This award supports cooperative research on three aspects of the marine nitrogen cycle between scientists at Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory and Dr. K.K. Liu from the Institute of Earth Sciences, Taiwan. The biogeochemical cycle of nitrogen in the environment is one of the most important but least understood topics in the earth sciences. The marine nitrogen cycle is probably more complex than other biologically essential elements. This study will focus on the controlling factors of nitrogen isotopic composition of dissolved and pareticulate nitrogen species; the isotopic imprint of nitrogen fixers; and isotopic records in the sedimentary column. This research will involve contributions by an isotopic geochemist, a geochemist, and a biological oceanographer. The project is jointly sponsored by NSF and the National Science Council of Taiwan.
