Long term atmospheric monitoring of nitrous oxide to reveal marine fluxes
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.
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Important Dates
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Jan 30
2026
Session / Event proposals open
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Mar 31
2026
Session / Event proposals close
(Extended to April 7) -
Apr 30
2026
Session acceptance notifications
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Apr 30
2026
Abstract submissions & registration open
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Jun 30
2026
Abstract submissions close
(Extended to July 21) -
Aug 31
2026
Abstract acceptance notifications
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Sep 15
2026
Scientific program released
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Oct 15
2026
Early bird registration closes
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Jan 12–15
2027
XMAS 2027
