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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Sam Wilson
This is the final published version of a review that has been published in its final definitive form by Wiley Blackwell, 2020.
For re-use rights please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
© 2020 The Authors. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography.Dinitrogen (N2) fixation is an important source of biologically reactive nitrogen (N) to the global ocean. The magnitude of this flux, however, remains uncertain, in part because N2 fixation rates have been estimated following divergent protocols and because associated levels of uncertainty are seldom reported—confounding comparison and extrapolation of rate measurements. A growing number of reports of relatively low but potentially significant rates of N2 fixation in regions such as oxygen minimum zones, the mesopelagic water column of the tropical and subtropical oceans, and polar waters further highlights the need for standardized methodological protocols for measurements of N2 fixation rates and for calculations of detection limits and propagated error terms. To this end, we examine current protocols of the 15N2 tracer method used for estimating diazotrophic rates, present results of experiments testing the validity of specific practices, and describe established metrics for reporting detection limits. We put forth a set of recommendations for best practices to estimate N2 fixation rates using 15N2 tracer, with the goal of fostering transparency in reporting sources of uncertainty in estimates, and to render N2 fixation rate estimates intercomparable among studies.
Author(s): White AE, Granger J, Selden C, Gradoville MR, Potts L, Bourbonnais A, Fulweiler RW, Knapp AN, Mohr W, Moisander PH, Tobias CR, Caffin M, Wilson ST, Benavides M, Bonnet S, Mulholland MR, Chang BX
Publication type: Review
Publication status: Published
Journal: Limnology and Oceanography: Methods
Year: 2020
Volume: 18
Issue: 4
Pages: 129-147
Print publication date: 01/04/2020
Online publication date: 12/03/2020
Acceptance date: 03/02/2020
ISSN (electronic): 1541-5856
Publisher: Wiley Blackwell
URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10353
DOI: 10.1002/lom3.10353
