Abstract. 

"The ocean is a net source of the greenhouse gas and ozone-depleting substance, nitrous oxide (N2O), to the atmosphere. Most of that N2O is produced as a trace side product during ammonia oxidation, primarily by ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA), which numerically dominate the ammonia-oxidizing community in most marine environments. The pathways to N2O production and their kinetics, however, are not completely understood. Here, we use 15N and 18O isotopes to determine the kinetics of N2O production and trace the source of nitrogen (N) and oxygen (O) atoms in N2O produced by a model marine AOA species, Nitrosopumilus maritimus. [...]".

Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Authors: Xianhui S. Wan et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2220697120

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Abstract. 

"This study presents dissolved nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations in the water column at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) station and uses a subset of these measurements to estimate air-to-sea flux for four specific time points between September 2018 and June 2019. N2O concentrations at BATS were in the range of 4.0 nmol L−1–16.9 nmol L−1, with vertical profiles which were the mirror inverse of dissolved oxygen. Regardless of season, N2O concentration maxima were found within the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). The highest maximum N2O values were observed in November and lowest in October. [...]".

Source: Taylor & Francis Online
Authors: Annaliese C.S. Meyer et al. 
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07055900.2022.2153325

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Abstract.

"Nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas, is produced disproportionately in marine oxygen deficient zones (ODZs). To quantify spatiotemporal variation in N2O cycling in an ODZ, we analyzed N2O concentration and isotopologues along a transect through the eastern tropical North Pacific (ETNP). At several stations along this transect, N2O concentrations reached a near surface maximum that exceeded prior measurements in this region, of up to 226.1 ± 20.5 nM at the coast. Above the σθ = 25.0 kg/m3 isopycnal, Keeling plot analysis revealed two sources[...]"

Source: AGU- Advanced Earth and Space Science
Author: Colette L. Kelly et al.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GB006637

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Abstract.

"Oxygen-deficient zones (ODZs) are major sites of net natural nitrous oxide (N₂O) production and emissions. In order to understand changes in the magnitude of N₂O production in response to global change, knowledge on the individual contributions of the major microbial pathways (nitrification and denitrification) to N₂O production and their regulation is needed. In the ODZ in the coastal area off Peru, the sensitivity of N₂O production to oxygen and organic matter was investigated using ¹⁵N tracer experiments in combination with quantitative PCR (qPCR) and microarray analysis of total and active functional genes targeting archaeal amoA and nirS as marker genes for nitrification and denitrification, respectively. [...]"

Source: Biogeosciences
Authors: Claudia Frey et al.
DOI: 10.5194/bg-17-2263-2020

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Abstract.

"Ocean acidification, induced by the increase in anthropogenic CO₂ emissions, has a profound impact on marine organisms and biogeochemical processes¹. The response of marine microbial activities to ocean acidification might play a crucial role in the future evolution of air–sea fluxes of biogenic gases such as nitrous oxide (N₂O), a strong GHG and the dominant stratospheric ozone-depleting substance². Here, we examine the response of N₂O production from nitrification to acidification in a series of incubation experiments conducted in subtropical and subarctic western North Pacific. [...]"

Source: Nature Climate Change
Authors: Florian Breider et al.
DOI: 10.1038/s41558-019-0605-7

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Abstract. 

"In nature anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) and denitrification processes convert fixed nitrogen to gaseous nitrogen compounds, which are then released to the atmosphere. While anammox bacteria produce N2 from ammonium and nitrite, in the denitrification process nitrate and nitrite are converted to N2 and the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). [...]"

Source: FEMS Microbiology Ecology
Authors: Lina Russ et al. 
DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiz137

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Abstract.

"Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is a climate-relevant atmospheric trace gas. It is produced as an intermediate of the nitrogen cycle. The open and coastal oceans are major sources of atmospheric N₂O. However, its oceanic distribution is still largely unknown. Here we present the first measurements of the water column distribution of N₂O in the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea. [...]"

Source: Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography
Authors: Hermann W.Bange et al.
DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr2.2019.06.015

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Abstract.

"The coastal upwelling regime off Peru in December 2012 showed considerable vertical concentration gradients of dissolved nitrous oxide (N₂O) across the top few meters of the ocean. The gradients were predominantly downward, i.e., concentrations decreased toward the surface. Ignoring these gradients causes a systematic error in regionally integrated gas exchange estimates, when using observed concentrations at several meters below the surface as input for bulk flux parameterizations – as is routinely practiced. [...]"

Source: Biogeosciences
Authors: Tim Fischer et al.
DOI: 10.5194/bg-16-2307-2019

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Abstract.

"The open ocean is a major source of nitrous oxide (N₂O), an atmospheric trace gas attributable to global warming and ozone depletion. Intense sea-to-air N₂O fluxes occur in major oceanic upwelling regions such as the eastern tropical South Pacific (ETSP). The ETSP is influenced by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation that leads to inter-annual variations in physical, chemical, and biological properties in the water column. In October 2015, a strong El Niño event was developing in the ETSP; we conduct field observations to investigate (1) the N₂Oproduction pathways and associated biogeochemical properties and (2) the effects of El Niño on water column N₂O distributions and fluxes using data from previous non-El Niño years. [...]"

Source: Biogeosciences
Authors: Qixing Ji et al.
DOI: 10.5194/bg-16-2079-2019

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Abstract.

"The Benguela Upwelling System (BUS) is the most productive of all eastern boundary upwelling ecosystems and it hosts a well‐developed oxygen minimum zone. As such, the BUS is a potential hotspot for production of N₂O, a potent greenhouse gas derived from microbially driven decay of sinking organic matter. Yet, the extent at which near‐surface waters emit N₂O to the atmosphere in the BUS is highly uncertain. [...]"

Source: Geophysical Research Letters
Authors: D. L. Arévalo‐Martínez et al.
DOI: 10.1029/2018GL081648

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