OCEA 1002 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Nitrogen Fixation, Terrestrial Ecosystem, Denitrification
Document Summary
Plants cannot use nitrogen gas because of the triple bonds, very hard to split apart and make organic molecules. Nitrogen fixation (inhibited by oxygen) nh4 tiny! to. Nitrification (dependent on oxygen) no3 reservoir bigger than that of ammonium. Organic matter reservoir similar in size to ammonium (side two way process off of no3) and. Cycle is closed by denitrification (when oxygen is absent) (process to close off the cycle and return back to the atmospheric reservoir) Much of the nitrogen makes it into rivers, watershed, and into the ocean. Mississippi river no3 concentration is 75 to 149 mmol n m^3. 10 is considered a very high concentration, most of the ocean is less than 1 at the surface. Nutrients in the fertilizer are being taken up by algae and creates algae blooms. First thing is they create oxygen, but it creates a deadzone. Algae takes up nutrients, and they are exposed to the sun.