The Possible Role of Nitrous Oxide Production from Nitrification and Denitrification in Continental Shelves Sediments

毕格罗海洋科学实验室的研究人员建议调查大陆架在海洋向大气释放一氧化二氮中的重要性。 若干证据表明，大陆架环境在全球氮循环中可能具有重要性。 由于一氧化二氮是一种重要的温室气体，与全球变暖和平流层臭氧的破坏有关，而且由于大陆架占全球海洋面积的很大一部分，因此现在至关重要的是要量化这些海洋边缘的生物地球化学源、汇和转化。 通过对缅因州湾大陆架的实地研究，本研究中的科学家将调查分层条件（夏季）下沃茨中的一氧化二氮积累是否与该气体的夏季海气通量有关。 还将评估大陆架沉积物在一氧化二氮生产中的重要性。

ABSTRACTOCE-9905951Researchers at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences propose to investigate the importance of continental shelves in the oceanic release of nitrous oxide to the atmosphere. Several lines of evidence point to the probable importance of the shelf environment in the global nitrogen cycle. Because nitrous oxide is an important greenhouse gas implicated in global warming and in the destruction of stratospheric ozone, and because continental shelves account for a significant portion of the global ocean area, it is now critically important to quantify the biogeochemical sources, sinks, and transformations in these ocean margins. Through field studies on the continental shelf of the Gulf of Maine, scientists in this study will investigate whether nitrous oxide accumulations in subsurface waters during stratified conditions (summer) are significant relative to summer sea-air fluxes of this gas. The importance of shelf sediments in nitrous oxide production will also be assessed.