denitrification

From Glossary of Meteorology
The printable version is no longer supported and may have rendering errors. Please update your browser bookmarks and please use the default browser print function instead.
#The conversion of nitrite or nitrate to gaseous end products NO, N2O, and N2 by denitrifying bacteria.

Molecular nitrogen, N2, is the most abundant end product. The oxidized forms of N (nitrate, nitrite, nitric acid, nitric oxide, and nitrous oxide) serve as alternative electron acceptors in the absence of sufficient oxygen; thus, denitrification is primarily an anaerobic process.

  1. The removal of active nitrogen from the atmosphere through uptake into particles.
    The term is particularly used in context with the irreversible uptake of nitric acid into ice clouds (polar stratospheric clouds) in the antarctic stratospheric vortex. This reduction in the level of active nitrogen allows ozone depletion by chlorine oxides to occur unchecked.


Copyright 2024 American Meteorological Society (AMS). For permission to reuse any portion of this work, please contact [email protected]. Any use of material in this work that is determined to be “fair use” under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act (17 U.S. Code § 107) or that satisfies the conditions specified in Section 108 of the U.S.Copyright Act (17 USC § 108) does not require AMS’s permission. Republication, systematic reproduction, posting in electronic form, such as on a website or in a searchable database, or other uses of this material, except as exempted by the above statement, require written permission or a license from AMS. Additional details are provided in the AMS Copyright Policy statement.