RESUMEN
Marine dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) is one of the planet's largest reservoirs of fixed N, which persists even in the N-limited oligotrophic surface ocean. The vast majority of the ocean's total DON reservoir is refractory (RDON), primarily composed of low molecular weight (LMW) compounds in the subsurface and deep sea. However, the composition of this major N pool, as well as the reasons for its accumulation and persistence, are not understood. Past characterization of the analytically more tractable, but quantitatively minor, high molecular weight (HMW) DON fraction revealed a functionally simple amide-dominated composition. While extensive work in the past two decades has revealed enormous complexity and structural diversity in LMW dissolved organic carbon, no efforts have specifically targeted LMW nitrogenous molecules. Here, we report the first coupled isotopic and solid-state NMR structural analysis of LMW DON isolated throughout the water column in two ocean basins. Together these results provide a first view into the composition, potential sources, and cycling of this dominant portion of marine DON. Our data indicate that RDON is dominated by 15N-depleted heterocyclic-N structures, entirely distinct from previously characterized HMW material. This fundamentally new view of marine DON composition suggests an important structural control for RDON accumulation and persistence in the ocean. The mechanisms of production, cycling, and removal of these heterocyclic-N-containing compounds now represents a central challenge in our understanding of the ocean's DON reservoir.
RESUMEN
Investigation of commercially produced hydrolysis salts of aluminum by solid-state (27)Al NMR spectroscopy and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) reveals well-defined and distinct Al environments that can be related to physicochemical properties. (27)Al MAS and MQ-MAS NMR spectroscopic data show that the local structure of the solids is dominated by moieties that closely resemble the Al30 polyoxocation (Al30O8(OH)56(H2O)26(18+)), accounting for 72-85% of the total Al. These Al30-like clusters elute as several size fractions by SEC. Comparison of the SEC and NMR results indicates that the Al30-like clusters includes intact isolated clusters, moieties of larger polymers or aggregates, and possibly fragments resembling δ-Al13 Keggin clusters. The coagulation efficacy of the solids appears to correlate best with the abundance of intact Al30-like clusters and of smaller species available to promote condensation reactions.