Enhanced Nitrogen Loss by Eddy-Induced Vertical Transport in the Offshore Peruvian Oxygen Minimum Zone.

ABSTRACT: The eastern tropical South Pacific (ETSP) upwelling region is one of the ocean's largest sinks of fixed nitrogen, which is lost as N2 via the anaerobic processes of anammox and denitrification. One-third of nitrogen loss occurs in productive shelf waters stimulated by organic matter export as a result of eastern boundary upwelling. Offshore, nitrogen loss rates are lower, but due to its sheer size this area accounts for ~70% of ETSP nitrogen loss. How nitrogen loss and primary production are regulated in the offshore ETSP region where coastal upwelling is less influential remains unclear. Mesoscale eddies, ubiquitous in the ETSP region, have been suggested to enhance vertical nutrient transport and thereby regulate primary productivity and hence organic matter export. Here, we investigated

SUBMITTER: Callbeck CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5266280 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature