| Nitrous oxide N2O is an important greenhouse gas with increasing atmospheric
concentrations. Its atmospheric, terrestrial and marine sources and sinks, however, are not
very well constrained 1. Furthermore, N2O is the main sources of ozone depleting NOx in the
stratosphere 2,3.
An off-axis ICOS (Integrated Cavity Output Spectroscopy) N2O/CO analyzer
(Los Gatos Research, Inc.) was deployed during the AMT20 cruise of the Atlantic
Meridional Transect programme from Southampton, UK to Punta Arenas, Chile (12
October – 25 November 2010). The analyser was used in combination with an
equilibrator, enabling continuous measurements of dissolved N2O in surface waters.
Additionally, the concentrations of N2O in marine air were determined on a regular
basis. Here we present first results of testing this novel measurement system at
sea.
(1) Forster, P.; Ramaswamy, V.; Artaxo, P.; Berntsen, T.; Betts, R.; Fahey, D. W.;
Haywood, J.; Lean, J.; Lowe, D. C.; Myhre, G.; Nganga, J.; Prinn, R.; Raga, G.; Schulz, M.;
Van Dorland, R. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York,
NY, USA 2007.
(2) Crutzen, P. J. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 1970, 96,
320-325.
(3) Ravishankara, A. R.; Daniel, J. S.; Portmann, R. W. Science 2009, 326, 123. |