Description: In March/April 2018 during a cruise on R/V Sally Ride, SR1805, 15N-NH4+ incubations in 60mL glass serum bottles were performed to measure ammonium oxidation rates to nitrite and nitrous oxide in different depth at 3 different stations in the oxygen deficient zone (ODZ) of the Eastern Tropical North Pacific off the coast of Mexico. Water samples were collected from 30L Niskin bottles deployed with a conductivity-temperature-depth profiler (CTD, Seabird Electronics). The goal was to get a better understanding on the controls of nitrous oxide (N2O) production. The N2O production rate experiments were performed according to Bourbonnais et al. 2021 (https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.611937). Furthermore, ammonium (NH4+), nitrite (NO2-) and nitrate (NO3-) as well as N2O concentrations were determined using standard fluorometric (Holmes et al. 1999, https://doi.org/10.1139/f99-128), photometric (Strickland and Parsons 1972, hdl:10013/epic.46454.d001), chemiluminescent (Braman and Hendrix 1989, doi:10.1021/ac00199a007) and mass spectrometric techniques (McIlvin and Casciotti 2010, https://doi.org/10.4319/lom.2010.8.54), respectively. The N2O yield per nitrite produced was calculated. The archaeal ammonia monooxygenase gene subunit A (amoA) copy numbers/mL were determined using qPCR as described previously (Peng et al. 2015, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GB005278).

Description: The database for nitrate concentrations and nitrate δ15N includes new data and most of the measurements that have been published to date. This database also includes most of the nitrate δ15N measurements in the database of Rafter et al. (2019; Biogeosciences 16, 2617-2633; https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-2617-2019). It consists of 944 stations with 15300 measurements of nitrate δ15N. All data are uploaded, except the GOSHIP P2 and P6 sections for which we report average profiles vs. depth. Full data sets for these sections will be included upon publication in a follow-up version.

Description: The GEOTRACES Intermediate Data Product 2017 (IDP2017) is the second publicly available data product of the international GEOTRACES programme, and contains data measured and quality controlled before the end of 2016. The IDP2017 includes data from the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, Southern and Indian oceans, with about twice the data volume of the previous IDP2014. For the first time, the IDP2017 contains data for a large suite of biogeochemical parameters as well as aerosol and rain data characterising atmospheric trace element and isotope (TEI) sources. The TEI data in the IDP2017 are quality controlled by careful assessment of intercalibration results and multi-laboratory data comparisons at crossover stations. The IDP2017 consists of two parts: (1) a compilation of digital data for more than 450 TEIs as well as standard hydrographic parameters, and (2) the eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas providing an on-line atlas that includes more than 590 section plots and 130 animated 3D scenes. The digital data are provided in several formats, including ASCII, Excel spreadsheet, netCDF, and Ocean Data View collection. Users can download the full data packages or make their own custom selections with a new on-line data extraction service. In addition to the actual data values, the IDP2017 also contains data quality flags and 1-σ data error values where available. Quality flags and error values are useful for data filtering and for statistical analysis. Metadata about data originators, analytical methods and original publications related to the data are linked in an easily accessible way. The eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas is the visual representation of the IDP2017 as section plots and rotating 3D scenes. The basin-wide 3D scenes combine data from many cruises and provide quick overviews of large-scale tracer distributions. These 3D scenes provide geographical and bathymetric context that is crucial for the interpretation and assessment of tracer plumes near ocean margins or along ridges. The IDP2017 is the result of a truly international effort involving 326 researchers from 22 countries. This publication provides the critical reference for unpublished data, as well as for studies that make use of a large cross-section of data from the IDP2017.

Description: The 2013 US GEOTRACES Eastern Pacific Zonal Transect (GP16) extended from the Peruvian coast to Tahiti, along a line that fell between 10 and 15°S. This transect sampled the Peruvian oxygen deficient zone (ODZ) and the hydrothermal plume extending from the East Pacific Rise (EPR) for a variety of trace elements and isotopes (TEIs). Here we report nutrient and hydrographic measurements collected on this cruise, as well as results from an Optimum Multiparameter Analysis (OMPA) to quantify the fractional contributions of endmember water masses in each sample. The primary goals of this study were to better understand the distribution of water masses in the eastern tropical Pacific, and to help interpret TEI measurements collected on this cruise, as well as related studies carried out in the region. In the thermocline, Equatorial Subsurface Water (ESSW) dominated the low oxygen waters of the eastern tropical South Pacific, blending into Eastern South Pacific Intermediate Water (ESPIW) and South Pacific Central Water (SPCW) further west. Below the thermocline, distributions of Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) and Equatorial Pacific Intermediate Water (EqPIW) were relatively homogenous along the section between 800 and 1200 m depth. Deeper in the water column, distinct water mass signatures were found on opposite sides of the EPR: southward flowing Pacific Deep Water (PDW) dominated the basin east of the EPR, while the northward flowing Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) and Lower Circumpolar Deep Water (LCDW) had the strongest contributions on the western side of the EPR. These findings support previous studies that indicate the Peruvian ODZ is largely contained within ESSW and that the EPR plays an important role in steering water mass distributions in the deep waters of the tropical Pacific. Overall, these results agree well with previous water mass analyses in this region and are consistent with the general circulation patterns in the eastern tropical Pacific.

Description: Nitrite (NO2−) is a key intermediate in the marine nitrogen (N) cycle. It is produced and consumed throughout the ocean by the dominant processes driving the distribution, availability and speciation of N. However, the accumulation of nitrite is typically confined to depths near the base of the sunlit euphotic zone and in oxygen-deficient zones. These features are known as the primary and secondary nitrite maximum (PNM and SNM), respectively. The processes controlling nitrite accumulation in these features are not fully understood, but are thought to depend on the microbial community composition and its response to environmental conditions. A variety of approaches have been applied to understanding these features since their discovery, with the stable N and oxygen (O) isotope measurements of nitrite being added to this toolkit most recently. Large variations in nitrite N isotope ratios (15N/14N) and dramatic depletions in 15N contrast with more consistent nitrite O isotope ratios (18O/16O) in the SNM. These signals provide unique information about the mechanisms of nitrite consumption in the SNM. By contrast, nitrite in the PNM shows less variation in 15N/14N, but variations in 18O/16O that provide insight into the mechanisms and rates of N cycling there. This review presents a synthesis of nitrite isotope measurements in the marine environment, highlighting the insights that have been gained from these measurements. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Biological and climatic impacts of ocean trace element chemistry’.

Description: Quantifying the pathways of fixed nitrogen (N) loss in marine oxygen deficient zones (ODZs) and the isotopic fractionation caused by these processes are important for understanding the marine fixed N budget and its potential for change. In this study, a variety of approaches were used to quantify fixed N loss in the eastern tropical South Pacific Ocean (ETSP). The required measurements included nutrient concentration (nitrate—NO3-, nitrite—NO2-, and phosphate—PO43-), gas ratio (N2/Ar) measurements, and stable N and O isotopes in NO3-, NO2-, and nitrogen gas (N2). The dissolved inorganic nitrogen deficit calculated from [PO43-] ([DIN]def,P) exceeded the concentration of N2 gas biologically produced in the ODZ (local [N2]bio) throughout the ODZ at most stations, likely due to release of PO43- from sediments driving up [DIN]def,P. Calculating DIN deficit using water mass analysis and local oxygen (O2) consumption ([DIN]def,OMP) yielded better agreement with local [N2]bio than [DIN]def,P, except at the maximum [N2]bio, where [DIN]def,OMP misses contributions of anaerobic ammonia oxidation (anammox) to N2 production. We used the mismatch between [DIN]def,OMP and [N2]bio to estimate a 29% contribution of anammox to [N2]bio. Stable isotopic measurements of NO2-, NO3-, and N2 were used alongside [N2]bio and new estimates of [DIN]def to calculate N and O isotope effects for NO3- reduction (15εNAR and 18εNAR, respectively), and N isotope effects for DIN removal (15εDIN-R). While the various methods for estimating [DIN]def had little effect on the isotope effects for DIN removal, differences between 15εNAR and 15εDIN-R, and variations with depth in the ODZ were observed. Using a simple time-dependent ODZ model, we interpreted these patterns to reflect the influences of NO2- oxidation and NO2- accumulation on expression of isotopic fractionation in the ODZ.

Description: The GEOTRACES Intermediate Data Product 2017 (IDP2017) is the second publicly available data product of the international GEOTRACES programme, and contains data measured and quality controlled before the end of 2016. The IDP2017 includes data from the Atlantic, Pacific, Arctic, Southern and Indian oceans, with about twice the data volume of the previous IDP2014. For the first time, the IDP2017 contains data for a large suite of biogeochemical parameters as well as aerosol and rain data characterising atmospheric trace element and isotope (TEI) sources. The TEI data in the IDP2017 are quality controlled by careful assessment of intercalibration results and multi-laboratory data comparisons at crossover stations. The IDP2017 consists of two parts: (1) a compilation of digital data for more than 450 TEIs as well as standard hydrographic parameters, and (2) the eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas providing an on-line atlas that includes more than 590 section plots and 130 animated 3D scenes. The digital data are provided in several formats, including ASCII, Excel spreadsheet, netCDF, and Ocean Data View collection. Users can download the full data packages or make their own custom selections with a new on-line data extraction service. In addition to the actual data values, the IDP2017 also contains data quality flags and 1-σ data error values where available. Quality flags and error values are useful for data filtering and for statistical analysis. Metadata about data originators, analytical methods and original publications related to the data are linked in an easily accessible way. The eGEOTRACES Electronic Atlas is the visual representation of the IDP2017 as section plots and rotating 3D scenes. The basin-wide 3D scenes combine data from many cruises and provide quick overviews of large-scale tracer distributions. These 3D scenes provide geographical and bathymetric context that is crucial for the interpretation and assessment of tracer plumes near ocean margins or along ridges. The IDP2017 is the result of a truly international effort involving 326 researchers from 25 countries. This publication provides the critical reference for unpublished data, as well as for studies that make use of a large cross-section of data from the IDP2017. This article is part of a special issue entitled: Conway GEOTRACES - edited by Tim M. Conway, Tristan Horner, Yves Plancherel, and Aridane G. González.

Description: Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Global Biogeochemical Cycles 29 (2015): 2061–2081, doi:10.1002/2015GB005187.

Description: Nitrite is a central intermediate in the marine nitrogen cycle and represents a critical juncture where nitrogen can be reduced to the less bioavailable N2 gas or oxidized to nitrate and retained in a more bioavailable form. We present an analysis of rates of microbial nitrogen transformations in the oxygen deficient zone (ODZ) within the eastern tropical North Pacific Ocean (ETNP). We determined rates using a novel one-dimensional model using the distribution of nitrite and nitrate concentrations, along with their natural abundance nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) isotope profiles. We predict rate profiles for nitrate reduction, nitrite reduction, and nitrite oxidation throughout the ODZ, as well as the contributions of anammox to nitrite reduction and nitrite oxidation. Nitrate reduction occurs at a maximum rate of 25 nM d−1 at the top of the ODZ, at the same depth as the maximum rate of nitrite reduction, 15 nM d−1. Nitrite oxidation occurs at maximum rates of 10 nM d−1 above the secondary nitrite maximum, but also in the secondary nitrite maximum, within the ODZ. Anammox contributes to nitrite oxidation within the ODZ but cannot account for all of it. Nitrite oxidation within the ODZ that is not through anammox is also supported by microbial gene abundance profiles. Our results suggest the presence of nitrite oxidation within the ETNP ODZ, with implications for the distribution and physiology of marine nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, and for total nitrogen loss in the largest marine ODZ.

Description: National Science Foundation. Grant Numbers OCE 05-26277, OCE 09-610998; WHOI Coastal Ocean Institute

Description: 2016-06-15

Description: Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2009. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73 (2009): 2061-2076, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2008.12.022.

Description: Natural abundance stable isotopes in nitrate (NO3-), nitrite (NO2-), and nitrous oxide (N2O) have been used to better understand the cycling of nitrogen in marine and terrestrial environments. However, in order to extract the greatest information from the distributions of these isotopic species, the kinetic isotope effects for each of the relevant microbial reactions are needed. To date, kinetic isotope effects for nitrite oxidation and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) have not been reported. In this study, the nitrogen isotope effect was measured for microbial nitrite oxidation to nitrate. Nitrite oxidation is the second step in the nitrification process, and it plays a key role in the regeneration of nitrate in the ocean. Surprisingly, nitrite oxidation occurred with an inverse kinetic isotope effect, such that the residual nitrite became progressively depleted in 15N as the reaction proceeded. Three potential explanations for this apparent inverse kinetic isotope effect were explored: 1) isotope exchange equilibrium between nitrite and nitrous acid prior to reaction, 2) reaction reversibility at the enzyme level, and 3) true inverse kinetic fractionation. Comparison of experimental data to ab initio calculations and theoretical predictions leads to the conclusion that the fractionation is most likely inverse at the enzyme level. Inverse kinetic isotope effects are rare, but the experimental observations reported here agree with kinetic isotope theory for this simple N-O bond-forming reaction. Nitrite oxidation is therefore fundamentally different from all other microbial processes in which N isotope fractionation has been studied. The unique kinetic isotope effect for nitrite oxidation should help to better identify its role in the cycling of nitrite in ocean suboxic zones, and other environments in which nitrite accumulates.

Description: Funding from NSF award OCE 05-26277 to KLC is also gratefully acknowledged.