Abstract
TOTAL fluxes of nutrients in ecosystems and the biosphere have been estimated1–3, especially for tropical and midlatitude regions, but no study has attempted to estimate the contribution of fixed nitrogen from the Antarctic ice sheet. Using data from analyses of South Pole ice, we estimate here that the mean annual accumulation of fixed nitrogen in the Antarctic ice sheet is 2.73×104 tonnes of nitrate (as N) and 1.88×104 tonnes of ammonium (as N). If annual snow accumulation approximates annual losses through calving of icebergs, blowing snow and melting of the bottom of ice shelves, then Antarctic Ocean surface waters will be enriched by 4.61×104 tonnes of NO3−N+NH4−N during the austral summer. This contribution of fixed N to circumpolar surface waters may significantly influence productivity.
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PARKER, B., HEISKELL, L., THOMPSON, W. et al. Non-biogenic fixed nitrogen in Antarctica and some ecological implications. Nature 271, 651–652 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/271651a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/271651a0
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