Variations along the Seine river from Paris (km 0) to the mouth of the estuary (km 356) in (a) ammonium (NH4+), nitrite (NO2−), and nitrate (NO3−) levels, (b) potential ammonia oxidation rates (pAO) and potential nitrification activities (pNA), (c) SPM concentrations, and (d) amoA gene copy numbers determined by cPCR for three sampling dates (July 2002, September 2002, and September 2003).