%0 Journal Article
%T The marine sedimentary nitrogen isotope record
%A J. E. Tesdal
%A E. D. Galbraith
%A M. Kienast
%J Biogeosciences Discussions
%D 2012
%I Copernicus Publications
%R 10.5194/bgd-9-4067-2012
%X A global database of nitrogen isotope data from marine sediments is presented, including both seafloor and sub-seafloor sediment samples. The data synthesis reveals regionally and globally consistent patterns and trends, with good agreement between neighbouring seafloor sites. The spatial coverage of seafloor ¦Ä15N data is heterogenous, with excellent coverage in the eastern tropical Pacific, South China Sea and Arabian Sea, while large regions of the globe remain unsampled. The sub-seafloor ¦Ä15N records are mostly from the late Pleistocene, with >90 coeval records during the last ~10 kiloyears (kyr), before which the number of records at any time decreases, with <10 coeval records at any time prior to 300 kyr. There is a good correlation between seafloor and shallow-subseafloor ¦Ä15N measurements within a 100 km radius, which suggest a reliable translation of sediments into the buried sediment record. We suggest that regional discrepancies between seafloor and late Holocene subseafloor ¦Ä15N indicate nitrogen cycle changes during the late Holocene period, rather than systematic diagenetic changes.
%U http://www.biogeosciences-discuss.net/9/4067/2012/bgd-9-4067-2012.pdf