This animation of the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle illustrates the main steps of the cycle in air, water, and soils. The video explains and connects the many forms of nitrogen, such as ammonia, ammonium, hydroxylamine, nitrite, nitrate, nitrous oxide, and nitrogen dioxide, and explains the role of nitrate in nitric oxide signaling in the human body.
Animated Nitrogen Fixation (AD)
Detailed Description
This animated nitrogen fixation video provides an overview of natural and industrial nitrogen fixation, along with benefits, costs, trends, and effects on ecosystems. Nitrogen fixation is the conversion of nitrogen (N~2) in the atmosphere to produce ammonia and ammonium (NH3~ and NH~4+) or nitrate (NO3~-). The narrative connects fixation to the broader nitrogen cycle, which supports life on Earth, and discusses the roles of nitrogen fixing microbes, lightning, and the industrial Haber-Bosch process in ammonia production. The video highlights the many products that are made with fixed nitrogen, along with the energy costs, trends, and environmental impacts of increasing rates of industrial Haber Bosch nitrogen fixation. The animation is built from information in Edwards et al., 2024, and cites additional sources. Watch a related animation on the entire nitrogen cycle.
Battye W, Aneja VP, Schlesinger WH. 2017. Is nitrogen the next carbon? Earth's Future. 5:894–904. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017EF000592
Edwards TM, Johnson JM. 2024. The Animated Nitrogen Cycle. Video outreach product. https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/animated-nitrogen-cycle;https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D64shbccE0s
Edwards TM, Puglis HJ, Kent DB, López Durán J, Bradshaw LM, Farag AM. 2024. Ammonia and aquatic ecosystems – A review of global sources, biogeochemical cycling, and effects on fish. Science of the Total Environment. 907:167911. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167911
Erisman JW, Sutton MA, Galloway J, Klimont Z, Winiwarter W. 2008. How a century of ammonia synthesis changed the world. Nature Geoscience. 110:636–639. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo325
Galloway JN, Bleeker A, Erisman JW. 2021. The human creation and use of reactive nitrogen: A global and regional perspective. Annual Review of Environment and Resources. 46:255–288. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-012420-045120
International Energy Agency. 2021. Ammonia technology roadmap. IEA. Paris. https://www.iea.org/reports/ammonia-technology-roadmap;https://www.iea.org/reports/ammonia-technology-roadmap/executive-summary
MacFarlane DR, Cherepanov PV, Choi J, Suryanto BHR, Hodgetts RY, Bakker JM, Vallana FMF, Simonov AN. 2020. A roadmap to the ammonia economy. Joule 4:1186–1205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2020.04.004
Van Vuuren DP, Bouwman LF, Smith SJ, Dentener F. 2011. Global projections for anthropogenic reactive nitrogen emissions to the atmosphere: An assessment of scenarios in the scientific literature. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 3:359–369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2011.08.014
Ward MH, Jones RR, Brender JD, de Kok TM, Weyer PJ, Nolan BT, Villanueva CM, van Breda SG. 2018. Drinking water nitrate and human health: An updated review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 15(7):1557. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph15071557
Details
00:08:34
Sources/Usage
Public Domain.
Except for those listed, all images were drawn by Joshua Johnson (Contractor for USGS) or modified from uncopyrighted images from Pixabay; all music and sound effects were also obtained from Pixabay, licensed under Creative Commons Zero (CC0) (pixabay.com)
Nitrogenase molecule: Jjsjjsjjs. 2012. “Structure of nitrogenase”. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 Deed. Nitrogenase - Nitrogenase - Wikipedia
Related
The Animated Nitrogen Cycle (AD)
This animation of the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle illustrates the main steps of the cycle in air, water, and soils. The video explains and connects the many forms of nitrogen, such as ammonia, ammonium, hydroxylamine, nitrite, nitrate, nitrous oxide, and nitrogen dioxide, and explains the role of nitrate in nitric oxide signaling in the human body.
Related
The Animated Nitrogen Cycle (AD)
This animation of the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle illustrates the main steps of the cycle in air, water, and soils. The video explains and connects the many forms of nitrogen, such as ammonia, ammonium, hydroxylamine, nitrite, nitrate, nitrous oxide, and nitrogen dioxide, and explains the role of nitrate in nitric oxide signaling in the human body.
This animation of the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle illustrates the main steps of the cycle in air, water, and soils. The video explains and connects the many forms of nitrogen, such as ammonia, ammonium, hydroxylamine, nitrite, nitrate, nitrous oxide, and nitrogen dioxide, and explains the role of nitrate in nitric oxide signaling in the human body.