Characteristics of nitrogen forms in the southern Huanghai Sea surface sediments

The distributions of different forms of nitrogen in the surface sediments of the southern Huanghai Sea are different and affected by various factors. The contents of IEF-N, SOEF-N and TN gradually decrease eastward, and those of SAEF-N northward, while those of WAEF-N westward. Around the seaport of the old Huanghe (Yellow) River, the contents of both SOEF-N and TN are the highest. Among all the factors, the content of fine sediment is the predominant factor to affect the distributions of different forms of nitrogen. The contents of IEF-N, SOEF-N, and TN have visibly positive correlation with the content of fine sediments, and the correlative coefficient is 0.68, 0.58 and 0.71 respectively, showing that the contents of the three forms of nitrogen increase with those of fine sediments. The content of WAEF-N is related to that of fine sediments to a certain extent, with a correlative coefficient of 0.35; while the content of SAEF-N is not related to that of fine sediments, showing that the content of SAEF