Denitrification in diffuse hydrothermal vent fluids of Axial Volcano and the Endeavour Segment on the Juan de Fuca Ridge

Denitrification is a major and well-investigated sink of bio-available nitrogen (N) in the ocean. However, little is known about the removal of N in diffuse hydrothermal vents. Hydrothermal vent fluids are known to harbor diverse bacterial populations, and the use of nitrate as an electron acceptor for the microbially mediated oxidation of hydrogen sulphide has previously been documented in these extreme environments, but no direct measurements of denitrification rates have been reported. We present the first denitrification rate estimates (i.e. the conversion of nitrate to nitrogen gas) derived from 15N-label incubations at 7 diffuse hydrothermal vent sites along the Juan de Fuca Ridge (North-East Pacific). Incubation samples (in-situ temperatures between 6.8 and 40.8οC) were collected during research cruises in June and August 2008. We also measured the isotopic composition of nitrate and ammonium from low-T sites collected during several cruises from 2006 to 2009. Mixing between ambient seawater and sub-seafloor hydrothermal reservoirs is the dominant process that modulates DIN concentration and isotope dynamics. However, clear signs of isotope fractionation of the N (and O of nitrate) isotopes at some sites suggests the presence of nitrate consuming processes, likely denitrification and/or the assimilation by vent microorganisms. 15N incubation-based denitrification rates ranged from 0 to 0.6 μM N/day, with no consistent relationship with the in-situ temperature of the vent fluids. With only one exception, detectable denitrification rates were determined at all sites, suggesting that denitrification is an important N-elimination process in diffuse vent fluids. Ongoing work that aims at studying the environmental factors that potentially control rates of denitrification (e.g. temperature, flow rate, fluid chemistry), as well as other possible N removal pathways (e.g. anammox and DNRA coupled to anammox), will also be discussed.