Nitrous oxide research progress in polar and sub-polar oceans

Abstract

N2O gas depletes ozone and has a powerful greenhouse effect. Oceans are among the most important N2O sources and have been the subject of extensive studies. Polar oceans are important regions for deep water formation and global-scale thermohaline circulation. Therefore, these water bodies play an important role in the N2O budget, however, these regions were not well studied. This review of previously published studies and data on polar oceans, including both the Arctic Ocean and Southern Ocean, describes the distribution pattern of N2O and possible regulating mechanism of these distribution patterns and shows that the Arctic Ocean and Southern Ocean both represent source and sink regions, suggesting that the source/sink characteristics of the Arctic and Southern oceans and their strengths need further study. Questions related to N2O circulation in polar oceans were proposed, and future work is suggested. Citation: Zhan L Y , Zhang J X , Li Y H, et al. Nitrous oxide research progress in polar and sub-polar oceans. Adv Polar Sci, 2020, 31(4): 241-247, doi: 10.13679/j.advps.2020.0022