This paper presents a new sedimentary nitrogen isotope record (d15N) of a sediment core from the southeastern Arabian Sea (AS). By compiling the published nitrogen isotope data in the AS, we obtain geographically distinctive bottom-depth effects for the northern and southern AS since 35ka. After eliminating the bottom-depth bias, we observe opposite d15N trends in the Holocene between these two areas, reflecting a special coupling of denitrification to the north and N2-fixation to the south.