Nitrogen fixation is surprisingly high in coastal waters and may play a larger role than expected in carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake in these waters, a new study led by Duke University scientists shows.
Nitrogen fixation is surprisingly high in coastal waters and may play a larger role than expected in carbon dioxide (CO2) uptake in these waters, a new study led by Duke University scientists shows.
Knowing where and when nitrogen fixation is occurring will help scientists better quantify coastal waters’ ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide and aid in future climate predictions.
“Past models suggested most nitrogen fixation occurred in the open ocean. We found the opposite: Rates are actually higher in coastal areas. They’ve just been mostly overlooked until now,” said Nicolas Cassar, professor of biogeochemistry at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment, who was senior author on the study.
Most of this overlooked activity is being driven by microbes known as cyanobacterial diazotrophs that live in coastal waters, the study shows.
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Image: Duke University Ph.D. student Weiyi Tang sets up a flow-through incubator to measure oceanic nitrogen fixation on a research cruise. (Credit: Karyn Perdue, Museum of Life and Science, Durham, N.C.)
