N2O in the Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea

• Main Author: Walter, Sylvia
• Other Authors: Lochte, Karin, Wallace, Douglas
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2005
• Subjects: ddc:540; thesis; nitrous oxide; N2O; Atlantic; Baltic; nitrification; Lachgas; EIFEX; bacterial communities; distribution; ocean; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:gbv:8-diss-16099; https://macau.uni-kiel.de/receive/diss_mods_00001609; https://macau.uni-kiel.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/dissertation_derivate_00001609/d1609.pdf

Aim of this study was the investigation of the vertical dis-tribution of N2O and the factors influencing this distribu-tion. Dissolved and atmospheric N2O was measured in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea. These data, in com-bination with physical and chemical parameters, were used to determine sources and sinks of N2O. Possible production pathways were investigated using the relationship between N2O and relevant production parameters, and their relation to physical processes in the oceans. The hypothesis whether N2O concentrations increased by oceanic iron fertilization via enhanced substrate supply for microbial respiration, was tested during the European Iron Fertilization Experi-ment (EIFEX) in the subpolar South Atlantic. The vertical structure of bacterial communities in the subtropical North Atlantic was investigated, with the intention to find corre-lations between the community structure of bacteria and the distribution of N2O. In summary, this study presents a de-tailed picture of the distribution of N2O in the North At-lantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea and adds 80 profiles of the Atlantic and 26 profiles of the Baltic Sea to the database.