scholarly journals A modified 15N tracer method and new calculation for estimating release of dissolved organic nitrogen by freshwater planktonic algae

1999 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 309-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
F Nagao ◽  
T Miyazaki
2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 765-786 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Konno ◽  
U. Tsunogai ◽  
D. D. Komatsu ◽  
S. Daita ◽  
F. Nakagawa ◽  
...  

Abstract. Using the 15N2 tracer method and high-sensitivity δ15N analytical systems, we determined N2 fixation rates by dividing fractions into particulate organic nitrogen (PON: >0.7 μm) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON: <0.7 μm). While N2 fixation in the DON fraction had been ignored in previous studies, we found significant N2 fixation signal in the DON fraction in our study. The areal N2 fixation rates estimated from the PON fractions varied from <1–160 μmol N m−2 d−1, and those estimated from the DON fractions ranged from <0.5–54 μmol N m−2 d−1. Thus, N2 fixation in the DON fractions accounted for 50% (ranging from <10% to 84%) of the total N2 fixation rates on an average. The new total N2 fixation flux, which includes fixation in DON fractions, has possibility to double the original estimates; therefore, the revised influx may reduce the imbalance in the global oceanic fixed nitrogen budget.


Chemosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 130876
Author(s):  
Synthia P. Mallick ◽  
Donald R. Ryan ◽  
Kaushik Venkiteshwaran ◽  
Patrick J. McNamara ◽  
Brooke K. Mayer

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 7609-7622 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Alkhatib ◽  
P. A. del Giorgio ◽  
Y. Gelinas ◽  
M. F. Lehmann

Abstract. The distribution of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and carbon (DOC) in sediment porewaters was determined at nine locations along the St. Lawrence estuary and in the gulf of St. Lawrence. In a previous manuscript (Alkhatib et al., 2012a), we have shown that this study area is characterized by gradients in the sedimentary particulate organic matter (POM) reactivity, bottom water oxygen concentrations, and benthic respiration rates. Based on the porewater profiles, we estimated the benthic diffusive fluxes of DON and DOC in the same area. Our results show that DON fluxed out of the sediments at significant rates (110 to 430 μmol m−2 d−1). DON fluxes were positively correlated with sedimentary POM reactivity and varied inversely with sediment oxygen exposure time (OET), suggesting direct links between POM quality, aerobic remineralization and the release of DON to the water column. DON fluxes were on the order of 30 to 64% of the total benthic inorganic fixed N loss due to denitrification, and often exceeded the diffusive nitrate fluxes into the sediments. Hence they represented a large fraction of the total benthic N exchange, a result that is particularly important in light of the fact that DON fluxes are usually not accounted for in estuarine and coastal zone nutrient budgets. In contrast to DON, DOC fluxes out of the sediments did not show any significant spatial variation along the Laurentian Channel (LC) between the estuary and the gulf (2100 ± 100 μmol m−2 d−1). The molar C / N ratio of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in porewater and the overlying bottom water varied significantly along the transect, with lowest C / N in the lower estuary (5–6) and highest C / N (> 10) in the gulf. Large differences between the C / N ratios of porewater DOM and POM are mainly attributed to a combination of selective POM hydrolysis and elemental fractionation during subsequent DOM mineralization, but selective adsorption of DOM to mineral phases could not be excluded as a potential C / N fractionating process. The extent of this C- versus N- element partitioning seems to be linked to POM reactivity and redox conditions in the sediment porewaters. Our results thus highlight the variable effects selective organic matter (OM) preservation can have on bulk sedimentary C / N ratios, decoupling the primary source C / N signatures from those in sedimentary paleoenvironmental archives. Our study further underscores that the role of estuarine sediments as efficient sinks of bioavailable nitrogen is strongly influenced by the release of DON during early diagenetic reactions, and that DON fluxes from continental margin sediments represent an important internal source of N to the ocean.


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