The production and fate of nitrogen species in deep-sea hydrothermal environments

Nitrogen (N) species in hydrothermal vent fluids serve as both a nutrient and energy source for the chemosynthetic ecosystems surrounding deep-sea vents. While numerous pathways have been identified in which N-species can be produced and consumed in the context of submarine hydrothermal vent systems, their exact nature has been largely limited to interpretation of variations in concentrations. This thesis applies stable isotope approaches to further constrain the sources and fate of N-species in deep-sea vents across a variety of geological settings. First, I discuss isotope fractionation and reaction kinetics during abiotic reduction of nitrate (NO₃⁻) to ammonium ([sigma]NH₄⁺ = NH₃+NH₄⁺) under hydrothermal conditions. Results of lab experiments conducted at high temperatures and pressures revealed a wide degree of N isotope fractionation as affected by temperature, fluid/rock ratio, and pH-all which exert control over reaction rates.

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctoral

Department dc:contributor.department

Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Author dc:creator

• Charoenpong, Chawalit(Chawalit Net)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Scott D. Wankel.

• Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering.
• Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/122322

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/122322