Effects of Anthropogenic Disturbances and Climate Change on Riverine Dissolved Inorganic Nitrogen Transport

Abstract

Nitrogen (N) transport from land to rivers, estuaries, and coastal marine systems has been markedly altered by anthropogenic and climatic drivers over recent decades. In this study, a riverine N transport scheme considering anthropogenic N discharge and water regulation was incorporated into the Land Surface Model of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS-LSM). Seven groups of simulations using the developed model at the global scale for the period of 1981–2010 were conducted to investigate the effects of anthropogenic disturbances and climate change on riverine dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) transport. It was shown that fertilization and point source pollution have enhanced the DIN fluxes in rivers across the world, especially in western Europe and eastern China. The DIN exports were significantly reduced due to retention by reservoirs and the withdrawal of surface water and groundwater, with a retention efficiency of 50–70%. Climate variability and trends increased or decreased the riverine DIN fluxes depending on the specific hydroclimatic conditions. We further analyzed the contributions of climatic and anthropogenic changes to the riverine DIN changes in four major rivers. The riverine DIN exports in the Mississippi River Basin were affected primarily by fertilization, while the changes in DIN exports of the Danube were dominated by point source pollution and water regulation. The Yangtze River in China was seriously affected by both fertilization and point source pollution, and water regulation played a significant role in reducing DIN exports. Climate variability was the primary factor explaining the interannual variability of DIN exports.