Nitrogen Fixation in a Changing Arctic Ocean: An Overlooked Source of Nitrogen?
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest ocean on Earth, yet estimated to play a substantial role as a global carbon sink. As climate change is rapidly changing fundamental components of the Arctic, it is of local and global importance to understand and predict consequences for its carbon dynamics. Primary...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.596426 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.596426/full |
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crfrontiers:10.3389/fmicb.2020.596426 2024-09-15T17:53:01+00:00 Nitrogen Fixation in a Changing Arctic Ocean: An Overlooked Source of Nitrogen? von Friesen, Lisa W. Riemann, Lasse 2020 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.596426 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.596426/full unknown Frontiers Media SA https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Frontiers in Microbiology volume 11 ISSN 1664-302X journal-article 2020 crfrontiers https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.596426 2024-08-13T04:05:34Z The Arctic Ocean is the smallest ocean on Earth, yet estimated to play a substantial role as a global carbon sink. As climate change is rapidly changing fundamental components of the Arctic, it is of local and global importance to understand and predict consequences for its carbon dynamics. Primary production in the Arctic Ocean is often nitrogen-limited, and this is predicted to increase in some regions. It is therefore of critical interest that biological nitrogen fixation, a process where some bacteria and archaea termed diazotrophs convert nitrogen gas to bioavailable ammonia, has now been detected in the Arctic Ocean. Several studies report diverse and active diazotrophs on various temporal and spatial scales across the Arctic Ocean. Their ecology and biogeochemical impact remain poorly known, and nitrogen fixation is so far absent from models of primary production in the Arctic Ocean. The composition of the diazotroph community appears distinct from other oceans – challenging paradigms of function and regulation of nitrogen fixation. There is evidence of both symbiotic cyanobacterial nitrogen fixation and heterotrophic diazotrophy, but large regions are not yet sampled, and the sparse quantitative data hamper conclusive insights. Hence, it remains to be determined to what extent nitrogen fixation represents a hitherto overlooked source of new nitrogen to consider when predicting future productivity of the Arctic Ocean. Here, we discuss current knowledge on diazotroph distribution, composition, and activity in pelagic and sea ice-associated environments of the Arctic Ocean. Based on this, we identify gaps and outline pertinent research questions in the context of a climate change-influenced Arctic Ocean – with the aim of guiding and encouraging future research on nitrogen fixation in this region. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Ocean Climate change Sea ice Frontiers (Publisher) Frontiers in Microbiology 11 |
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The Arctic Ocean is the smallest ocean on Earth, yet estimated to play a substantial role as a global carbon sink. As climate change is rapidly changing fundamental components of the Arctic, it is of local and global importance to understand and predict consequences for its carbon dynamics. Primary production in the Arctic Ocean is often nitrogen-limited, and this is predicted to increase in some regions. It is therefore of critical interest that biological nitrogen fixation, a process where some bacteria and archaea termed diazotrophs convert nitrogen gas to bioavailable ammonia, has now been detected in the Arctic Ocean. Several studies report diverse and active diazotrophs on various temporal and spatial scales across the Arctic Ocean. Their ecology and biogeochemical impact remain poorly known, and nitrogen fixation is so far absent from models of primary production in the Arctic Ocean. The composition of the diazotroph community appears distinct from other oceans – challenging paradigms of function and regulation of nitrogen fixation. There is evidence of both symbiotic cyanobacterial nitrogen fixation and heterotrophic diazotrophy, but large regions are not yet sampled, and the sparse quantitative data hamper conclusive insights. Hence, it remains to be determined to what extent nitrogen fixation represents a hitherto overlooked source of new nitrogen to consider when predicting future productivity of the Arctic Ocean. Here, we discuss current knowledge on diazotroph distribution, composition, and activity in pelagic and sea ice-associated environments of the Arctic Ocean. Based on this, we identify gaps and outline pertinent research questions in the context of a climate change-influenced Arctic Ocean – with the aim of guiding and encouraging future research on nitrogen fixation in this region. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
von Friesen, Lisa W. Riemann, Lasse |
spellingShingle |
von Friesen, Lisa W. Riemann, Lasse Nitrogen Fixation in a Changing Arctic Ocean: An Overlooked Source of Nitrogen? |
author_facet |
von Friesen, Lisa W. Riemann, Lasse |
author_sort |
von Friesen, Lisa W. |
title |
Nitrogen Fixation in a Changing Arctic Ocean: An Overlooked Source of Nitrogen? |
title_short |
Nitrogen Fixation in a Changing Arctic Ocean: An Overlooked Source of Nitrogen? |
title_full |
Nitrogen Fixation in a Changing Arctic Ocean: An Overlooked Source of Nitrogen? |
title_fullStr |
Nitrogen Fixation in a Changing Arctic Ocean: An Overlooked Source of Nitrogen? |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nitrogen Fixation in a Changing Arctic Ocean: An Overlooked Source of Nitrogen? |
title_sort |
nitrogen fixation in a changing arctic ocean: an overlooked source of nitrogen? |
publisher |
Frontiers Media SA |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.596426 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.596426/full |
genre |
Arctic Ocean Climate change Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ocean Climate change Sea ice |
op_source |
Frontiers in Microbiology volume 11 ISSN 1664-302X |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.596426 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Microbiology |
container_volume |
11 |
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1810295024092446720 |