Address

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Type

Government

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Email

Please login to view email.

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Telephone

513-569-7734

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Fax

513-569-7620

Website

http://www.epa.gov/nrmrl/lrpcd/

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Activities

Microbial activity in streams and rivers produces nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, but the importance of these systems in the global nitrous oxide budget is not well known. Most research on nitrous oxide emissions from freshwaters has been conducted in small streams and rivers where microbial activity is largely restricted to the sediments. In an investigation of nitrous oxide emissions from large rivers, EPA researchers from the National Risk Management Research Laboratory found that the water column in the Ohio River produces twice as much nitrous oxide as the river sediments. The new research suggests that current models underestimate the importance of large rivers in the global nitrous oxide budget.