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Low nitrate:phosphate ratios in the global ocean

Nature volume 387, pages 793–796 (1997)Cite this article

A Retraction to this article was published on 28 May 1998

Abstract

The distribution and availability of the nutrients nitrate and phosphate exert a strong control over primary production in the world ocean. Here we use a recently compiled global data set of oceanographic observations1—a database that is at least 40 times larger than currently used data sets (for example, ref. 2)—to analyse the variation of the nitrate:phosphate concentration ratio with depth and geographical location. Although the nutrient distributions confirm the dominant influence of aerobic decomposition, in agreement with the observations of Redfield3, we also identify a hitherto unreported secondary trend at low nitrate: phosphate ratio (∼2–3). These conditions of low nitrate:phosphate ratio are associated with low oxygen concentrations and are probably caused by denitrification. Examination of the geographical distribution of these low nitrate:phosphate data suggests that denitrification in the western and northern North Pacific Ocean may have been previously overlooked, and that a reassessment of the global oceanic denitrification budget may therefore be required.

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Figure 1: Scatter plot of nitrate concentration versus phosphate concentration in the global ocean, with the data points taken from. ref. 1.
Figure 2
Figure 3: Geographical locations where (at any depth) measured phosphate concentration was >1. 5μmolkg−1and the ratio of measured nitrate to measured phosphate concentrations was <3.0.
Figure 4: Frequency plots of the LNP points against: year of measurement (a); oxygen concentration (b); depth (c); month. of the year (d); and height above sea floor (e).

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Acknowledgements

We thank D. Burton, C. Garside, D. Hydes and P. Wright for discussions; R. Mills, D. Hydes and M. Conkright for comments on the manuscript; and P. Challenor for sea-floor depth data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. *Department of Oceanography, Southampton Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, European Way, SO14 3ZH, Southampton, UK

    T. Tyrrell

  2. †Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Prospect Place, PL1 3DH, Plymouth, UK

    C. S. Law

  3. Correspondence should be addressed to T.T.,

    T. Tyrrell

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Correspondence to T. Tyrrell.

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Tyrrell, T., Law, C. Low nitrate:phosphate ratios in the global ocean. Nature 387, 793–796 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/42915

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