denitrification

[dee-nahy-truh-fi-key-shuhn]

noun

Chemistry, Biology.

1. the bacterial or other microbial process in which nitrates and nitrites are reduced or removed from soil, water, or air by their conversion into nitrogenous gases: This process is environmentally significant, as in the treatment of wastewater, which depends on denitrification to eliminate toxic levels of nitrogen, making the water safe for plants and animals.

   We’re observing the nitrogen activity in salt marsh soil, with a particular interest in the last step of the nitrogen cycle—that is, denitrification.

Word History and Origins

Origin of denitrification¹

First recorded in 1880–85; de- + nitrification

Example Sentences

During the microbial processes of nitrification and denitrification, nitrogen and oxygen -- the components of nitrous oxide -- take on subtle isotopic changes that Yu's instruments can read like a fingerprint.

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Nitrogen isotopes preserved within fossil foraminifera enabled the scientists to track past changes in column denitrification in the water.

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The model results reveal intricate feedback mechanisms involving changes in the nitrogen and phosphorus content of phytoplankton, oceanic oxygen levels, N2 fixation by nitrogen-fixing phytoplankton, and denitrification.

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It's difficult to say how large an impact trawling has on denitrification and water quality.

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This gas is the end-product of a process, called denitrification, in which microbes in the top few centimeters of sediment decompose nitrogen-rich organic matter.

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