Bioavailable-Nitrogen (IMAGE)
Caption
This is a schematic view of nitrogen net gain and loss in the ocean. Left: Nitrogen gas (N2) from the atmosphere diffuses into the ocean and microorganisms can fix this nitrogen into bio-available compounds, which are vital for every life form. Right: Situation in an oxygen minimum zone. If oxygen gets depleted, anaerobic processes, like anammox can convert fixed nitrogen to N2, which results in a loss from the pool of fixed bio-available nitrogen. The new study of Brunner et al addresses the different nitrogen-loss processes by using the isotope ratios for 15N and 14N in the pool for all nitrogen compounds.
Credit
MPI for Marine Microbiology
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