Keywords
environmental quality
water quality
Tampa Bay (Fla.)
nitrogen cycle
atmospheric deposition
Categories
How to Cite
Funding data
Abstract
The Up in the Air, Down in the Water program is a combined research and education effort of the Urban Water Cycle Lab at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center in Hillsborough County, Florida. The purpose of this fact sheet is to explain where the nitrogen (N) in atmospheric deposition comes from, how it moves to Earth’s surface, how it can affect water quality, and how we can better manage atmospherically derived N in our watersheds. Written by Mary G. Lusk and Tanya Charan, and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences, October 2025.
References
Jani, J., Y.-Y. Yang, M. G. Lusk, and G. S. Toor. 2020. “Composition of Nitrogen in Urban Residential Stormwater Runoff: Concentrations, Loads, and Source Characterization of Nitrate and Organic Nitrogen.” PLoS One 15(2): e0229715. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0229715
Krimsky, L. S., M. G. Lusk, H. Abeels, and L. Seals. 2021. “Sources and Concentrations of Nutrients in Surface Runoff from Waterfront Homes with Different Landscape Practices.” The Science of the Total Environment 750: 142320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142320
Lusk, M. G., P. S. Garzon, and A. Muni-Morgan. 2023. “Nitrogen Forms and Dissolved Organic Matter Optical Properties in Bulk Rainfall, Canopy Throughfall, and Stormwater in a Subtropical Urban Catchment.” The Science of the Total Environment 896: 165243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165243
Muni-Morgan, A. L., M. G. Lusk, and C. A. Heil. 2024. “Karenia brevis and Pyrodinium bahamense Utilization of Dissolved Organic Matter in Urban Stormwater Runoff and Rainfall Entering Tampa Bay, Florida.” Water 16(10): 1448. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16101448
Poor, N. D., L. M. Cross, and R. L. Dennis. 2013. “Lessons Learned from the Bay Region Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (BRACE) and Implications for Nitrogen Management of Tampa Bay.” Atmospheric Environment 70: 75–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2012.12.030
Poor, N., C. Pollman, P. Tate, M. Begum, M. Evans, and S. Campbell. 2006. “Nature and Magnitude of Atmospheric Fluxes of Total Inorganic Nitrogen and Other Inorganic Species to the Tampa Bay Watershed, FL, USA.” Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 170(1–4): 267–283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-006-3055-6
Poor, N., R. Pribble, and H. Greening. 2001. “Direct Wet and Dry Deposition of Ammonia, Nitric Acid, Ammonium and Nitrate to the Tampa Bay Estuary, FL, USA.” Atmospheric Environment 35(23): 3947–3955. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(01)00180-7
Reisinger, A. J., M. Lusk, and A. Smyth. 2020. “Sources and Transformations of Nitrogen in Urban Landscapes: SL468/SS681, 3/2020.” EDIS 2020(2). https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-ss681-2020
Strayer, H., R. Smith, C. Mizak, and N. Poor. 2007. “Influence of Air Mass Origin on the Wet Deposition of Nitrogen to Tampa Bay, Florida — An Eight-Year Study.” Atmospheric Environment 41(20): 4310–4322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2006.08.060
Yang, Y. Y., and M. G. Lusk. 2018. “Nutrients in Urban Stormwater Runoff: Current State of the Science and Potential Mitigation Options.” Current Pollution Reports: 1–16.
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