Nitrogen/argon and nitrogen isotope ratios in aerobic sea water

Various factors which influence the concentrations of gases dissolved in sea water are discussed. A surface equilibrium model is proposed, and results presented to test the model and to ascertain whether or not nitrogen dissolved in sea water is biologically and chemically inert. The method utilized argon as a reference gas, with a mass spectrometer as the primary analytical tool. The conclusion is reached that within ± 1 per cent the model is applicable and nitrogen is ‘conservative.’ The possible implications of apparent small differences between the predictions of the model and the experimental results are discussed. There is some evidence that the nitrogen 29/28 relative abundance in the dissolved gas may be greater than that in the atmosphere by approximately one part in 10,000.