Group items tagged

Nitrogen is one of the primary nutrients critical for the survival of all living organisms. Although nitrogen is very abundant in the atmosphere, it is largely inaccessible in this form to most organisms. This article explores how nitrogen becomes available to organisms and what changes in nitrogen levels as a result of human activity means to local and global ecosystems.

Explore the cycling of carbon among carbon reservoirs! Then discover the importance of nitrogen, essential for amino acids and nucleotides, and learn about the nitrogen cycle! Vocabulary discussed includes ammonification and denitrification.

This interactive activity adapted from the University of Alberta illustrates how, through a process called fixation, nitrogen flows from the atmosphere, into the soil, through various organisms, and back to the atmosphere in a continuous cycle.

6/5/15 Article on effects of algal bloom (from excess nitrogen due to septic and cesspools) in the Peconic Estuary, NY.