Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Commentary
  • Published:

Redfield's evolving legacy

Nature Geoscience volume 7, pages 853–855 (2014)Cite this article

Subjects

The ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus in organic matter is close to that in seawater, a relationship maintained through a set of biological feedbacks. The rapid delivery of nutrients from human activities may test the efficacy of these processes.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: The relationship between nitrate and phosphate in the ocean.
Figure 2: Feedbacks governing the marine N cycle.

References

  1. Redfield, A. C. in James Johnston Memorial Volume (ed. Daniel, R. J.) 176–192 (Univ. Press of Liverpool, 1934).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Redfield, A. C. Am. Sci. 46, 205–221 (1958).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Deutsch, C., Sigman, D. M., Thunell, R. C., Meckler, A. N. & Haug, G. H. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 18, GB4012 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Eugster, O., Gruber, N., Deutsch, C., Jaccard, S. L. & Payne, M. R. Paleoceanography 28, 116–129 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Gruber, N. in Nitrogen in the Marine Environment 2nd edn (eds Capone, D. G., Bronk, D. A., Mulholland, M. R. & Carpenter, E. J.) 1–43 (Academic, 2008).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  6. Zehr, J. P. & Kudela, R. M. Annu. Rev. Mar. Sci. 3, 197–225 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Luo, Y.-W., Lima, I. D., Karl, D. M., Deutsch, C. A. & Doney, S. C. Biogeosciences 11, 691–708 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Deutsch, C., Sarmiento, J. L., Sigman, D. M., Gruber, N. & Dunne, J. P. Nature 445, 163–167 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Falkowski, P. G. Nature 387, 272–275 (1997).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Codispoti, L. A. in Productivity of the Ocean: Present and Past (eds Berger, W. H., Smetacek, V. S. & Wefer, G.) 377–394 (Wiley, 1989).

    Google Scholar 

  11. Galbraith, E. D. et al. Nature Geosci. 6, 579–584 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Keeling, R. F., Kortzinger, A. & Gruber, N. Annu. Rev. Mar. Sci. 2, 199–229 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Gruber, N. & Galloway, J. N. Nature 451, 293–296 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Martiny, A. C. et al. Nature Geosci. 6, 279–283 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Weber, T. S. & Deutsch, C. Nature 467, 550–554 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nicolas Gruber is in the Environmental Physics group, Institute of Biogeochemistry and Pollutant Dynamics, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland,

    Nicolas Gruber

  2. Curtis A. Deutsch is at the School of Oceanography, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195, USA,

    Curtis A. Deutsch

Authors
  1. Nicolas Gruber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Curtis A. Deutsch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nicolas Gruber.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gruber, N., Deutsch, C. Redfield's evolving legacy. Nature Geosci 7, 853–855 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2308

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2308

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Microbiology

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Microbiology newsletter — what matters in microbiology research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Microbiology