13 Nov 2020
13 Nov 2020
Spatiotemporal patterns of N2 fixation in coastal waters derived from rate measurements and remote sensing
- 1Marine Research Institute, Klaipeda University, Klaipeda, 92294, Lithuania
- 2Coastal and Freshwater Group, Cawthron Institute, Nelson, 7042, New Zealand
- 3Zealand Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, Private Bag 92019, New Zealand
- 4Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 461, Gothenburg, 40530, Sweden
- 5Department of Biological Oceanography, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research, Rostock, 18119, Germany
- 6Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, 90187, Sweden
- 7Center for Environmental Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA
- 1Marine Research Institute, Klaipeda University, Klaipeda, 92294, Lithuania
- 2Coastal and Freshwater Group, Cawthron Institute, Nelson, 7042, New Zealand
- 3Zealand Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland, Auckland, Private Bag 92019, New Zealand
- 4Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 461, Gothenburg, 40530, Sweden
- 5Department of Biological Oceanography, Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research, Rostock, 18119, Germany
- 6Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, 90187, Sweden
- 7Center for Environmental Studies, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23284, USA
Abstract. Coastal lagoons are important sites for nitrogen (N) removal via sediment burial and denitrification. Blooms of heterocystous cyanobacteria may diminish N retention as dinitrogen (N2) fixation offsets atmospheric losses via denitrification. We measured N2 fixation in the Curonian Lagoon, Europe's largest coastal lagoon, to better understand the factors controlling N2 fixation in the context of seasonal changes in phytoplankton community composition and external N inputs. Temporal patterns in N2 fixation were primarily determined by the abundance of heterocystous cyanobacteria, mainly Aphanizomenon flosaquae, which became abundant after the decline in riverine nitrate inputs associated with snowmelt. Heterocystous cyanobacteria dominated the summer phytoplankton community resulting in strong correlations between chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) and N2 fixation. We used regression models relating N2 fixation to Chl-a, along with remote sensing-based estimates of Chl-a to derive lagoon-scale estimates of N2 fixation. N2 fixation by pelagic cyanobacteria was found to be a significant component of the lagoon's N budget based on comparisons to previously derived fluxes associated with riverine inputs, sediment-water exchange and losses via denitrification. To our knowledge, this is the first study to derive ecosystem-scale estimates of N2 fixation by combining remote sensing of Chl-a with empirical models relating N2 fixation rates to Chl-a.
- Preprint
(995 KB) -
Supplement
(119 KB) - BibTeX
- EndNote
Mindaugas Zilius et al.


-
RC1: 'Review comment', Anonymous Referee #1, 04 Dec 2020
-
AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Mindaugas Zilius, 23 Dec 2020
-
RC3: 'Reply on AC1', Anonymous Referee #1, 04 Jan 2021
-
AC2: 'Reply on RC3', Mindaugas Zilius, 12 Jan 2021
-
RC4: 'Reply on AC2', Anonymous Referee #1, 12 Jan 2021
-
AC3: 'Reply on RC4', Mindaugas Zilius, 12 Jan 2021
-
AC3: 'Reply on RC4', Mindaugas Zilius, 12 Jan 2021
-
RC4: 'Reply on AC2', Anonymous Referee #1, 12 Jan 2021
-
AC2: 'Reply on RC3', Mindaugas Zilius, 12 Jan 2021
-
RC3: 'Reply on AC1', Anonymous Referee #1, 04 Jan 2021
-
AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Mindaugas Zilius, 23 Dec 2020
-
RC5: 'Review of "Spatiotemporal patterns of N2 fixation in coastal waters derived from rate measurements and remote sensing"', Anonymous Referee #2, 02 Feb 2021
-
AC4: 'Reply on RC5', Mindaugas Zilius, 03 Feb 2021
-
AC4: 'Reply on RC5', Mindaugas Zilius, 03 Feb 2021


-
RC1: 'Review comment', Anonymous Referee #1, 04 Dec 2020
-
AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Mindaugas Zilius, 23 Dec 2020
-
RC3: 'Reply on AC1', Anonymous Referee #1, 04 Jan 2021
-
AC2: 'Reply on RC3', Mindaugas Zilius, 12 Jan 2021
-
RC4: 'Reply on AC2', Anonymous Referee #1, 12 Jan 2021
-
AC3: 'Reply on RC4', Mindaugas Zilius, 12 Jan 2021
-
AC3: 'Reply on RC4', Mindaugas Zilius, 12 Jan 2021
-
RC4: 'Reply on AC2', Anonymous Referee #1, 12 Jan 2021
-
AC2: 'Reply on RC3', Mindaugas Zilius, 12 Jan 2021
-
RC3: 'Reply on AC1', Anonymous Referee #1, 04 Jan 2021
-
AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Mindaugas Zilius, 23 Dec 2020
-
RC5: 'Review of "Spatiotemporal patterns of N2 fixation in coastal waters derived from rate measurements and remote sensing"', Anonymous Referee #2, 02 Feb 2021
-
AC4: 'Reply on RC5', Mindaugas Zilius, 03 Feb 2021
-
AC4: 'Reply on RC5', Mindaugas Zilius, 03 Feb 2021
Mindaugas Zilius et al.
Mindaugas Zilius et al.
Viewed
HTML | XML | Total | Supplement | BibTeX | EndNote | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
377 | 89 | 6 | 472 | 27 | 2 | 4 |
- HTML: 377
- PDF: 89
- XML: 6
- Total: 472
- Supplement: 27
- BibTeX: 2
- EndNote: 4
Viewed (geographical distribution)
Country | # | Views | % |
---|
Total: | 0 |
HTML: | 0 |
PDF: | 0 |
XML: | 0 |
- 1