Oxidized Nitrogen in the Remote Pacific: The Role of Electrical Discharges over the Oceans

Abstract

Simulations of oxidized nitrogen performed withglobal transport tracer models systematicallyunderestimate the concentrations of total nitrate atremote marine locations in the Mid-Pacific. Higheremission rates in the models of nitrogen oxides(\({\text{NO}}_x = {\text{NO + NO}}_{\text{2}} \)) from continental sources or alarger influx from the stratosphere do not seem tobe able to account for the shortfall. We are led toconclude that there has to be a substantial sourcelocated in oceanic areas. We speculate that\({\text{NO}}_x \)-emission from electrical discharges overthe oceans could be the source we are looking for.Airborne observations of atmospheric concentrationsof oxidized nitrogen and ozone in the remoteatmosphere and observations of nitrate wetdeposition in remote sites are used as additionalconstraints to check the plausibility of thishypothesis. We find that a larger emission of\({\text{NO}}_x \) due to lightning activity over the oceansindeed results in a much improved simulation oftotal nitrate in the remote Pacific, particularly inthe Equatorial and Tropical South Pacific and thatsuch a scenario is generally consistent withavailable observations of nitrate wet deposition andatmospheric concentrations of oxidized nitrogen andozone. An alternative hypothesis is that there is ahitherto unknown in situ source of \({\text{NO}}_x \) over thePacific Ocean.