July 3, 2018
A rocky source of nitrogen
Calculations of the planet’s nitrogen balance have always been off: plants and soils seem to sequester far more nitrogen than expected. The …
The EARTH archive
Nitrogen
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9 articles · Page 1 of 1
April 9, 2018
From farm to filter: Restored wetlands remediate nitrogen pollution
Nitrogen giveth and nitrogen taketh away: It’s been estimated that roughly half of the world’s population today could not exist without nitrogen …
January 26, 2017
Burning grass releases more nitrogen pollution than burning wood
Smoke from fires — whether from wildfires or from residential and agricultural grass and crop burning — carries pollutants into the air that …
November 15, 2016
Nutrient deficiency delayed life after mass extinction
After Earth’s most severe mass extinction, life took up to 9 million years to recover — millions of years longer than after other extinction …
October 17, 2016
Convection formed Pluto's polygons
Among Pluto’s peculiar surface features, many of which were first seen just last year when NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft zipped by the dwarf …
February 16, 2016
Uranium contamination in aquifers could be linked to nitrate
Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for plant life, but plants can only take up so much so fast. When excess nitrogen enters the environment by way …
December 18, 2015
Sunlight liberates nitrogen from urban grime
Cities are dirty. That’s obvious from all the grime that collects on glass, metal and other urban surfaces. But new research shows that not …
October 23, 2015
Ancient lakes may have been refuges for early life
All life needs nitrogen to build essential molecules like proteins, RNA and DNA. And to acquire nitrogen, cells need molybdenum. But molybdenum …
February 2, 2015
Thank subduction for Earth's nitrogen-rich air
Plate tectonics underlies many of Earth’s distinctive features, from its ever-shifting continents to its colliding mountain ranges and …