OUR RESEARCH

Nitrogen (N) Cycling

The N cycle is greatly out-of-balance and more perturbed than any other basic element biogeochemical cycle. The main reason is the Haber-Bosch process, which introduces about 100 Tg (!) of reactive N (i.e., ammonium) as fertilizer into the environment every year. The environmental consequences are manifold and include elevated nitrate concentrations in groundwater, eutrophication and toxic algal blooms, expanding dead zones in the Gulf of Mexico, and increasing nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions. N₂O is laughing gas, but the increasing N₂O concentrations in the atmosphere are no laughing matter because N₂O is a strong greenhouse gas with ozone destruction potential.