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Leveraging nitrogen isotopes to constrain nitrogen budgets and internal cycling using a global ocean biogeochemistry model under present and future climates

Objective

Nitrogen (N) is essential for all life on Earth, including phytoplankton living in the surface ocean. As such, the availability of N limits primary productivity across much of the global ocean, exerting a control on the biological carbon pump and climate. Yet, uncertainties in estimates of global N sinks and sources affect our understanding of ocean fertility. Since the N cycle is uniquely mediated by biological processes, an incomplete understanding of ecosystem dynamics limit our ability to quantify nutrient budgets and cycling. Studying N isotopes can fill this knowledge gap, as they provide novel information about ocean circulation, N cycling, and ecosystem change. By combining N isotopes and biogeochemical ocean modeling, this project aims to improve our quantitative understanding of the physical and biological processes controlling the N budget and N recycling in the present and future ocean. I will incorporate N isotopes into MARBL, the ocean biogeochemistry component of the Community Earth System Model. To place additional constraints on the N cycle, I will also add two novel tracers to the model, heterotrophic bacteria and the oxygen isotope ratios of nitrate. Using this framework, I will address the N budget including inter-basin balancing of N loss, and N recycling including the bacterial production of ammonium fueling phytoplankton. I will investigate these themes in the context of both the present day and future ocean to explore the sensitivity of the N cycle to warming and deoxygenation. The recent and rapid expansion of N isotope measurements and measurement facilities over the past five years provide an opportune window in which to develop and validate the state-of-the-art N isotope model. This work will provide coherent interpretations of existing modern and paleoceanographic data and will advance our understanding of the role that the ocean N cycle plays in driving fertility, carbon sequestration, and climate.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF

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Coordinator

UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM
Net EU contribution
€ 232 916,16
Total cost
No data