minus_tendency_of_ocean_mole_content_of_elemental_nitrogen_due_to_denitrification_and_sedimentation mol m-2 s-1 [M2MS]P07 id: AX19RNVR The phrase "tendency_of_X" means derivative of X with respect to time. The phrase "minus_tendency" means that the quantity described takes the opposite sign convention to that for the quantity which has the same standard name apart from this phrase, i.e. the two quantities differ from one another by a factor of -1. Thus a "minus_tendency" in the atmosphere means a positive deposition rate onto the underlying surface. "Content" indicates a quantity per unit area. The "ocean content" of a quantity refers to the vertical integral from the surface to the bottom of the ocean. The specification of a physical process by the phrase "due_to_" process means that the quantity named is a single term in a sum of terms which together compose the general quantity named by omitting the phrase. "Denitrification" is the conversion of nitrate into gaseous compounds such as nitric oxide, nitrous oxide and molecular nitrogen which are then emitted to the atmosphere. "Sedimentation" is the sinking of particulate matter to the floor of a body of water.