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AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Index Terms

  • Biogeosciences: Anoxic and hypoxic environments
  • Biogeosciences: Biogeochemical cycles, processes, and modeling
  • Biogeosciences: Marine systems
  • Biogeosciences: Nitrogen cycling
  • Biogeosciences: Paleoclimatology and paleoceanography

Abstract

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 33, L13704, 5 PP., 2006
doi:10.1029/2006GL025864

Influence of marine denitrification on atmospheric N2O variability during the Holocene

Rajesh Agnihotri

School for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA

Mark A. Altabet

School for Marine Science and Technology, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, New Bedford, Massachusetts, USA

T. D. Herbert

Department of Geological Sciences, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Oceanic denitrification centers are thought to be important marine sources for atmospheric N2O. To consider Holocene variability in this source, we reconstruct the Holocene paleo-denitrification history of the Peru margin, a major marine denitrification center, using high-resolution sedimentary δ15N data. This record along with a contemporaneous one from the western Arabian Sea (Altabet et al., 2002) shows similarities with the recently available high-resolution atmospheric N2O record (Flückiger et al., 2002). While the role of terrestrial processes in the observed N2O changes remains uncertain, these results suggest that variability in marine denitrification in major upwelling centers such as the Peru margin and the Arabian Sea contributed significantly to atmospheric N2O evolution during the Holocene.

Received 26 January 2006; accepted 22 May 2006; published 6 July 2006.

Citation: Agnihotri, R., M. A. Altabet, and T. D. Herbert (2006), Influence of marine denitrification on atmospheric N2O variability during the Holocene, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L13704, doi:10.1029/2006GL025864.

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