Articles | Volume 12, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-1113-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-1113-2015
Research article
 | 
24 Feb 2015
Research article |  | 24 Feb 2015

What prevents nitrogen depletion in the oxygen minimum zone of the eastern tropical South Pacific?

B. Su, M. Pahlow, H. Wagner, and A. Oschlies

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Cited articles

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A box model of the eastern tropical South Pacific oxygen minimum zone suggests that anaerobic water-column remineralization rates have to be slower than aerobic remineralization in order to explain the relatively high values of observed nitrate concentrations. Lateral oxygen supply sufficient to oxidize about one-fifth of the export production is required to prevent an anoxic deep ocean. Under these circumstances, the region can be a net source of fixed nitrogen to the surrounding ocean.
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