Sediment Nitrification Incubation data of a subterrarnian estuary core take in July 2020 in Gloucester Point, Virginia

These data are the result of a sediment slurry incubation experiment conducted with 15N-labeled ammonium to quantify nitrification rates in the sediments of a shallow, sandy subterranean estuary in Gloucester Point, VA, USA. Triplicate sediment cores that were 50cm in length were collected and sectioned into 10cm intervals. Homogenized sediment was incubated with porewater from the same depth interval that had been amended with 15N-labeled ammonium. Sediments were incubated in the dark for zero, six and twelve hours. At each time point, samples were collected to analyze dissolved inorganic nitrogen (nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium) concentrations. Samples were analyzed with an isotope ratio mass spectrometer in order to assess the 15N enrichment of the nitrate in each sample resulting in a delta value (d15N) that allows for the calculation of the mole fraction of 15N-labeled nitrate produced by each slurry. This production over time constitutes the sediment nitrification rate for each depth interval.