The Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences

2027 Xiamen Symposium on Marine Environmental Sciences

January 12-15, 2027

Long term atmospheric monitoring of nitrous oxide to reveal marine fluxes
ID:966 Invited Oral Presentation

2027-01-14 15:35 (China Standard Time)

Session:Session 68 - Nitrous oxide biogeochemistry in a changing ocean: from microbial turnover to climate impact

Abstract

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a long-lived potent greenhouse gas and a dominant ozone-depleting substance in the stratosphere. The net marine efflux has been uncertain across decades of global syntheses, with estimates varying widely. The temporal variability and magnitude of emissions from low-oxygen hotspots, such as the Eastern Tropical South Pacific (ETSP), remain poorly constrained due to sparse historical sampling and a lack of independent observational constraints. By assimilating new continuous atmospheric N2O observations in the Galapagos with Bayesian inverse modeling, we produce the first monthly, spatially resolved, observation-based efflux estimates for the ETSP. We provide an independent benchmark that narrows the widely divergent global efflux products and identifies those that best reproduce the observed atmospheric signal. The resulting estimates resolve the N2O efflux dynamics during and after the strong 2023–2024 El Niño at spatial and temporal resolutions that sporadic shipboard measurements cannot capture. Peak El Niño conditions appear to suppress ETSP emissions relative to the historical average, while an enhancement in inferred N2O surface concentrations emerges as the event subsides, driven by upwelling of subsurface waters enriched in N2O. Although these opposing responses largely balance each other over the full event, the observation-based estimates highlight the value of combining high-frequency atmospheric observations with inverse modeling to refine estimates of marine N2O effluxes in the future.

Speaker
Andrew Babbin Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Author
Andrew Babbin Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    Important Dates

    • Jan 30

      2026

      Session / Event proposals open

    • Mar 31

      2026

      Session / Event proposals close
      (Extended to April 7)

    • Apr 30

      2026

      Session acceptance notifications

    • Apr 30

      2026

      Abstract submissions & registration open

    • Jun 30

      2026

      Abstract submissions close
      (Extended to July 21)

    • Aug 31

      2026

      Abstract acceptance notifications

    • Sep 15

      2026

      Scientific program released

    • Oct 15

      2026

      Early bird registration closes

    • Jan 12–15

      2027

      XMAS 2027