Biogeochemical signatures of nitrogen fixation in the eastern North Atlantic

Abstract

Stable nitrogen isotopic determination of particulate organic matter over the eastern North Atlantic in spring 2000 reveal a region of low natural abundance of 15N relative to 14N between 26°N and 32°N along 20°W. This light isotopic signal, together with phytopigment data and persistently elevated nitrate to phosphate ratios in the upper thermocline, suggest that nitrogen fixation provides a local dominant supply of nitrogen to phytoplankton over part of the eastern North Atlantic. These independent biogeochemical proxies are coincident with a region of enhanced atmospheric dust deposition, as suggested by an atmospheric transport model. Hence, the atmospheric dust events may spatially and temporally constrain the distribution of N2 fixers.