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Nature 422, 575-576 (10 April 2003) | doi:10.1038/422575a

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Nitrogen cycle: Solution to a marine mystery

Allan H. Devol

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The anammox reaction, a microbial process that was first observed in waste-water treatment plants, looks as if it may be a key player in the nitrogen cycle in certain parts of the oceans.

In the oceans, denitrification is the process by which nitrate (primarily) is reduced to N2 — inert dinitrogen gas. It occurs when certain bacteria decompose organic matter in environments where oxygen concentrations are vanishingly low, and is how 'fixed' nitrogen is converted into a form that cannot be used by most marine plants.