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Science 12 September 1986:
Vol. 233. no. 4769, pp. 1200 - 1202
DOI: 10.1126/science.233.4769.1200
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Articles

High Nitrite Levels off Northern Peru: A Signal of Instability in the Marine Denitrification Rate

L. A. CODISPOTI 1, G. E. FRIEDERICH 1, T. T. PACKARD 1, H. E. GLOVER 1, P. J. KELLY 1, R. W. SPINRAD 1, R. T. BARBER 2, J. W. ELKINS 3, B. B. WARD 4, F. LIPSCHULTZ 5, and N. LOSTAUNAU 6

1 Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, West Boothbay Harbor, ME 04575.
2 Duke University Marine Laboratory, Beaufort, NC 28516.
3 National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, MD 20899.
4 Institute of Marine Resources, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA 92093.
5 Center for Earth and Planetary Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138.
6 Instituto del Mar del Peru, Lima, Peru.

During February and March 1985, nitrite levels along the northern (approximately 7° to 10°S) Peruvian coast were unusually high. These accumulations occurred in oxygen-deficient waters, suggesting intensified denitrification. In a shallow offshore nitrite maximum, concentrations were as high as 23 micromoles per liter (a record high). Causes for the unusual conditions may include a cold anomaly that followed the 1982-83 El Niño. The removal of combined nitrogen (approximately 3 to 10 trillion grams of nitrogen per year) within zones of new or enhanced denitrification observed between 7° to 16°S suggests a significant increase in oceanic denitrification.

Submitted on January 9, 1986
Accepted on May 22, 1986


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