Articles | Volume 20, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2499-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-20-2499-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
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30 Jun 2023
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 30 Jun 2023
| 30 Jun 2023
All about nitrite: exploring nitrite sources and sinks in the eastern tropical North Pacific oxygen minimum zone
Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
Department of Biology and Paleo Environment, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964, USA
Andrew R. Babbin
Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Elizabeth Wallace
Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution for Science, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
Katherine L. DuRussel
Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA
Claudia Frey
Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 30, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
Donald E. Martocello III
Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Tyler Tamasi
Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Sergey Oleynik
Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
Bess B. Ward
Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Guyot Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
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Nitrogen (re-)cycling in sediments plays a key role in aquatic environments, but involves many overlapping biogeochemical processes that are hard to separate. We developed a new comprehensive sedimentary nitrogen isotope model to disentangle these reactions. Using field data from a Swiss lake and statistical tools, we demonstrated the robustness and validity of our modelling framework for a broad range of applications.
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Reservoirs act as nitrogen sinks and emit nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas and major ozone-depleting substance. We studied two reservoirs and found that nitrification and denitrification produce nitrous oxide in the water column, but denitrification is the main source, fueled by fresh organic matter from phytoplankton. Our results also suggest that nitrous oxide is actively consumed. This study highlights the need to include reservoirs in global nitrous oxide budgets.
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Nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, accumulates in regions of the ocean that are low in dissolved oxygen. We used a novel combination of chemical tracers to determine how nitrous oxide is produced in one of these regions, the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean. Our experiments showed that the two most important sources of nitrous oxide under low-oxygen conditions are denitrification, an anaerobic process, and a novel “hybrid” process performed by ammonia-oxidizing archaea.
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Nitrification and nitrifiers play an important role in marine nitrogen and carbon cycles by converting ammonium to nitrite and nitrate. Nitrification could affect microbial community structure, marine productivity, and the production of nitrous oxide – a powerful greenhouse gas. We introduce the newly constructed database of nitrification and nitrifiers in the marine water column and guide future research efforts in field observations and model development of nitrification.
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Kai G. Schulz, Eric P. Achterberg, Javier Arístegui, Lennart T. Bach, Isabel Baños, Tim Boxhammer, Dirk Erler, Maricarmen Igarza, Verena Kalter, Andrea Ludwig, Carolin Löscher, Jana Meyer, Judith Meyer, Fabrizio Minutolo, Elisabeth von der Esch, Bess B. Ward, and Ulf Riebesell
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Editorial statement
Nitrite is a nexus in nitrogen turnover, especially in oxygen minimum zones. This study works out new details of its specific role and adds new evidence for anaerobic nitrite oxidation. Furthermore, it shows that nitrogen recycling (nitrate reduction and nitrite oxidation) is quantitatively more important than loss processes.
Nitrite is a nexus in nitrogen turnover, especially in oxygen minimum zones. This study works...
Short summary
Nitrogen (N) is essential for life; thus, its availability plays a key role in determining marine productivity. Using incubations of seawater spiked with a rare form of N measurable on a mass spectrometer, we quantified microbial pathways that determine marine N availability. The results show that pathways that recycle N have higher rates than those that result in its loss from biomass and present new evidence for anaerobic nitrite oxidation, a process long thought to be strictly aerobic.
Nitrogen (N) is essential for life; thus, its availability plays a key role in determining marine...
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