Cited by 73Geology and Paleoclimatology ResearchAtmospheric chemistry and aerosolsGroundwater and Isotope Geochemistry

Glacial/interglacial changes in the isotopes of nitrate from the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) ice core

Hastings, Meredith G., Sigman, Daniel M., Steig, Eric J.·2005·Global Biogeochemical Cycles

Abstract

The 15 N/14 N and 18 O/16 O ratios of nitrate in the Greenland Ice Sheet Project 2 (GISP2) (Summit, Greenland) ice core are much higher in ice from the last glacial period than in the pre‐industrial Holocene, despite the lack of a significant glacial/interglacial change in nitrate concentration. While both the 15 N/14 N and 18 O/16 O records are anticorrelated with snow accumulation rate, neither is satisfactorily explained by accumulation changes or post‐depositional processes. The similarity in the glacial/interglacial change in 15 N/14 N from several different Greenland ice cores and the large amplitude of this change relative to observed seasonal variation raise the possibility that the isotopes of nitrate in ice cores indicate a large‐scale glacial/interglacial change in the isotopic composition of atmospheric NOx. The glacial/interglacial change in 18 O/16 O is best explained by a greater contribution of HNO 3 production from hydrolysis of N 2 O 5, which has implications for reconstruction of past atmospheric oxidant levels. Although isotope effects associated with NOx photochemistry and nitrate scavenging have not been fully characterized, the 15 N/14 N data may indicate glacial/interglacial changes in the relative contributions from different natural sources of NOx on a hemispheric or global scale.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1029/2005gb002502

Cites

92 of 92 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Hastings, M. G., Sigman, D. M., & Steig, E. J.
Affiliations
  • Princeton University (US)
  • University of Washington (US)
Venue
Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Published
2005-12
Volume
19
Issue
4
ISSN
  • 0886-6236 (ISSN-L)
  • 1944-9224
OpenAlex
W1559227392
Cited by
73
References
92
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 17 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 2
FWCI
2.33
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
Global Biogeochemical Cycles (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Geochemistry and Petrology › Groundwater and Isotope Geochemistry
Keywords
nitrate isotopes, 15N/14N ratio, 18O/16O ratio, glacial-interglacial cycles, GISP2 ice core, nitric acid, N2O5 hydrolysis, atmospheric NOx, snow accumulation rate, isotope effects, Holocene, last glacial period

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review