Evaluate the hydrologic and geochemical processes that control nitrate fluxes in agricultural settings. Important questions remain about the overall regional and global importance of groundwater nitrogen fluxes, denitrification (microbial reduction of NO 3 − to N 2), and the sources of electron donors contributing to this microbial reaction. Studies are needed that apply robust methods for measuring nitrogen fluxes and denitrification among multiple sites to evaluate important factors affecting N fluxes. These results, in combination with novel methods for efficient estimation of fluxes in groundwater, facilitate estimates of N fluxes in across large regions such as the Corn Belt. Quantify the effects of complex geology on flow and [...]
