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Atmospheric inputs of dissolved organic nitrogen to the oceans

Nature volume 376, pages 243–246 (1995)Cite this article

Abstract

THE input of fixed nitrogen to the oceans by in situ fixation, river/groundwater supply and atmospheric deposition represents an important control on marine productivity on long timescales, and hence on oceaná¤-atmosphere CO2 exchange and its effects on climate1á¤-3. Any assessment of human perturbation of the global nitrogen cycle also requires an accurate estimate of these inputs. The current best estimates suggest that the natural fluvial and atmospheric inputs are of similar magnitude3,4, and that globally both have been increased by a factor of two above natural levels as a result of human activity3á¤-5. Dissolved organic nitrogen represents more than half of the fluvial input of dissolved fixed nitrogen, but current estimates of atmospheric inputs are usually based on only the inorganic (NO3- + NH4+) component, although some authors have recognized the potential importance of organic nitrogen6á¤-9. Here we present analyses of dissolved organic nitrogen in rain and snow which show that it is a ubiquitous and significant component of precipitation, even in remote marine areas. Our results require an approximate doubling of present estimates of the atmospheric input of fixed nitrogen to the oceans, and an increase in estimates of the total fixed-nitrogen input by a factor of about 1.5. These results indicate that the human impact on the global nitrogen cycle may be larger than has been thought.

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Author notes

  1. A. Randell: School of Biological and Molecular Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford 0X3 OBP, UK.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK

    S. Cornell, A. Randell & T. Jickells

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  1. S. Cornell
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  2. A. Randell
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  3. T. Jickells
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Cornell, S., Randell, A. & Jickells, T. Atmospheric inputs of dissolved organic nitrogen to the oceans. Nature 376, 243–246 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/376243a0

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