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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher">EGUsphere</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>EGUsphere</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="publisher">EGUsphere</abbrev-journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="nlm-ta">EGUsphere</abbrev-journal-title>
</journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="epub"></issn>
<publisher><publisher-name>Copernicus Publications</publisher-name>
<publisher-loc>Göttingen, Germany</publisher-loc>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.5194/egusphere-2026-857</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title>Continuous analysis of N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O isotopic composition during biological nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment to disentangle production and reduction processes</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Keck</surname>
<given-names>Hannes</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7592-2833</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Strubbe</surname>
<given-names>Laurence</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Magyar</surname>
<given-names>Paul M.</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Joss</surname>
<given-names>Adriano</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Froemelt</surname>
<given-names>Andreas</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Kupferschmid</surname>
<given-names>André</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff4">
<sup>4</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Knorr</surname>
<given-names>Klaus-Holger</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4175-0214</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff5">
<sup>5</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Mohn</surname>
<given-names>Joachim</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9799-1001</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
</contrib-group><aff id="aff1">
<label>1</label>
<addr-line>Empa, Laboratory for Air Pollution / Environmental Technology, Dübendorf, 8600, Switzerland</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff2">
<label>2</label>
<addr-line>Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff3">
<label>3</label>
<addr-line>Vito, Flemish Institute for Technological Research, Mol, 2400, Belgium</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff4">
<label>4</label>
<addr-line>Empa, Transport at Nanoscale Interfaces, Dübendorf, 8600, Switzerland</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff5">
<label>5</label>
<addr-line>Institute of Landscape Ecology, Ecohydrology &amp; Biogeochemistry Group, University of Münster, Münster, 48149,  Germany</addr-line>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>27</day>
<month>02</month>
<year>2026</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>2026</volume>
<fpage>1</fpage>
<lpage>29</lpage>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright: &#x000a9; 2026 Hannes Keck et al.</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2026</copyright-year>
<license license-type="open-access">
<license-p>This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit <ext-link ext-link-type="uri"  xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link></license-p>
</license>
</permissions>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-857/">This article is available from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-857/</self-uri>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-857/egusphere-2026-857.pdf">The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2026/egusphere-2026-857/egusphere-2026-857.pdf</self-uri>
<abstract>
<p>Nitrous oxide (N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O) is a potent greenhouse gas, and emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) represent a significant and highly variable source. Understanding the dynamics in microbial pathways of N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O formation and reduction during biological nitrogen removal is essential for targeted mitigation strategies. Stable isotope analysis of N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O (&amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;N&lt;sup&gt;&amp;alpha;&lt;/sup&gt;, &amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;N&lt;sup&gt;&amp;beta;&lt;/sup&gt;, &amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;O, and &lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;N site preference) provides a powerful tool to disentangle and quantify N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O production and reduction processes, yet conventional analytical approaches lack temporal resolution. Here, we present the first long-term application of an off-axis integrated cavity output spectrometer for real-time N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O isotopic analysis at a pilot-scale WWTP over one year of operation. We developed a dynamic dilution system and implemented correction protocols for drift, N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O mole fraction dependence, and gas matrix effects on isotopic results, achieving uncertainties of 0.85 &amp;permil; (&amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;N&lt;sup&gt;&amp;alpha;&lt;/sup&gt;), 1.08 &amp;permil; (&amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;N&lt;sup&gt;&amp;beta;&lt;/sup&gt;), 0.81 &amp;permil; (&amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;N&lt;sup&gt;bulk&lt;/sup&gt;), 0.48 &amp;permil; (&amp;delta;&lt;sup&gt;18&lt;/sup&gt;O) and 1.09 &amp;permil; (&lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;N site preference). Representative datasets demonstrate the system&amp;rsquo;s capability to (i) identify dominant N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O production pathways under standard operation, (ii) quantify N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O reduction in relation to dissolved oxygen concentration, and (iii) trace nitrogen transformation during low-level &lt;sup&gt;15&lt;/sup&gt;N-labelling experiments. Our results indicate nitrifier or heterotrophic denitrification as the main source of N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O, and that N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O reduction efficiency is strongly controlled by oxygen availability. This study highlights the potential of laser spectroscopy for continuous isotopic monitoring in real-world engineered systems and provides practical guidelines for uncertainty reduction and data interpretation. More specifically, our work forms a foundation for further investigations of the operational factors controlling N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O formation and N&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;O reduction in biological WWTPs and other complex anthropogenically-perturbed settings.</p>
</abstract>
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