Collaborative Research: High-precision triple-isotopologue analysis of N2

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Nitrogen fixation by humans, for agricultural and industrial use, has increased tenfold since the beginning of the 20th century. This profound perturbation to the nitrogen cycle has revealed that the links between the global nitrogen cycle and the biosphere are more complex than previously thought. To improve the understanding of these links at the global scale, investigators will develop a new tracer for the nitrogen cycle that exploits natural co-variations in 14N14N, 14N15N, and 15N15N. These three isotopologues of N2 comprise a tracer that is fundamentally sensitive to processes that alter N-N bonds such as nitrogen fixation and N2 production. Through a combination of laboratory measurements, field measurements, and experiments involving microbes, investigators will characterize the basic biogeochemistry of these species that is relevant to atmospheric and oceanic settings. These measurements will test whether N2 triple-isotopologue analysis can be applied more broadly to constrain nitrogen cycling on local and global scales. The scientific findings will be disseminated during conference presentations and in peer-reviewed publications. This project will also integrate research and education through the training of a female graduate student from a traditionally underrepresented group, supporting her training in a biogeochemistry short course. In addition, a series of short animations about nitrogen will be produced in partnership with the popular PHD TV YouTube channel. They will highlight how nitrogen has played a larger role in society than is often unrecognized, weaving together human history, biogeochemistry, and climate science in an approachable comic-animation medium that has become the hallmark of PHD TV.