Transport of Nitrate and Ammonium During Tropical Storm and Hurricane Induced Stream Flow Events from a Southeastern USA Coastal Plain In-Stream Wetland - 1997 to 1999

Nitrogen (N) is an essential element for the functioning of aquatic ecosystems [1, 2]; howev‐ er, when in excess, it can be detrimental to water quality by promoting eutrophication [3, 4] and growth of harmful microalgae and dinoflagellates [5]. Elevated N levels transported by streams and rivers into downstream coastal estuaries are of particular concern because eutro‐ phication can affect up to 65% of the estuarine area of the coastal USA [6]. Eutrophication leads to hypoxia which stresses fish, shellfish, and invertebrates, and long-term exposure to hypoxia is fatal to most endemic fauna [7, 8]. Rapidly growing and diversifying non-point and point sources of N (e.g. agricultural crop production, urban wastewater, fertilizer use, Nenriched rainfall, and concentration of animal production systems) have been linked as caus‐ es for these troubling symptoms of eutrophication [9-12].