Articles | Volume 23, issue 13
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-4711-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-4711-2026
Ideas and perspectives
 | 
08 Jul 2026
Ideas and perspectives |  | 08 Jul 2026

Ideas and perspectives: Nitrite turnover controls nitrogen fate across redox gradients

Mathieu Sebilo and Rosanna Margalef-Marti

Cited articles

Babbin, A. R., Buchwald, C., Morel, F. M. M., Wankel, S. D., and Ward, B. B.: Nitrite oxidation exceeds reduction and fixed nitrogen loss in anoxic Pacific waters, Mar. Chem., 224, 103814, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2020.103814, 2020. 
Bristow, L. A., Dalsgaard, T., Tiano, L., Mills, D. B., Bertagnolli, A. D., Wright, J. J., Hallam, S. J., Ulloa, O., Canfield, D. E., and Revsbech, N. P.: Ammonium and nitrite oxidation at nanomolar oxygen concentrations in oxygen minimum zone waters, P. Natl Acad. Sci. USA, 113, 10601–10606, 2016. 
Brunner, B. and Bernasconi, S. M.: A revised isotope fractionation model for dissimilatory sulfate reduction in sulfate reducing bacteria, Geochim. Cosmochim. Ac., 69, 4759–4771, 2005. 
Buchwald, C. and Casciotti, K. L.: Oxygen isotopic fractionation and exchange during bacterial nitrite oxidation, Limnol. Oceanogr., 55, 1064–1074, 2010. 
Buchwald, C. and Casciotti, K. L.: Isotopic ratios of nitrite as tracers of the sources and age of oceanic nitrite, Nat. Geosci., 6, 308–313, 2013. 
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Short summary
Nitrogen moves through the environment in ways that are difficult to predict because key transformations occur very rapidly. A short-lived compound, nitrite, plays a central role in determining whether nitrogen is stored, recycled, or lost to the atmosphere. Focusing on nitrite provides a new way to understand nitrogen cycling and its impact on greenhouse gas emissions and environmental change.
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