Abstract
Stable nitrogen isotope ratios in sinking particles and bulk sediments have been used to document changes in relative nitrate utilization in surface waters of the subtropical southeast Atlantic. Incubation experiments demonstrated clear isotopic increases in decomposing particulate matter due to the removal of 15N in the form of NH4 +. In spite of the diagenetic offset, δ15N values in sinking particles at the Walvis Ridge and in surface sediments in the Angola and Cape Basins reflect changes in upwelled nitrate concentrations in surface water and the relative depletion of this nutrient. Two sediment cores from the Angola Basin provide a δ15N record of nitrate utilization for the past 300 kyr that indicates that nutrient availability and productivity in this region are primarily controlled by changes in trade wind-driven upwelling intensity and the northward advection of cold, nutrient-rich water. Additionally, nitrate was less depleted and productivity was higher in glacial periods than during interglacials.
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Holmes, M.E., Eichner, C., Struck, U., Wefer, G. (1999). Reconstruction of Surface Ocean Nitrate Utilization Using Stable Nitrogen Isotopes in Sinking Particles and Sediments. In: Fischer, G., Wefer, G. (eds) Use of Proxies in Paleoceanography. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-58646-0_18
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