ocean chemistry

Nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium are essential nutrients for all life. In the open ocean ecosystem the availability of fixed nitrogen will control the total amount of primary production and subsequent removal of carbon from the atmosphere. In coastal ecosystems, however there can be an excess of fixed nitrogen from human activities that can cause overgrowth of algae, which create anoxic zones, fish kills and release of N2O, a potent green house gas. The proposed research uses a powerful new tool of stable isotopes of 15N and 18O in nutrients, to interpret the processes that control nitrogen in the environment.