Nitrogen fixation in Trichodesmium blooms

Abstract

Blooms of Trichodesmium are common in tropical and subtropical seas of all oceans, particularly when winds are calm and water temperature exceeds 26°C. If as few as twenty moderate-size (20 000 km2) blooms occur globally and last for 15 days per year, a total of 5.4 Tg N would be fixed, a value which would more than double the current estimate of pelagic N2 fixation by Trichodesmium in the world's oceans. -Authors