Following the N₂O consumption at the Oxygen Minimum Zone in the eastern South Pacific

Oxygen deficient zones (OMZs), such as those found in the eastern South Pacific (ESP), are the most important N2O sources in the world ocean relative to their volume. N2O production is related to low O2 concentrations and high primary productivity. However, when O2 is sufficiently low, canonical denitrification takes place and N2O consumption can be expected. N2O distribution in the ESP was analyzed over a wide latitudinal range (from 5° to 30° S and 71°–76° to ~84° W) based on ~890 N2O measurements. The intense consumption of N2O appears to be related to secondary NO2− accumulation, the best indicator of very low O2 levels. Using relationships that depend on threshold levels of O2 (<8 μM) and nitrite (>0.75 μM), we reproduced the apparent N2O production (ΔN2O) with high reliability (r2=0.73 p=0.01). Our results contribute to quantify the ratio of N2O production/consumption that is being cycling in O2 deficient water of N2O and may improve the prediction of N2O behavior under future scenarios of the OMZ expansion.