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Nitrogen fixation rates and isotopic measurements of aqueous nitrite and nitrate from spark discharge experiments (NERC Grant NE/V010824/1)

Publisher
British Geological Survey (BGS)
Updated
13 August 2026
Topic
Not set
Licence
Not set

Summary

Concentrations of gaseous and aqueous fixed nitrogen products and isotopic measurements of aqueous nitrite and nitrate in spark discharge experiments. Spark experiments were conducted at the University of St Andrews in the St Andrews Isotope Geochemistry Lab (StAIG) between November 2020 and February 2022. Analysis of gaseous products was carried out with a quadrupole mass spectrometer (Hiden Analytical ExQ Quantitative Gas Analyser) in St Andrews. Measurement of concentrations of aqueous nitrite and nitrate and their isotopic composition were carried out for one part of the samples in St Andrews and for the other part at Brown University, Rhode Island, USA. The data was collected to investigate the efficiency of nitrogen fixation by lightning in different gas compositions, resembling the atmospheres of modern and early Earth. The isotope data was used to determine the role of lightning in the delivery of nutrients to the earliest ecosystems on Earth by comparing our results to measurements of sedimentary rock samples from the Archean. The experimental set up was built by Patrick Barth and Eva E. Stüeken, the experiments were conducted by Patrick Barth, Lukas Rossmanith, and Yuqian Peng, the analysis conducted by Patrick Barth, Lukas Rossmanith, Yuqian Peng, and Wendell Walters with support from Mark Claire, and the data was analysed by Patrick Barth, Eva E. Stüeken, Christiane Helling, and Wendell Walters. This dataset includes all data that is reliable and was used in the accompanying publication.

Data links

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Citation Information - Digital Object Identifier (DOI) 13/8/2026
Data 13/8/2026

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Additional information

Source Metadata
XML, HTML
Date added
12 August 2026
Harvest GUID
f89357a2-90cb-74a6-e053-0937940ae6e3
Dataset reference date (creation)
2023-04-04
Frequency of update
notApplicable
Access constraints
The copyright of materials derived from the British Geological Survey's work is vested in the Natural Environment Research Council [NERC]. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the prior permission of the copyright holder, via the BGS Intellectual Property Rights Manager. Use by customers of information provided by the BGS, is at the customer's own risk. In view of the disparate sources of information at BGS's disposal, including such material donated to BGS, that BGS accepts in good faith as being accurate, the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the quality or accuracy of the information supplied, or to the information's suitability for any use. NERC/BGS accepts no liability whatever in respect of loss, damage, injury or other occurence however caused.
Responsible party
University of St Andrews (originator); Brown University (originator); British Geological Survey (distributor, pointOfContact)
ISO 19139 resource type
nonGeographicDataset
Metadata language
eng

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