This proposal is part of a systematic study of the Arctic environment and its role in global change promoted by NSF's Arctic System Science Program. It is a two year project to investigate the role of arctic sediments in denitrification processes. The proposal addresses a fundamental problem in marine chemistry/geochemistry - the long-term balance of the fixed nitrogen content of the oceans. As there is good evidence that the fixed nitrogen content of the oceans is not presently balanced and knowing that availability of 'N' can control marine productivity, this is an issue that is fundamental to the study of global ocean fluxes and the linkages between ocean chemical cycles and climate.
