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

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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.