Articles | Volume 23, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-1987-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-1987-2026
Research article
 | 
17 Mar 2026
Research article |  | 17 Mar 2026

The distribution and isotopomeric characterization of nitrous oxide in the Eastern Gotland Basin (central Baltic Sea)

Pratirupa Bardhan, Claudia Frey, Gregor Rehder, and Hermann W. Bange

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Cited articles

Arévalo-Martínez, D. L., Kock, A., Löscher, C. R., Schmitz, R. A., and Bange, H. W.: Massive nitrous oxide emissions from the tropical South Pacific Ocean, Nat. Geosci., 8, 530–533, https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.67.11.5343-5348.2001, 2015. 
Barford, C. C., Montoya, J. P., Altabet, M. A., and Mitchell, R.: Steady-state nitrogen isotope effects of N2 and N2O production in Paracoccus denitrificans, Appl. Env. Microbiol., 65, 989–994, 1999. 
Berg, C., Vandieken, V., Thamdrup, B., and Jürgens, K.: Significance of archaeal nitrification in hypoxic waters of the Baltic Sea, ISME J., 9, 1319–1332, https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2014.218, 2015. 
Bonaglia, S., Klawonn, I., De Brabandere, L., Deutsch, B., Thamdrup, B. and Brüchert, V.: Denitrification and DNRA at the Baltic Sea oxic–anoxic interface: Substrate spectrum and kinetics, Limnol. Oceanogr., 61, 1900–1915, https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10343, 2016. 
Bourbonnais, A., Letscher, R., Bange, H., Echevin, V., Larkum, J., Mohn, J., Yoshida, N., and Altabet, M.: N2O production and consumption from stable isotopic and concentration data in the Peruvian coastal upwelling system, Global Biogeochem. Cy., 31, 678–698, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GB005567, 2017. 
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Short summary
Nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas, is released from coastal seas & estuaries, yet we don't fully understand how it is formed and consumed. In this study we collected water from several sites in the central Baltic Sea. N2O came from ammonia in oxic waters. Deep waters with low to no oxygen noted more active N2O cycling. The seafloor was a source in some areas. Typically N2O is produced by bacteria, but our results indicate possibility of other players like fungi or chemical reactions.
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