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Precambrian geology

Abiotic path of Archean nitrogen

Mediation by iron minerals in the non-biological production of nitrous and nitric oxides may have driven the nitrogen cycle in the Archean ocean. This system may also have shaped the function and composition of the early marine ecosystem.

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Fig. 1: Modern and ancient nitrogen cycles in the ocean–atmospheric system.

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Correspondence to Manabu Nishizawa.

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Nishizawa, M. Abiotic path of Archean nitrogen. Nat. Geosci. 15, 962–963 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-01072-4

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