Controls on nitrite oxidation in the upper Southern Ocean:  insights from winter kinetics experiments in the Indian sector

Mdutyana, Mhlangabezi; Marshall, Tanya; Sun, Xin; Burger, Jessica M.; Thomalla, Sandy J.; Ward, Bess B.; Fawcett, Sarah E.

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3425-2022

Articles | Volume 19, issue 14

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3425-2022

© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3425-2022

© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 19, issue 14

Research article

|

20 Jul 2022

Research article |

| 20 Jul 2022

Controls on nitrite oxidation in the upper Southern Ocean: insights from winter kinetics experiments in the Indian sector

Mhlangabezi Mdutyana, Tanya Marshall, Xin Sun, Jessica M. Burger, Sandy J. Thomalla, Bess B. Ward, and Sarah E. Fawcett

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-19-3425-2022-supplement

Data sets

Controls on nitrite oxidation in the upper Southern Ocean: insights from winter kinetics experiments in the Indian sector Mhlangabezi Mdutyana, Tanya Marshall, Xin Sun, Jessica M. Burger, Sandy J. Thomalla, Bess B. Ward and Sarah E. Fawcett https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6791408

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Short summary

Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in the winter Southern Ocean show a high affinity for nitrite but require a minimum (i.e., "threshold") concentration before they increase their rates of nitrite oxidation significantly. The classic Michaelis–Menten model thus cannot be used to derive the kinetic parameters, so a modified equation was employed that also yields the threshold nitrite concentration. Dissolved iron availability may play an important role in limiting nitrite oxidation.