Revisiting the distribution of oceanic N-2 fixation and estimating diazotrophic contribution to marine production

Abstract

Marine N-2 fixation supports a significant portion of oceanic primary production by making N-2 bioavailable to planktonic communities, in the process influencing atmosphere-ocean carbon fluxes and our global climate. However, the geographical distribution and controlling factors of marine N-2 fixation remain elusive largely due to sparse observations. Here we present unprecedented high-resolution underway N-2 fixation estimates across over 6000 kilometers of the western North Atlantic. Unexpectedly, we find increasing N-2 fixation rates from the oligotrophic Sargasso Sea to North America coastal waters, driven primarily by cyanobacterial diazotrophs. N-2 fixation is best correlated to phosphorus availability and chlorophylla concentration. Globally, intense N-2 fixation activity in the coastal oceans is validated by a meta-analysis of published observations and we estimate the annual coastal N-2 fixation flux to be 16.7 Tg N. This study broadens the biogeography of N-2 fixation, highlights the interplay of regulating factors, and reveals thriving diazotrophic communities in coastal waters with potential significance to the global nitrogen and carbon cycles.