Increasing anthropogenic nitrogen in the North Pacific Ocean

The recent increase in anthropogenic emissions of reactive nitrogen from northeastern Asia and the subsequent enhanced deposition over the extensive regions of the North Pacific Ocean (NPO) have led to a detectable increase in the nitrate (N) concentration of the upper ocean. The rate of increase of excess N relative to phosphate (P) was found to be highest (∼0.24 micromoles per kilogram per year) in the vicinity of the Asian source continent,...