Origin and fluxes of nitrous oxide along a latitudinal transect in western North Pacific: Controls and regional significance

Abstract

AbstractNitrous oxide (N2O) is an atmospheric trace gas playing an important role in both radiative forcing and stratospheric ozone depletion. The oceans are the second most important natural source of N2O. The magnitude of the flux of this source is poorly constrained. Moreover, the relative importance of the microbial processes leading to the formation or the consumption of N2O in oceans remains unclear. We present here fluxes and isotope and isotopomer signatures of N2O measured at three stations located along a latitudinal transect in subtropical and subarctic western North Pacific. These results indicate that about 30% to 55% of the oceanic flux of N2O to the atmosphere originates from the deep euphotic and shallow aphotic zones. The sea‐to‐air fluxes of N2O calculated using an isotope mass balance model indicate that the emission rate of N2O in subarctic waters is about 2 times higher than in oligotrophic subtropical waters suggesting that nutrient‐rich water coming from the western subarctic gyre stimulates the N2O production. Moreover, isotopomer analysis has revealed that in shallow water N2O originates from nitrification and nitrifier denitrification processes, and its distribution in the water column is partly controlled by the incident solar radiation. The results of this study contribute to better constrain the global N2O budget and provide important information to better predict the future evolution of the oceanic emissions of N2O.