Rapid nitrous oxide cycling in the suboxic ocean

摘要: Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a powerful greenhouse gas and major cause of stratospheric ozone depletion, yet its sources sinks remain poorly quantified in the oceans. We used isotope tracers to directly measure N2O reduction rates eastern tropical North Pacific. Because incomplete denitrification, cycling are an order magnitude higher than predicted by current models suboxic regions, spatial distribution suggests strong dependence on both organic carbon dissolved oxygen concentrations. Furthermore, turnover 20 times net atmospheric efflux. The rapid rate this coupled expected expansion ocean waters implies future increases emissions.