Skip to main content
Log in

Effect of increased nitrogen fixation on stratospheric ozone

  • Published:
Climatic Change Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Nitrogen compounds are produced by biological reactions and by industrial processes from the abundant nitrogen gas (N2) in the atmosphere. The formation of compounds from atmospheric nitrogen is called fixation. In nature, nitrogen compounds undergo many conversions, but under aerobic conditions, characterized by the presence of oxygen, they tend to be converted to the nitrate (NO -3 ) form. Under anaerobic conditions, characterized by the absence of oxygen, the nitrate is denitrified, and the nitrogen contained therein is converted into nitrogen gas (N2) and nitrous oxide (N2O), which escape into the atmosphere. The nitrous oxide diffuses into the stratosphere, where it decomposes to yield nitrogen gas and small amounts of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which react with ozone (O3) to convert it to oxygen (O2). The ozone in the stratosphere is produced by the reaction of light with oxygen and is destroyed primarily by reactions with the nitrogen oxides.

As long as the production and destruction are equal, the ozone in the stratosphere is maintained at a constant concentration. Increased nitrogen fixation will lead to increased denitrification, increased amount of nitrous oxide moving into the stratosphere, and a reduction in ozone concentration.

Ozone in the stratosphere attenuates the ultraviolet light received from the sun. As the ozone concentration decreases, more ultraviolet light will reach the surface of the earth. The fear is that this additional radiation will have detrimental effects on living organisms and possibly on the climate.

Because the global use of fixed nitrogen in fertilizers has increased greatly in recent years and in 1974 amounted to almost 40 million metric tons, the eventual generation of nitrous oxide from the fertilizer nitrogen after application to the soil has been cited as a potential environmental hazard. In response to this concern, this document estimates nitrogen fixation, nitrous oxide production, and ozone reduction based on two methods of calculation and on various increases in nitrogen fixation. Uncertainties and information gaps in the nitrogen cycle are pointed out.

This document does not review either the projected biological effects of ozone depletion or the stratospheric chemistry of ozone. These topics are dealt with at length in other studies.

World fixation of nitrogen in 1974, expressed in millions of metric tons per year (MT/yr), was estimated to be as follows.

Most of the estimates given are based on inadequate data; consequently, actual amounts may be significantly different from those shown. The study of nitrogen fixed in the oceans has not progressed far enough to permit reliable estimates. However, estimates of the amount of nitrogen fixed for fertilizer and other industrial uses in 1974 are considered reliable. The trend of industrial fixation of nitrogen offers some indication of the trend in total amount of nitrogen fixed. It is estimated that 174 MT of nitrogen were fixed by all processes in 1950. Total fixation in 1850 could have been 150 MT of nitrogen.

Nitrous oxide-nitrogen production on land is estimated as 5 to 10 MT/yr; published estimates of production in the ocean, however, range from less than 1 to 100 MT/yr. The higher value was based on reported supersaturation of ocean waters with nitrous oxide.

Two methods of estimating the decrease in ozone concentration in the stratosphere were used. Method I is based on nitrogen fixation. It involves the assumptions that the relative increase in production of nitrous oxide is proportional to the relative increase in total nitrogen fixation and that sufficient time has elapsed for the rate of denitrification to come to equilibrium with fixation; i.e., the lag time between increased fixation and increased denitrification has passed. This method, using fixation estimated for 1950 as a base, suggests that the reduction in ozone would be 5.8 and 11.5% as a consequence of increased fixation of 50 and 100 MT of nitrogen per year, respectively.

Method II is based on nitrous oxide evolution. It involves the assumption that the global rate of production of nitrous oxide is 100 MT/yr (based on supersaturation of this gas in the ocean and on changes in measured concentrations of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere). Method II leads to estimates of ozone reduction much lower than those from Method I. For example, on the assumption that global production of nitrous oxide-nitrogen is 100 MT/yr and that 5% of the nitrogen denitrified is released as nitrous oxide, the estimated ozone reduction is 1% with an increase of 100 MT/yr in nitrogen fixation. This method is forced to assume an unknown source of nitrous oxide in the ocean and an unknown sink for nitrous oxide in the troposphere.

There are great uncertainties in many of the estimates that have been made for nitrogen fixation and for nitrous oxide production, and there are many information gaps that need to be filled before the question of the effects of increased nitrogen fixation on the ozone layer can be answered. Perhaps the biggest information needs are in the areas of nitrogen transformations and the quantities of nitrous oxide produced in the ocean. Other needs deal with the complexities of the nitrogen cycle on land. The lag time between fixation by various processes and denitrification must be known as a basis for estimating how soon predicted effects based on equilibrium conditions can be expected. Concentrations of nitrous oxide and their fluctuations in the troposphere (lower atmosphere) need to be monitored to provide an index to variations and increases in production. Improved models are needed to relate the ozone concentration in the stratosphere to nitrogen fixation and nitrous oxide production on earth.

In spite of the uncertainties in the predictions of the effects of increased fixation of nitrogen on stratospheric ozone, the potential hazard is sufficiently serious that, in addition to research on the various phases of the global nitrogen cycle that impinge upon the nitrous oxide-ozone question, research on the efficiency of use of all fixed forms of nitrogen should be worthwhile.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allison, F. E.: 1965, ‘Evaluation of Incoming and Outgoing Processes That Affect Soil Nitrogen’, inSoil Nitrogen, W. V. Bartholomew and F. E. Clark (eds.), Amer. Soc. of Agron., Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 573–606.

    Google Scholar 

  • Broadbent, F. E. and Clark, F. E.: 1965, ‘Denitrification’, inSoil Nitrogen, W. V. Bartholomew and F. E. Clark (eds.), Amer. Soc. of Agron., Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 344–359.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burnns, R. C. and Hardy, R. W. F.: 1975,Nitrogen Fixation in Bacteria and Higher Plants, Springer-Verlag, New York-Heidelberg-Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cady, F. B. and Bartholomew, W. V. 1960, ‘Sequential Products of Anaerobic Denitrification in Norfolk Soil Material’,Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc. 24, 477–482.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, E. J.: 1971, ‘Nitrogen Fixation by Oscillatoria (Trichodesmium thiebautii) in the Southwestern Sargasso Sea’,Deep Sea Res. 20, 285–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter, E. J. and McCarthy, J. J.: 1975, ‘Nitrogen Fixation and the Uptake of Combined Nitrogen Nutrients by Oscillatoria (Trichodesmium thiebautii) in the Western Sargasso Sea’,Limnol. Oceanogr. 20, 389–401.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cavender, J. H., Kircher, D. S., and Hoffmann, A. J.: 1973, ‘Nationwide Air Pollutant Emission Trends 1940–1970’, U.S. E.P.A. Pub. No. AP 115, January 1973.

  • Cooper, G. S. and Smith, R. L.: 1963, ‘Sequence of Products Formed During Denitrification in Some iverse Western Soils’,Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc. 27, 659–662.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crutzen, P. J.: 1974, ‘Estimates of Possible Variations in Total Ozone Due to Natural Causes and Human Activities’,Ambio 3, 201–210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crutzen, P. J.: 1975, ‘Upper Limits on Atmospheric Ozone Reduction Following Increased Application of Fixed Nitrogen to the Soil’,Geophys. Res. Letters, (submitted).

  • Delwiche, C. C.: 1970, ‘The Nitrogen Cycle’,Sci. Amer. 223, 137–146.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dugdale, R. C., Menzel, D. W., and Ryther, R. H.: 1964, ‘High Nitrogen Fixation Rates in the Saragasso Sea and Arabian Sea’,Limnol. Oceanogr. 9, 507–510.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emery, K. O., Orr, W. L., and Rittenberg, S. C.: 1955, ‘Nutrient Budgets in the Ocean’, inEssays in the Natural Sciences in Honor of Captain Hancock, Univ. of California Press, Los Angeles, pp. 299–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erus, N. (ed.): 1970,FAO Production Yearbook, Volume 23, FAO, Rome.

    Google Scholar 

  • Focht, D. D., Fetter, N. R., Sullivan, P., and Stolzy, L. H.: 1975, ‘Nitrous Oxide Concentration in Lysimeters and the Effect of Soil Suction’, Annual Report to the National Science Foundation for Grants GI34733X and G143664, pp. 121–135.

  • Gambell, A. W. and Fisher, D. W.: 1964, ‘Occurrence of Sulfate and Nitrate in Rainfall’,J. Geophys. Res. 69, 4203–4210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goering, J. J.: 1968, ‘Dentrification in the Oxygen Minimum Layer of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean’,Deep Sea Res. 15, 157–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goering, J. J., Dugdale, R. C., and Menzel, D. W.: 1966, ‘Estimates ofin situ Rates of Nitrogen Uptake byTrichodesmium spp. in the Tropical Atlantic Ocean’,Limnol. Oceanogr. 11, 614–620.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goering, J. J., Richards, F. A., Godispoti, L. A., and Dugdale, R. C.: 1973, ‘Fixation and Denitrification in the Ocean’, in E. Ingerson (ed.),Proc. Intern. Symp. Hydrogeochim. Biogeochem, Vol. II, Clarke Co., Washington, D.C., pp. 12–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goody, R. M.: 1969, ‘Time Variations in Atmospheric N2O in Eastern Massachusetts’,Planetary Space Sci. 17, 1319–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grobecker, A. J., Coronniti, S. C., and Cannon, R. H. Jr.: 1975, ‘The Effects of Stratospheric Pollution by Aircraft’, Department of Transportation Report of Findings of the Climatic Assessment Program (DOT-TST-75-50). Washington, D.C., March 1975, 851 pp.

  • Hahn, J.: 1974, ‘The North Atlantic Ocean as a Source of Atmospheric N2O’,Tellus 26, 160–168.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harre, E. A., Bridges, J. D., and Shields, J. T.: 1975, ‘Worldwide Fertilizer Production Facilities as Related to Supply and Demand for the Next Five Years’, Paper Presented at the Twenty-fifth Annual Meeting of the Fertilizer Industry Round Table, Washington, D.C., Nov. 4–6, 1975.

  • Hauck, R. D.: 1969, ‘Quantitative Estimates of N Cycle Processes: Review and Comments’, Paper Presented at a Meeting on Recent Developments in the Use of15N in Soil-Plant Studies, Sponsored by the Joint FAO/IAEA Div. of Atomic Energy in Food and Agriculture, Sofia, Bulgaris, 21 pp.

  • Holland, H. D.: 1973, ‘Ocean Water, Nutrients, and Atmospheric Oxygen’, in E. Ingerson (ed.),Proc. Intern. Symp. Hydrogeochim. Biogeochem., Vol. I, 68–71, Clarke Co., Washington, D.C.

    Google Scholar 

  • Junge, C.: 1958, ‘The Distribution of Ammonia and Nitrate in Rainwater over the United States’,Trans. Amer. Geophys. Union 39, 241–248.

    Google Scholar 

  • Junge, C.: 1974, ‘Residence Time and Variability of Tropospheric Trace Gases’,Tellus 26, 447–488.

    Google Scholar 

  • Junge, C. and Hahn, J.: 1971, ‘N2O Measurements in the North Atlantic’,J. Geophys. Res. 76, 8143–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knowles, R.: 1975, ‘The Significance of a Symbiotic Dinitrogen Fixation by Bacteria’, in R.W.F. Hardyet al. (eds.),Dinitrogen Fixation, Wiley Interscience, New York, (in press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Koike, E. and Hattori, A.: 1975, ‘Energy Yield of a DenitrifyingPseudomonas denitrificans Under Aerobic and Denitrifying Conditions’,J. General Microbiology 88, 1–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • McElroy, M. B.: 1975, ‘Chemical Processes in the Solar System: A Kinetic Perspective’, to be published in MTPInternational Review of Science.

  • Michoustine, E. N., Hakim, A., Bazlievitch, S. D., and Legg, J. O.: 1965, ‘Denitrification Processes and the Loss of Nitrogen from the Soil’,Ann. Inst. Pasteur Suppl. 3, 235–247.

    Google Scholar 

  • Motor Vehicle Manufacturers' Association: 1973, ‘Automotive Facts and Figures’, Statistical Dept., MVMA. 320 New Center Bldg., Detroit, Mich. 48202, U.S.A.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Academy of Sciences: 1975, ‘Environmental Impacts of Stratospheric Flight’, National Academy of Sciences - National Research Council, Washington, D.C., April 1975, 384 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nommik, H.: 1956, ‘Investigations on Denitrification in Soil’,Acta. Agr. Scand. 6, 195–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Packard, T. T.: 1969, ‘The Estimation of the Oxygen Utilization Rate in Seawater from the Activity of the Respiratory Electron Transport System in Plankton’, Ph.D. Thesis, University of Washington, Seattle, pp. 115.

    Google Scholar 

  • Payne, W. J.: 1973, ‘Reduction of Nitrogenous Oxides by Microorganisms’,Bacteriological Rev. 37, 409–452.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reiter, R.: 1970, ‘On the Causal Relation Between Nitrogen-Oxygen Compounds in the Troposphere nd Atmospheric Electricity’,Tellus 22, 122–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richards, F. A.: 1971, ‘Comments on the Effects of Denitrification on the Budget of Combined Nitrogen in the Ocean’, Extrait de la mer,Bull. Soc. Franco-Japanaise d'Oceanographie 9, 68–77.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riley, G. A.: 1951, ‘Oxygen, Phosphate and Nitrate in the Atlantic Ocean’,Bingham Oceanogr. Collect. Bull. 13, 1–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, E. and Robbins, R. C.: 1968, ‘Sources, Abundance, and Fate of Gaseous Atmospheric Pollutants’, Stanford Research Institute, Stanford, California.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, E. and Robbins, R. C.: 1970, ‘Gaseous Nitrogen Compound Pollutants from Urban and Natural Sources’,J. Air Pollution Control Assoc. 20, 303–306.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schuetz, K., Junge, C., Beck, R., and Allbrecht, B.: 1970, ‘Studies of Atmospheric N2O’,J. Geophys. Res. 75, 2230–2246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stefanson, R. C.: 1973, ‘Effect of Plant Growth and Form of Nitrogen Fertilizer on Denitrification from Four South Australian Soils’,Australian Soil Res. 10, 183–195.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stevenson, F. J.: 1965, ‘Origin and Distribution of Nitrogen in Soils’, in W. V. Bartholomew and F. E. Clark, (eds.),Soil Nitrogen, Amer. Soc. Agron., Madison, Wisconsin, pp. 1–42.

    Google Scholar 

  • Unman, Martin A.: 1971, ‘Understanding Lightning’, Bek. Technical Publications, Inc., Carnegie, PA., 147–148.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vienmeister, P. C.: 1960, ‘Lightning and the Origin of Nitrates Found in Precipitation’,J. Meteorol. 17, 681–683.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vissar, S. A.: 1964, ‘Origin of Nitrate in Tropical Rainwater’,Nature 201, 36–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weibe, W. J., Johannes, R. D., and Webb, K. L.: 1975, ‘Nitrogen Fixation in a Coral Reef Community’,Science 188, 257–259.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wetselaar, R. and Hutton, J. T.: 1963, ‘The Ionic Composition of Rainfall at Katherine, N. T. and Its Part in the Cycling of Plant Nutrients’,Australian J. Agr. Res. 14, 319–329.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wijler, J. and Delwiche, C. C.: 1954, ‘Investigations on the Denitrifying Process in Soil’,Plant and Soil 5 155–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woldendorp, J. W.: 1962, ‘The Quantitative Influence of the Rhizosphere on Denitrification’,Plant and Soil 17, 207–270.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoshinari, T.: 1973, ‘Nitrous Oxide in the Sea’, Ph.D. Dissertation, Dalhousie Univ., Halifax, Nova Scotia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoshinari, T.: 1975, ‘Nitrous Oxide in the Sea’,Marine Chem., (in press).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

Editor's Note: Although the data for sources, sinks, reservoirs, and rate processes in this article are undergoing rapid revision presently, it, nonetheless, is one of the clearest statements of the physics, chemistry, and biology of the fertilizer/ozone problem available to date.

This report was developed by eleven scientists (see Appendix 1 for names and affiliations) representing the subject matter areas of atmospheric chemistry, chemical engineering, environmental science and chemistry, microbiology, oceanography, plant genetics, soil biochemistry, soil physics, and soil chemistry. This task force of scientists chaired by Parker F. Pratt, met under the auspices of the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST), whose headquarters office is at the Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, U.S.A. The task force met in Denver, Colorado from October 23 to 25, 1975, to prepare a first draft of the report. The chairman then prepared a revised version and returned it to members of the task force for review and comment. A second revision was then prepared and returned for further comment. Finally, the report was edited and reproduced for transmittal through the U.S. Congressional Committees concerned with the matter of ozone depletion. It was originally issued as a CAST Report Number 53, January, 1976, but had not been formally published heretofore.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pratt, P.F. Effect of increased nitrogen fixation on stratospheric ozone. Climatic Change 1, 109–135 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01884407

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01884407

Keywords

Navigation