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Denitrification and nitrous oxide production in a coastal marine ecosystem 1
Author(s) -
Seitzinger Sybil P.,
Nixon Scott W.,
Pilson Michael E. Q.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1984.29.1.0073
Subject(s) - denitrification , bay , sink (geography) , nitrous oxide , environmental science , sediment , nitrogen , environmental chemistry , sewage , ecosystem , organic matter , oceanography , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental engineering , ecology , chemistry , geology , biology , geography , geomorphology , cartography , geotechnical engineering , organic chemistry
Denitrification was measured directly as the flux of N 2 from sediment cores collected at various times of year at three stations in the Narragansett Bay, R.I., area. Rates of N 2 production ranged from about 10 to 115 µ mol N·m ‒2 ·h ‒1 , with lowest values at 2°C in winter and highest at 15°C in summer. Denitrification represents a major sink for fixed N in the bay; annually the N 2 production is equal to about 50% of the fixed inorganic N loading to the bay from rivers, land, and sewage. About 35% of the organic nitrogen mineralized in the sediments is removed from the ecosystem by denitrification. The percentage of organic nitrogen being mineralized in the sediments as N 2 O relative to N 2 or NO 3 ‒ + NO 2 ‒ is higher in polluted sediments than in relatively unpolluted sediments, but in all cases is < 10%.