In situ determination of nitrogen fixation in Antarctica using a high sensitivity portable gas chromatograph

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Abstract
A portable gas chromatograph was employed in the Vestfold Hills, Antarctica, during the austral summer of 1979‐80 for determining nitrogenase activity of the blue‐green alga Nostoc commune Vaucher by the acetylene reduction assay. Acetylene reduction was measured in samples taken along a transect where the vegetation changed with respect to differing topography and water availability. Submerged colonies of Nostoc recorded the highest fixation rates (6.89 nmol C2H4. cm‐2 h‐1). Damp mosscyanophyte associations growing on shallow slopes showed moderate rates of acetylene reduction (1.99 nmol C2H4. cm‐2 h‐1) whilst the drier vegetation of the steeper terrain was the least active (0.19 nmol C2H4. cm‐2 h‐1. The employment of a high sensitivity portable gas chromatograph provided an accurate and reliable method of measuring acetylene reduction.