The Oceanic Nitrogen Cycle: A Double-Edged Agent of Environmental Change?

  • Louis A. Codispoti

Abstract

This chapter is based on a lecture delivered at a International Year of the Ocean meeting held at Simon Fraser University during November 1998. This meeting had a strong element of environmental concern and action and thus was a departure from the “pure” science meetings that I normally attend. The meeting reminded me of my younger days in the Pacific Northwest when I was active in the local Sierra Club Chapter. Overall, I was most impressed with the meeting, and I hope that I can do justice to the confidence that the meeting organizers placed in me by convincing you that the oceanic nitrogen cycle cannot be neglected when we consider environmental change. As is generally the case, wise use of our knowledge vis-à-vis this cycle could be helpful whereas misuse or neglect could be harmful.

Keywords

Oxidation State Nitrous Oxide Nitrogen Fixation Southern Ocean Nitrogen Cycle 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Alley, R.B., D. Meese, C.A. Shuman, A.J. Gow, K. Taylor, M. Ram, E.D. Waddington and P.A. Mayewski (1993) Abrupt increase in Greenland snow accumulation at the end of the Younger Dryas event. Nature, 362:527–529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  2. Altabet, M.A., R. Francois, D.W. Murray and Warren L. Prell (1995) Climate related variations in denitrification in the Arabian Sea from sediment 15N/14N ratios. Nature, 373:506–509.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  3. Brandt, K. (1899) Uber den Stoffwechsel im Meere. Wissenschaftliche Meeresuntersuchungen.Google Scholar
  4. Broecker, W.S. and G.M. Henderson (1998) The sequence of events surrounding Termination II and their implications for the cause of glacial-interglacial CO2 changes. Paleoceanography, 13:352–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  5. Capone, D.G., J.P. Zehr, H.W. Paerl, B. Bergman and E.J. Carpenter (1997) Trichodesmium a globally significant marine cyanobacterium. Science, 276:1221–1229.Google Scholar
  6. Carpenter, E.J. and K. Romans (1991) Major role of the cyanobacterium Trichodesmium in nutrient cycling in the North Atlantic Ocean. Science, 254:1356–1358.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  7. Chisholm, S.W. and F.M.M. Morel, editors (1991) What Controls Phytoplankton Production in Nutrient-Rich Areas of the Open Sea. Limnol. Oceangr. 36:1507–1970.Google Scholar
  8. Christensen, J.P., J.W. Murray, A.H. Devol and L.A. Codispoti (1987) Denitrification in shelf sediments has a major impact on the oceanic nitrogen budget. Global. Biogeochemical. Cycles, 1:97–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Coale, K.H., K.S. Johnson, S.E. Fitzwater, R.M. Gordon, S. Tanner, F.P. Chavez, L. Ferioli, C. Sakamoto, P. Rogers, F. Millero, P. Steinberg, P. Nightingale, D. Cooper, W.P. Cochlan, M.R. Landry, J. Constantinou, G. Rollwagen, A. Trasvina and R. Kudela (1996) A massive phytoplankton bloom induced by an ecosystem-scale iron fertilization experiment in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Nature, 383:495–501.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Codispoti, L.A. (1989) Phosphorus vs. nitrogen limitation of new and export production. In: W.H. Berger, V.S. Smetacek and G. Wefer (editors), Productivity of the Oceans: Present and Past. John Wiley and Sons, pp. 377–394.Google Scholar
  11. Codispoti, L.A. and J.P Christensen (1985) Nitrification, denitrification and nitrous oxide cycling in the eastern tropical South Pacific Ocean. Mar. Chem. 16:277–300.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  12. Codispoti, L.A. and T.T. Packard (1980) Denitrification rates in the eastern tropical South Pacific Ocean. J. Mar. Res. 38:453–477.Google Scholar
  13. Codispoti, L.A., R.T. Barber and G.E. Friederich (1989) Do nitrogen transformations in the poleward undercurrent off Peru and Chile have a globally significant influence? In: S.J. Neshyba, Ch.N.K. Mooers, R.L. Smith and R.T. Barber (editors), Poleward Flows Along Eastern Ocean Boundaries. Springer-Verlag, pp. 282–310.Google Scholar
  14. Codispoti, L.A., J.W. Elkins, T. Yoshinari, G.E. Friederich, C.M. Sakamoto and T.T. Packard (1992) On the nitrous oxide flux from productive regions that contain low oxygen waters. In: B.N. Desai (editor), Oceanography of the Indian Ocean. Oxford and IBH Pub. Co., New Delhi, pp. 271–284.Google Scholar
  15. Codispoti, L.A., G.E. Friederich, J.W. Murray and CM. Sakamoto (1991) Chemical variability in the Black Sea: Implications of continuous vertical profiles that penetrated the oxic/anoxic interface. Deep-Sea Research, 38:S691–710.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  16. Codispoti, L.A., G.E. Friederich, T.T. Packard, H.T. Glover, P.J. Kelly, R.W. Spinrad, R.T. Barber, J.W. Elkins, B.B. Ward, F. Lipschultz and N. Lostanau (1986) High nitrite levels off northern Peru: A signal of instability in the marine denitrification rate. Science, 233:1200–1202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  17. Crutzen, P. (1981) Atmospheric chemical processes of the oxides of nitrogen, including nitrous oxide. In: C.C. Delwiche (editor), Denitrification, Nitrification and Atmospheric Nitrous Oxide. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York, pp. 17–44.Google Scholar
  18. Dugdale, R.C. and F.P. Wilkerson (1998) Silicate regulation of new production in the equatorial Pacific upwelling. Nature, 391:270–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Einsle, O., A. Messerschmidt, P. Stach, G.P. Bourenkov, H.D. Bartunik, R. Huber and P.M.H. Kroneck (1999) Structure of cytochrome c nitrite reductase. Nature, 400: 476–480.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Enserink, M. (1999) Biological invaders sweep in. Science, 285:1834–1836.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Falkowski, P.G. (1997) Evolution of the nitrogen cycle and its influence on the biological sequestration of CO2 in the Ocean. Nature, 387:272–275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  22. Fossing, H., V.A. Gallardo, B.B. Jorgensen, M. Huttel, L.R Nielson, H. Schulz, D.E. Canfield, S. Forster, R.N. Glud, J.K. Gunderson, J. Kuver, N.B. Ramsing, A. Teske, B. Thamdrup and O. Ulloa. (1995) Concentration and transport of nitrate by the mat-forming sulphur bacterium Thioploca. Nature, 374:713–715.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Friederich, G.E., L.A. Codispoti and CM. Sakamoto (1990) Bottle and pumpcast data from the 1988 Black Sea Expedition. MBARI Tech. Rpt. 90–3.Google Scholar
  24. Fuhrman, J. A. and D.G. Capone (1991) Possible biogeochemical consequences of ocean fertilization. Limnol Oceanogr. 36:1951–1959.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  25. Goreau, T.J., W.A. Kaplan, J.C. Wofsy, M.B. McElroy, F.W. Valois and S.W. Watson (1980) Production of NO2 and N2O by nitrifying bacteria at reduced concentrations of oxygen. Appl. Environ. Microbiol, 40:526–532.Google Scholar
  26. Gruber, N. and J.L. Sarmiento (1997) Global patterns of marine nitrogen fixation and denitrification. Global Biogeochem. Cycles ll(2):235–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  27. Hellemans, A. (1998) Global nitrogen overload problem grows critical. Science, 279:988–989.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  28. Hutchinson, G.E. (1957 and 1975) A Treatise on Limnology. John Wiley and Sons, New York, 1015 pp.Google Scholar
  29. Horton, T. and H. Dewar (2000) Sea grasses vanish, marine life in peril. Baltimore Sun, Tuesday, September 26, 2000.Google Scholar
  30. Kaiser, J. (1999) Stemming the tide of invading species. Science, 285:1836–1841.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Koshland, D.E. (1992) The molecule of the year. Science, 258: 1861.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  32. Lashof, D.A. and D.R. Ahuja (1990) Relative contribution of greenhouse gas emissions to global warming. Nature, 344:529–531.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  33. Lehinger, A.L., D.L. Nelson and M.M. Cox (1993) Principles of Biochemistry (second edition). Worth Publishers, New York, NY, 1013 pp.Google Scholar
  34. Lehman, J.T. (1988a) Good professor Edmondson. Limnol. Oceanogr. 33:1234–1240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  35. Lehman, J.T. (1988b) Hypolimnetic metabolism in Lake Washington: Relative effects of nutrient load and food web structure on lake productivity. Limnol. Oceanogr. 33:1334–1347.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  36. Leopold, A. (1949) A Sand County Almanac with Essays on Conservation from Round River, Oxford University Press, Inc. (Ballantine Books, N.Y., 1970 edition) 296 pp.Google Scholar
  37. Liu, K-K. (1979) Geochemistry and Inorganic Nitrogen Compounds in Two Marine Environments: The Santa Barbara Basin and the Ocean off Peru. Ph.D. Thesis, University of California, Los Angeles, 354 pp.Google Scholar
  38. Luther, G.W., B. Sundby, B.L. Lewis, P.J. Brendel and N. Silverberg (1997) Interactions of manganese with the nitrogen cycle: Alternate pathways to dinitrogen. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 61:4043–4052.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  39. Mague, T.H., F.C. Mague and O. Holm-Hansen (1977) Physiology and chemical composition of nitrogen-fixing phytoplankton in the central North Pacific Ocean. Marine Biology, 1:213–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Margalef, R. (1977) Ecologia. Ediciones Omega, S.A., Barcelona, 951 pp.Google Scholar
  41. Martin, J.M., R.M. Gordon and S.E. Fitzwater (1990) Iron in Antarctic waters. Nature, 435: 156–158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  42. McElroy, M.F. (1983) Marine biologic controls on atmospheric CO2 and climate change. Nature, 302:328–329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Murray, J.W., L.A. Codispoti and G.E. Friederich (1995) The suboxic zone in the Black Sea, In: CP. Huang, D.R. O’Melia and J.J. Morgan (editors), Aquatic Chemistry: Interfacial and Interspecies Processes, American Chemical Society, ACS Advances in Chemistry Series No. 244, pp. 157–176.Google Scholar
  44. Naqvi, S.W.A., T. Yoshinari, D.A. Jayakumar, M.A. Altabet, P.V. Narvekar, A.H. Devol, J.A. Brandes and L.A. Codispoti (1998) Budgetary and biogeochemical implications of N2O signatures in the Arabian Sea. Nature, 394:462–464.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  45. Naqvi, S.W.A., D.A. Jayakumar, P.V. Narvekar, H. Naik, V.V.S.S. Sarma, W. D’Souza, S. Joseph and M.D. George (2000) Increased marine production of N2O due to intensifying anoxia on the Indian continental shelf. Nature, 408:346–349.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  46. Olsen, G.J. (1999) What’s eating the free lunch? Nature, 400:403–405.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  47. Paerl, H.W., J.L. Pinckney and S.A. Kucera (1995) Clarification of the structural and functional roles of heterocysts and anoxic microzones in the control of pelagic nitrogen fixation. Limnol. Oceanogr. 40:634–638.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  48. Piper, D.Z. and L.A. Codispoti (1975) Marine phosphorite deposits and the nitrogen cycle. Science, 188:15–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  49. Prospero, J.M. (1996) The atmospheric transport of particles to the ocean. In: V. Ittekkot, P. Shäfer, S. Honjo and P.J. Depetris (editors) Particle Flux in the Ocean, John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, pp. 19–52.Google Scholar
  50. Richards, F. A. (1965) Anoxic basins and fjords. In: J.P. Riley and G. Skirrow (editors), Chemical Oceanography, Vol. 1, pp. 611–645.Google Scholar
  51. Sato, K., M. Aoki, and R. Noyori (1998) A “green” route to adipic acid: Direct oxidation of cyclohexenes with 30 percent hydrogen peroxide. Nature, 281:1646–1647.Google Scholar
  52. Shaffer, G. (1989) A model of biogeochemical cycling of phosphorus, nitrogen, oxygen and sulphur in the ocean: One step toward a global climate model. J. Geophys. Res., 94:1979–2004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  53. Seitzinger, S.P. and C. Kroeze (1998) Global distribution of nitrous oxide and N inputs in freshwater and coastal marine ecosystems. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 12:93–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  54. Smil, V. (1997) Global population and the nitrogen cycle. Scientific American, July 1997, pp. 76–81.Google Scholar
  55. Strous, M., J.A. Fuerst, E.H.M. Kramer, S. Logemann, G. Muyzer, K.T. van de Pas-Schoonen, R. Webb, J. Gijs Kuenen and M.S.M. Jetten (1999) Missing lithotroph indentified as new planctomycete. Nature, 400:446–449.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  56. Thiemens, M.H. and W.C Trogler (1991) Nylon production: An unknown source of atmospheric nitrous oxide. Science, 251:932–934.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  57. Vitousek, P.M., J.D. Aber, R.W. Howarth, G.E. Likens, P.A. Matson, D.W. Schindler, W.H. Schlesinger, and D.G. Tilman (1997a) Human alteration of the global nitrogen cycle: sources and consequences. Ecological Applications, 7:737–750.Google Scholar
  58. Vitousek, P.M., H.A. Mooney, J. Lubchenco, J.M. Melillo (1997b) Human domination of Earth’s ecosystems. Science, 277:494–499.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  59. Weiss, R. (1999) Ocean yields a big find for the bacterial world. The Washington Post, Friday, April 16, 1999.Google Scholar
  60. Yamazaki, T., N. Yoshida, E. Wada and S. Matsuo (1987) N2O reduction by Azotobacter vinelandii with emphasis on kinetic nitrogen isotope effects. Plant Cell Physiol. 28:263–271.Google Scholar
  61. Yoshinari, T., M.A. Altabet, S.W.A. Naqvi, L. Codispoti, A. Jayakumar, M. Kuhland and A. Devol (1997). Nitrogen and oxygen isotopic composition of N2O from suboxic waters of the eastern tropical North Pacific and the Arabian Sea — measurement by continuous-flow isotope-ratio monitoring. Marine Chemistry, 56:253–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2001

Authors and Affiliations

  • Louis A. Codispoti
    • 1
  1. 1.Horn Point Laboratory, Center for Environmental ScienceUniversity of MarylandCambridgeUSA

Personalised recommendations