Modelling the biogeochemical effects of heterotrophic and autotrophic N₂ fixation in the Gulf of Aqaba (Israel), Red Sea

Abstract

Recent studies demonstrate that marine N2 fixation can be carried out without light by heterotrophic N2 fixers (diazotrophs). However, direct measurements of N2 fixation in aphotic environments are relatively scarce. Heterotrophic as well as unicellular and colonial photoautotrophic diazotrophs are present in the oligotrophic Gulf of Aqaba (northern Red Sea). This study evaluates the relative importance of these different diazotrophs by combining biogeochemical models with time series measurements at a 700 m deep monitoring station in the Gulf of Aqaba. At this location, an excess of nitrate, relative to phosphate, is present throughout most of the water column and especially in deep waters during stratified conditions. A relative excess of phosphate occurs only at the water surface during nutrient-starved conditions in summer. We show that a model without N2 fixation can replicate the observed surface chlorophyll but fails to accurately simulate inorganic nutrient concentrations throughout the water column. Models with N2 fixation improve simulated deep nitrate by enriching sinking organic matter in nitrogen, suggesting that N2 fixation is necessary to explain the observations. The observed vertical structure of nutrient ratios and oxygen is reproduced best with a model that includes heterotrophic as well as colonial and unicellular autotrophic diazotrophs. These results suggest that heterotrophic N2 fixation contributes to the observed excess nitrogen in deep water at this location. If heterotrophic diazotrophs are generally present in oligotrophic ocean regions, their consideration would increase current estimates of global N2 fixation and may require explicit representation in large-scale models.