Automatic water samplers help to collect water for isotope analysis, but if the samples are stored in open bottles for long periods of time, their composition can change due to evaporation. We have tested various barriers to prevent this and found that dip tubes are the most practical solution. Our results highlight the importance of bottle design and handling, especially for small sample volumes, to ensure accurate water analysis.

Most studies assume no difference between transit times of water and nitrate, because nitrate is transported by water. With an 8-year high-frequency dataset of isotopic signatures of both, water and nitrate, and a transit time model, we show the temporal varying difference of nitrate and water transit times. This finding is highly relevant for applied future research related to nutrient dynamics in landscapes under anthropogenic forcing and for managing impacts of nitrate on aquatic ecosystems.

Agricultural catchments show elevated phosphorus (P) concentrations during summer low flow. In an agricultural stream, we found that phosphorus in groundwater was a major source of stream water phosphorus during low flow, and stream sediments derived from farmland are unlikely to have increased stream phosphorus concentrations during low water. We found no evidence that riparian wetlands contributed to soluble reactive (SR) P loads. Agricultural phosphorus was largely buffered in the soil zone.

We combine radon and stable isotopes in water to determine total submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in the Ria Formosa and discriminate its component modes. We show that tidal action filters the entire water volume in the lagoon through local beaches 3.5 times a year, driving an estimated 350Ton nitrogen/year into the system. Conversely, fresh groundwater is discharged into the lagoon only occasionally, adding ~ 61 Ton nitrogen/year, but is capable of driving new production in the system.