Coastal N2 Fixation Rates Coincide Spatially With Nitrogen Loss in the Humboldt Upwelling System off Peru

Marine nitrogen (N2) fixation supports significant primary productivity in the global ocean. However, in one of the most productive regions of the world ocean, the northern Humboldt Upwelling System (HUS), the magnitude and spatial distribution of this process remain poorly characterized. This study presents a spatially resolved data set of N2 fixation rates across six coastal transects of the northern HUS off Peru (8°S–16°S) during austral summer. N2 fixation rates were detected throughout the waters column including within the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) between 12°S and 16°S. N2 fixation rates were highest where the subsurface OMZ (O2