Researchers examined the saturation of gaseous nitrogen (N2) in 34 lakes in the upper Midwestern United States and found that 85.8% of the 247 water column samples from the lakes were supersaturated with N2, suggesting that the lakes are continuously releasing nitrogen into the atmosphere; the findings suggest that the loss of N2 in the lakes is not adequately offset by nitrogen fixation and that terrestrial nitrogen inputs are needed to balance nitrogen requirements, according to the authors.
Article #19-21689: "Upper Midwest lakes are supersaturated with N2," by Brianna M. Loeks-Johnson and James B. Cotner.
MEDIA CONTACT: Brianna M. Loeks-Johnson, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN; e-mail: loek0003@d.umn.edu
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences