen depleted. Under these circumstances, organic matter remineralisation can continue via denitrification, which represents a major loss pathway for bioavailable nitrogen. Additionally, anaerobic ammonium oxidation can remove significant amounts of nitrogen in these areas. Here we assess the interplay of suboxic water upwelling and nitrogen cycling in a manipulative offshore mesocosm experiment. Measured denitrification rates in incubations with water from the oxygen-depleted bottom layer of the mesocosms (via 15N label incubations) mostly ranged between 5.5 and 20 nmol N2 L−1 h−1 (interquartile range), reaching up to 80 nmol N2 L−1 h−1. However, actual in situ rates in the mesocosms, estimated via Michaelis–Menten kinetic scaling, did most likely not exceed 0.2–4.2 nmol N2 L−1 h−1 (interquartile range) due to substrate limitation. In the surrounding Pacific, measured denitrification rates were similar, although indications of substrate limitation were detected only once. In contrast, anammox (anaerobic ammonium oxidation) made only a minor contribution to the overall nitrogen loss when encountered in both the mesocosms and the Pacific Ocean. This was potentially related to organic matter C / N stoichiometry and/or process-specific oxygen and hydrogen sulfide sensitivities. Over the first 38 d of the experiment, total nitrogen loss calculated from in situ rates of denitrification and anammox was comparable to estimates from a full nitrogen budget in the mesocosms and ranged between ∼ 1 and 5.5 µmol N L−1. This represents up to ∼ 20 % of the initially bioavailable inorganic and organic nitrogen standing stocks. Interestingly, this loss is comparable to the total amount of particulate organic nitrogen that was exported into the sediment traps at the bottom of the mesocosms at about 20 m depth. Altogether, this suggests that a significant portion, if not the majority of nitrogen that could be exported to depth, is already lost, i.e. converted to N2 in a relatively shallow layer of the surface ocean, provided that there are oxygen-deficient conditions like those during coastal upwelling in our study. Published data for primary productivity and nitrogen loss in all EBUSs reinforce such conclusion.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2020
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
Date: 15-04-2013
Abstract: Abstract. To better predict how ocean acidification will affect coral reefs, it is important to understand how biogeochemical cycles on reefs alter carbonate chemistry over various temporal and spatial scales. This study quantifies the contribution of shallow porewater exchange (as quantified from advective chamber incubations) and fresh groundwater discharge (as traced by 222Rn) to total alkalinity (TA) dynamics on a fringing coral reef lagoon along the southern Pacific island of Rarotonga over a tidal and diel cycle. Benthic alkalinity fluxes were affected by the advective circulation of water through permeable sediments, with net daily flux rates of carbonate alkalinity ranging from −1.55 to 7.76 mmol m−2 d−1, depending on the advection rate. Submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) was a source of TA to the lagoon, with the highest flux rates measured at low tide, and an average daily TA flux of 1080 mmol m−2 d−1 at the s ling site. Both sources of TA were important on a reef-wide basis, although SGD acted solely as a delivery mechanism of TA to the lagoon, while porewater advection was either a sink or source of TA dependent on the time of day. This study describes overlooked sources of TA to coral reef ecosystems that can potentially alter water column carbonate chemistry. We suggest that porewater and groundwater fluxes of TA should be taken into account in ocean acidification models in order to properly address changing carbonate chemistry within coral reef ecosystems.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2021
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 11-2013
DOI: 10.1021/ES4027776
Abstract: Development of cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) has enabled real-time monitoring of carbon stable isotope ratios of carbon dioxide and methane in air. Here we demonstrate that CRDS can be adapted to assess aquatic carbon cycling processes from microbial to ecosystem scales. We first measured in situ isotopologue concentrations of dissolved CO2 ((12)CO2 and (13)CO2) and CH4 ((12)CH4 and (13)CH4) with CRDS via a closed loop gas equilibration device during a survey along an estuary and during a 40 h time series in a mangrove creek (ecosystem scale). A similar system was also connected to an in situ benthic chamber in a seagrass bed (community scale). Finally, a pulse-chase isotope enrichment experiment was conducted by measuring real-time release of (13)CO2 after addition of (13)C enriched phytoplankton to exposed intertidal sediments (microbial scale). Miller-Tans plots revealed complex transformation pathways and distinct isotopic source values of CO2 and CH4. Calculations of δ(13)C-DIC based on CRDS measured δ(13)C-CO2 and published fractionation factors were in excellent agreement with measured δ(13)C-DIC using isotope ratio mass spectroscopy (IRMS). The portable CRDS instrumentation used here can obtain real-time, high precision, continuous greenhouse gas data in lakes, rivers, estuaries and marine waters with less effort than conventional laboratory-based techniques.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2023
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 28-09-2022
Abstract: The recovery of phosphorus (P) from milk processing flotation sludges (MFS) using pyrolysis can contribute to a sustainable reuse of P by converting waste to fertiliser. The objectives of this study were to quantify the recovery and transformation of P following MFS pyrolysis and compare the efficacy of raw and pyrolysed MFS as organic P fertilisers. Phosphorus retention in biochars was high (98 ± 0.73% yield), leading to the enrichment of P relative to the raw MFS by a factor of 4.3–4.5. Pyrolysis of the MFS at 450 °C led to a 3-fold increase in the proportion of P in the HCl-extractable fraction (65 ± 0.32%), a 2-fold reduction in NaOH-P (30 ± 2.1%), and negligible amounts of P in the H2O-P and NaHCO3-P fractions. The bioavailability of P in raw MFS and 450 °C biochar was compared to a soluble P fertiliser in P-limiting plant bioassays. In the short-term (70 day) trial where ryegrass was grown on three soil types (Arenosol, Vertisol or Ferralsol), biochar MFS showed higher efficacy as a P fertiliser than raw MFS in the acidic Ferralsol, whereas the opposite response was observed in the near-neutral Arenosol. In the Vertisol, neither the raw MFS nor biochar produced more cumulative biomass or P uptake than any of the nil P controls. Over a longer 200-day period, raw MFS and biochar applied to the Arenosol were about 20% as efficient at providing P to ryegrass plants as the water-soluble K2PO4, suggesting that higher application rates of MFS or biochar would be required to match synthetic fertilisers in the short term.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 19-10-2020
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 08-2022
DOI: 10.1029/2022JG006899
Abstract: Estuaries play an important role in regulating nitrous oxide (N 2 O) fluxes to the atmosphere, but little is known about how catchment land‐use changes influence benthic N 2 O cycling. We measured seasonal benthic N 2 O fluxes and constructed N 2 O budgets in three sub‐tropical estuaries draining catchments with contrasting levels of land‐use intensity. Benthic habitats were a net N 2 O sink in the minimally impacted Noosa River Estuary (−287 nmol m −2 h −1 ) and a net source of N 2 O in the highly impacted Brisbane River Estuary (126 nmol m −2 h −1 ). Vegetated habitats can act as an important sink of N 2 O with uptakes of −286 and −35 nmol m −2 h −1 in the Noosa and Maroochy River Estuaries, respectively. Benthic N 2 O fluxes were significantly correlated with benthic NO 3 − fluxes, suggesting NO 3 − availability was an important control on benthic N 2 O fluxes. Combining benthic flux data with surface water N 2 O emissions measurements showed that increased benthic N 2 O fluxes helped drive increasing water–air N 2 O emissions over the land‐use intensity gradient. Overall, our results show that land‐use driven changes to both the ersity and sediment composition of benthic habitats play an important role in regulating N 2 O dynamics in estuarine ecosystems. This highlights that both sediment quality and nitrogen loading need to be considered in order to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases in the coastal ecosystems.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 28-05-2020
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-10-2014
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 17-02-2018
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 06-2013
DOI: 10.1002/WRCR.20325
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2014
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-08-2011
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-2010
DOI: 10.2134/JEQ2010.0067
Abstract: This study describes the spatial variability in nitrogen (N) transformation within a constructed wetland (CW) treating domestic effluent. Nitrogen cycling within the CW was driven by settlement and mineralization of particulate organic nitrogen and uptake of NO3-. The concentration of NO3- was found to decrease, as the delta15N-NO3- signature increased, as water flowed through the CW, allowing denitrification rates to be estimated on the basis of the degree of fractionation of delta15N-NO3-. Estimates of denitrification hinged on the determination of a net isotope effect (eta), which was influenced byprocesses that enrich or deplete 15NO3- (e.g., nitrification), as well as the rate constants associated with the different processes involved in denitrification (i.e., diffusion and enzyme activity). The influence of nitrification on eta was quantified however, it remained unclear how eta varied due to variability in denitrification rate constants. A series of stable isotope amendment experiments was used to further constrain the value of eta and calculate rates of denitrification, and nitrification, within the wetland. The maximum calculated rate of denitrification was 956 +/- 187 micromol N m(-2) h(-1), and the maximum rate of nitrification was 182 +/- 28.9 micromol N m(-2) h(-1). Uptake of NO3- was quantitatively more important than denitrification throughoutthe wetland. Rates of N cycling varied spatially within thewetland, with denitrification dominating in the downstream deoxygenated region of the wetland. Studies that use fractionation of N to derive rate estimates must exercise caution when interpreting the net isotope effect. We suggest a s ling procedure for future natural abundance studies that may help improve the accuracy of N cycling rate estimates.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2017
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 26-10-2018
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS12755
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2017
DOI: 10.1016/J.WATRES.2017.05.054
Abstract: Nitrous oxide (N
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2022
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 2015
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2018
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2018.06.346
Abstract: Inline sludge treatment using free nitrous acid (FNA) was recently shown to be effective in establishing the nitrite pathway in a biological nitrogen removal system. However, the effects of FNA treatment conditions on the nitrite pathway performance remained to be investigated. In this study, three different FNA treatment frequencies (daily sludge treatment ratios of 0.22, 0.31 and 0.38, respectively), two FNA concentrations (1.35 mgN/L and 4.23 mgN/L, respectively) and two influent feeding regimes (one- and two-step feeding) were investigated in four laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactors. The nitrite accumulation ratio was positively correlated to the FNA treatment frequency. However, when a high treatment frequency was used e.g., daily sludge treatment ratio of 0.38, a significant reduction in ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) activity occurred, leading to poor ammonium oxidation. AOB were able to acclimatise to FNA concentrations up to of 4.23 mgN/L, whereas nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) were limited by an FNA concentration of 1.35 mgN/L over the duration of the study (up to 120 days). This difference in sensitivity to FNA could be used to further enhance nitrite accumulation, with 90% accumulation achieved at an FNA concentration of 4.23 mgN/L and a daily sludge treatment ratio of 0.31 in this study. However, this high level of nitrite accumulation led to increased N
Publisher: Copernicus GmbH
Date: 30-10-2014
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-11-2018
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 17-08-2018
DOI: 10.1029/2018GL078656
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 03-06-2011
DOI: 10.1021/ES200934Y
Abstract: In this study, Bauxsol pellets packed in PVC columns were used to remove nutrients and trace-metals from municipal wastewater during a 6 months field trial. Bauxsol pellet columns showed a high phosphate removal rate via precipitation of PO(4)(3-) with Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) ions: at 90% in the 1st month at 80% from the second to fifth months and at 60% in the sixth month. Pellet bound total phosphorus and Colwell phosphorus were 7.3 g/kg and 2 g/kg and are about 20 times the concentrations found in most fertile soils. Trace-metals in effluents were bound, probably irreversibly under the columns' environmental conditions, to the Bauxsol minerals that have high surface area to volume ratios and high charge to mass ratios. Experimental results showed a complex nitrogen cycle operating within the Bauxsol pellet columns including anoxic nitrification, denitrification, and anammox processes. Although a transient pH spike, associated with the release of unreacted CaO from the cement binder used in the pellets, was observed, this may be readily corrected through post-treatment pH adjustment. Hence, the geochemistry of Bauxsol pellets can effectively remove and bind nutrients and trace-metals during wastewater treatment, and further research may show that saturated spent pellets can be used as fertilizer.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-05-2015
DOI: 10.1002/LOM3.10032
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 28-11-2022
DOI: 10.3390/SU142315807
Abstract: Food security depends on sustainable phosphorus (P) fertilisers, which at present are mostly supplied from a finite rock phosphate source. Phosphate (PO43−) and ammonium (NH4+) in dairy processing wastewater can be recovered as struvite (Mg + NH4+ + PO43− 6H20), a nutrient rich mineral for fertiliser application. The objectives of this study were to (1) quantify the effects of, pH, temperature and Mg: PO43− dosing rates on nutrient (PO43− and NH4+) removal and struvite precipitation from post anaerobic digested dairy processing wastewater, and (2) co-blend different dairy processing wastewaters to improve the reactant stoichiometry of NH4+ and PO43− for optimal struvite recovery and NH4+ removal. Phosphate removal ( %) and struvite production ( %) was achieved across a range of synthesis conditions, and was significantly impacted by pH as determined by response surface modelling. A combination of disproportionate molar ratios of PO43− and NH4+, presence of calcium and the apparent mineralisation of organic N, resulted in co-precipitation of hydroxyapatite and elevated levels of residual aqueous NH4+. In the second phase of this study, struvite was successfully precipitated and NH4+ removal was improved (~17%) however, higher concentrations of calcium in the wastewater blends resulted in greater hydroxyapatite co-precipitation (up to 30%). While struvite was the desired product in this study the formation of multiple heterogenous P-rich products (struvite and hydroxyapatite) has the potential to improve P recovery from dairy processing wastewaters and produce a fertiliser blend with amenity and value in agricultural systems.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2015
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-06-2017
DOI: 10.1111/JPN.12725
Abstract: Supplementing ruminants with nitrate (NO3-) reduces their enteric methane (CH
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2021
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2014
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 08-2014
DOI: 10.1002/2013JG002544
Publisher: Hindawi Limited
Date: 07-2004
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2014
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2016
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 02-2021
DOI: 10.1029/2020PA003871
Abstract: The northern Great Barrier Reef (GBR) Halimeda bioherms have accumulated on the outer continental shelf from calcium carbonate algal sediments over the past ∼10,000 years and cover ,000 km 2 of shelf area. As such, Halimeda bioherms play a key role in the shallow marine carbon cycle over millennial timescales. The main source of nitrogen (N) to these bioherms is thought to be westward transport of upwelled NO 3 ‐ ‐rich water from the Coral Sea. However, the primary N source has not been traced geochemically, and we have no understanding of any temporal variation. Here, we reconstruct patterns of N supply to Halimeda bioherms in the GBR since the mid‐Holocene using the 15 N/ 14 N ratio of skeletal‐bound organic N (δ 15 N‐skeletal organic material [SOM]) in modern and fossil Halimeda sediment cores. Average Halimeda skeletal δ 15 N‐SOM was 6.28 ± 0.26‰, consistent with δ 15 N‐NO 3 ‐ from western tropical South Pacific (WTSP) thermocline waters. Thus, geochemically validating shelf‐break upwelling of an oceanic N source that regulates bioherm spatial distribution. Halimeda δ 15 N‐SOM decreased by 1‰–2‰ from 5,000 to 2,000 cal. yr BP, reaching a minima of 5.5‰ that persisted for almost 1,000 years. The Halimeda δ 15 N‐SOM variation reflects mid‐ to late Holocene changes in regional climate and intensified El Niño activity that likely facilitated elevated N 2 fixation in the WTSP, thereby lowering thermocline δ 15 N‐NO 3 ‐ . Thus, Halimeda skeletal material provides a valuable high‐resolution geochemical archive of past oceanographic and climatic processes over centennial to millennial timescales, complementing existing paleoclimate proxy records.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 10-2013
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 25-12-2020
DOI: 10.1002/LNO.11681
Publisher: American Chemical Society (ACS)
Date: 08-11-2008
DOI: 10.1021/ES801175T
Abstract: This study used anaerobic slurry assays and intact core incubations to quantify potential rates of anammox (anaerobic ammonia oxidation) in sediments along the flow path of a surface flow constructed wetland receiving secondary treated sewage effluent. Anammox occurred at two of the four sites assayed with a maximum rate of 199.4 +/- 18.7 micromol N x m(-2) x hr(-1) (24% of total N2 production) at the discharge end of the wetland. Denitrification was the major producer of N2, with a maximum rate of 965.3 +/- 122.8 micromol N x m(-2) x hr(-1) at site 2. Oxygen was probably the key regulator of anammox activity within the studied CW. In addition to anammox, we found evidence that nitrifier-denitrification was potentially responsible for the production of N2O. Total production of N2O was 15.1% of the total gaseous N produced. Limitations to the methodology for quantifying anammox in CW's are outlined. This study demonstrated that denitrification is not the only pathway for gaseous production in constructed wetlands and that wetlands may be significant sources of greenhouse gases such as N2O.
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 06-2018
Abstract: Water and sediment methane emissions have the potential to offset “blue carbon” burial in mangrove coastal ecosystems.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2017
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 12-2010
DOI: 10.1029/2010JC006510
Abstract: Coral reefs are characterized by high gross productivity in spite of low nutrient concentrations. This apparent paradox may be partially reconciled if seawater recirculation in permeable sediments over large (meters) and long (hours to days) scales is an important source of recycled nitrogen and phosphorus to coral reefs. In this paper we use radon ( 222 Rn, a natural tracer) to quantify tidally driven pore water (or groundwater) exchange between (1) an offshore coral cay island and its fringing reef lagoon and (2) a reef lagoon and the surrounding ocean. As seawater infiltrates Heron Island at high tide, it acquires a radon signal that can be detected when pore waters emerge from carbonate sands at low tide. A nonsteady state model indicated that vertical pore water upwelling rates (or saline submarine groundwater discharge) were cm/d within the reef lagoon and cm/d outside the lagoon at low tide. Within the lagoon, tidal pumping and temperature‐driven convection were the main driving forces of pore water advection. At low tide, the reef lagoon level is about 1 m higher than the surrounding ocean. As a result, a steep hydraulic gradient develops at the reef edge, driving unidirectional filtration through the reef framework. Groundwaters were highly enriched in nitrate (average of 530 μ mol, likely influenced by bird guano) relative to lagoon waters (1.9 μ mol). Rough but conservative estimates indicated that groundwater‐derived nitrate fluxes (7.9 mmol/m 2 /d) can replace the entire lagoon nitrate inventory every days. We speculate that as offshore coral islands “breath” (inhale seawater at high tide and exhale groundwater at low tide), they release nutrients that lead to sustained productivity within coral reefs.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2018.11.291
Abstract: Many coffee (Coffea arabica L) production systems are characterised by high use of nitrogen (N) fertilisers, which can result in N leaching and emissions of nitrous oxide (N
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 04-09-2012
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.WATRES.2014.08.009
Abstract: Dissolved oxygen (DO) is commonly recognized as an important factor influencing nitrous oxide (N2O) production by ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). However, it has been difficult to separate the true effect of DO from that of nitrite, as DO variation often affects nitrite accumulation. The effect of DO on N2O production by an enriched nitrifying sludge, consisting of both AOB and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB), was investigated in this study. Nitrite accumulation was minimised by augmenting nitrite oxidation through the addition of an enriched NOB sludge. It was demonstrated that the specific N2O production rate increased from 0 to 1.9 ± 0.09 (n = 3) mg N2O-N/hr/g VSS with an increase of DO concentration from 0 to 3.0 mg O2/L, whereas N2O emission factor (the ratio between N2O nitrogen emitted and the ammonium nitrogen converted) decreased from 10.6 ± 1.7% (n = 3) at DO = 0.2 mg O2/L to 2.4 ± 0.1% (n = 3) at DO = 3.0 mg O2/L. The site preference measurements indicated that both the AOB denitrification and hydroxylamine (NH2OH) oxidation pathways contributed to N2O production, and DO had an important effect on the relative contributions of the two pathways. This finding is supported by analysis of the process data using an N2O model describing both pathways. As DO increased from 0.2 to 3.0 mg O2/L, the contribution of AOB denitrification decreased from 92% - 95%-66% - 73%, accompanied by a corresponding increase in the contribution by the NH2OH oxidation pathway.
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 02-2016
DOI: 10.1002/2015WR017420
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 02-2011
DOI: 10.1029/2010GL046053
Publisher: American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Date: 05-2018
DOI: 10.1029/2017GB005826
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 26-05-2019
DOI: 10.1101/650705
Abstract: Estuarine N 2 O emissions contribute to the atmospheric N 2 O budget, but little is known about estuary N 2 O fluxes under low dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) conditions. We present high-resolution spatial surveys of N 2 O concentrations and water-air fluxes in three low-DIN (NO 3 − 30 µ mol L −1 ) tropical estuaries in Queensland, Australia (Johnstone River, Fitzroy River, Constant Creek) during consecutive wet and dry seasons. Constant Creek had the lowest concentrations of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN 0.01 to 5.4 µ mol L −1 of NO 3 − and 0.09 to 13.6 µ mol L −1 of NH 4 + ) and N 2 O (93–132% saturation), and associated lowest N 2 O emissions (– 1.4 to 8.4 µ mol m −2 d −1 ) in both seasons. The other two estuaries exhibited higher DIN inputs and higher N 2 O emissions. The Johnstone River Estuary had the highest N 2 O concentrations (97–245% saturation) and emissions (– 0.03 to 25.7 µ mol m −2 d −1 ), driven by groundwater inputs from upstream sources, with increased N 2 O input in the wet season. In the Fitzroy River Estuary, N 2 O concentrations (100–204% saturation) and emissions (0.03–19.5 µ mol m −2 d −1 ) were associated with wastewater inputs, which had a larger effect during the dry season and were diluted during the wet season. Overall N 2 O emissions from the three tropical estuaries were low compared to previous studies, and at times water-air N 2 O fluxes were actually negative, indicating that N 2 O consumption occurred. Low water column NO 3 − concentration (i.e. 5 µ mol L −1 ) appears to promote negative water-air N 2 O fluxes in estuary environments considering the number of estuaries and mangrove creeks where DIN falls below this threshold, negative water-air N 2 O fluxes are likely common.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-2021
DOI: 10.1002/LOL2.10190
Abstract: Large solitary ascidians, like Herdmania grandis (Heller), can dominate the benthic substrates of subtropical and temperate reefs however, their influence on nitrogen cycling, particularly nitrous oxide (N 2 O) production, is unknown. Here, we incubated in idual H. grandis and compared fluxes of dissolved inorganic and gaseous nitrogen species to fluxes from reef sediments. Nitrous oxide production rates per in idual ascidian (21 ± 8 nmol ind h −1 ) are the highest reported for any marine invertebrate. An in idual ascidian produced more N 2 O than 1 m 2 of inter‐reef sediment (1.7 ± 1.7 nmol m −2 h −1 ). Ascidian mediated N 2 O production was found to occur under nutrient depleted conditions. The addition of 15 N labeled organic material showed that the microbiota associated with H. grandis is capable of both nitrification and denitrification, but the contribution of these pathways to N 2 O production could not be ascertained. As the ecology of temperate reefs change, any range expansion of H. grandis will increase coastal N 2 O production.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2022.153023
Abstract: Sewage sludges are a rich underused source of phosphorus (P) which contributes to environmental degradation, yet if recaptured, could return significant amounts of P to agricultural systems. Hydrothermal carbonisation (HTC) can efficiently recover P, with the added ability to transform P species into potentially more desirable forms for direct application to crops. P dynamics in hydrochars have primarily examined P speciation and chemical extractability as indicators of P bioavailability, but few studies directly evaluate the agronomic effectiveness of hydrochars as P fertilisers. As such, there is a clear need to assess the suitability of hydrochar as a source of bioavailable P in plant systems and the influence of HTC synthesis conditions. Response Surface Modelling of HTC synthesis conditions (pH, temperature and time), revealed initial pH significantly influence P distribution. Mild conditions of 180 °C for 30 min at pH 8.0 maximised P recovery (99%) along with carbon (62%) and nitrogen (43%) in hydrochars. Systematic characterisation of hydrochar P by chemical extraction and P L
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2014
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 25-03-2013
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS10040
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2020
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 09-2015
Start Date: 06-2017
End Date: 03-2021
Amount: $332,110.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 07-2010
End Date: 06-2011
Amount: $170,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 06-2016
End Date: 12-2020
Amount: $600,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 07-2010
End Date: 06-2014
Amount: $303,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 06-2020
End Date: 12-2021
Amount: $471,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 06-2018
End Date: 06-2024
Amount: $277,614.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 01-2022
End Date: 01-2025
Amount: $510,507.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 01-2012
End Date: 06-2014
Amount: $250,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 01-2021
End Date: 12-2023
Amount: $430,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 2013
End Date: 12-2013
Amount: $240,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 06-2024
End Date: 06-2027
Amount: $701,069.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded ActivityStart Date: 09-2021
End Date: 12-2024
Amount: $704,711.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded Activity