Cited by 1,959Atmospheric and Environmental Gas DynamicsSoil Carbon and Nitrogen DynamicsAtmospheric chemistry and aerosols

A comprehensive quantification of global nitrous oxide sources and sinks

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Tian, Hanqin, Xu, Rongting, Canadell, Josep G., Thompson, Rona L., Winiwarter, Wilfried, Suntharalingam, Parvadha, Davidson, Eric A., Ciais, Philippe +49 more·2020·Nature

Abstract

Nitrous oxide (N 2 O), like carbon dioxide, is a long-lived greenhouse gas that accumulates in the atmosphere. Over the past 150 years, increasing atmospheric N 2 O concentrations have contributed to stratospheric ozone depletion 1 and climate change 2, with the current rate of increase estimated at 2 per cent per decade. Existing national inventories do not provide a full picture of N 2 O emissions, owing to their omission of natural sources and limitations in methodology for attributing anthropogenic sources. Here we present a global N 2 O inventory that incorporates both natural and anthropogenic sources and accounts for the interaction between nitrogen additions and the biochemical processes that control N 2 O emissions. We use bottom-up (inventory, statistical extrapolation of flux measurements, process-based land and ocean modelling) and top-down (atmospheric inversion) approaches to provide a comprehensive quantification of global N 2 O sources and sinks resulting from 21 natural and human sectors between 1980 and 2016. Global N 2 O emissions were 17.0 (minimum-maximum estimates: 12.2-23.5) teragrams of nitrogen per year (bottom-up) and 16.9 (15.9-17.7) teragrams of nitrogen per year (top-down) between 2007 and 2016. Global human-induced emissions, which are dominated by nitrogen additions to croplands, increased by 30% over the past four decades to 7.3 (4.2-11.4) teragrams of nitrogen per year. This increase was mainly responsible for the growth in the atmospheric burden. Our findings point to growing N 2 O emissions in emerging economies-particularly Brazil, China and India. Analysis of process-based model estimates reveals an emerging N 2 O-climate feedback resulting from interactions between nitrogen additions and climate change. The recent growth in N 2 O emissions exceeds some of the highest projected emission scenarios 3,4, underscoring the urgency to mitigate N 2 O emissions.

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Authors
Tian, H., Xu, R., Canadell, J. G., Thompson, R. L., Winiwarter, W., Suntharalingam, P., Davidson, E. A., Ciais, P., Jackson, R. B., Janssens-Maenhout, G., Prather, M. J., Regnier, P., Pan, N., Pan, S., Peters, G. P., Shi, H., Tubiello, F. N., Zaehle, S., Zhou, F., Arneth, A., Battaglia, G., Berthet, S., Bopp, L., Bouwman, A. F., Buitenhuis, E. T., Chang, J., Chipperfield, M. P., Dangal, S. R. S., Dlugokencky, E., Elkins, J. W., Eyre, B. D., Fu, B., Hall, B., Ito, A., Joos, F., Krummel, P. B., Landolfi, A., Laruelle, G. G., Lauerwald, R., Li, W., Lienert, S., Maavara, T., MacLeod, M., Millet, D. B., Olin, S., Patra, P. K., Prinn, R. G., Raymond, P. A., Ruiz, D. J., van der Werf, G. R., Vuichard, N., Wang, J., Weiss, R. F., Wells, K. C., Wilson, C., Yang, J., & Yao, Y.
Affiliations
  • Auburn University (US)
  • CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere (AU)
  • NILU (NO)
  • International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (AT)
  • University of East Anglia (GB)
  • University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (US)
  • Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
  • Stanford University (US)
  • University of California, Irvine (US)
  • Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE)
  • Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
  • CICERO Center for International Climate Research (NO)
  • Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (IT)
  • Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry (DE)
  • Peking University (CN)
  • Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE)
  • University of Bern (CH)
  • University of Leeds (GB)
  • Woodwell Climate Research Center (US)
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (US)
  • Southern Cross University (AU)
  • National Institute for Environmental Studies (JP)
  • GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (DE)
  • Yale University (US)
  • Scotland's Rural College (GB)
  • University of Minnesota (US)
  • Lund University (SE)
  • Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JP)
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US)
  • Ocean University of China (CN)
  • Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US)
  • Mississippi State University (US)
Corresponding author
Tian, Hanqin
Venue
Nature
Published
2020-10-07
Volume
586
Issue
7828
Pages
248-256
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W3092621662
Cited by
1,959
References
97
Citations by year
2026: 300 · 2025: 404 · 2024: 414 · 2023: 321 · 2022: 320 · 2021: 178 · 2020: 18 · 2016: 2
FWCI
77.91
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • VU Research Portal (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • White Rose Research Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York) (acceptedVersion)
  • Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (GEOMAR) (acceptedVersion)
  • IIASA PURE (International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis) (submittedVersion)
  • UEA Digital Repository (University of East Anglia) (submittedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Ghent University Academic Bibliography (Ghent University) (submittedVersion)
  • Bern Open Repository and Information System (University of Bern) (submittedVersion)
  • Dépôt institutionnel de l'Université libre de Bruxelles (Université Libre de Bruxelles) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • Lund University Publications (Lund University) (submittedVersion)
  • NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Joint Research Centre (European Commission) (submittedVersion)
  • MPG.PuRe (Max Planck Society) (submittedVersion)
  • Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (NNX10AU06G, 1922687, 1903722, 1243232, NNX11AD47G)
  • U.S. Department of Energy (DESC0012536)
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NNX10AU06G, NNX14AO73G, NNX17AI74G, NNX14AO73G, NNX10AU06G, NNX11AD47G and NNX14AF93G, NNX16AC97G, NNX14AF93G, NNX16AC96G, NNX13AL12G, NNX11AD47G, NNX17AK18G, NNX16AC98G)
  • Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division
  • Scottish Government
  • Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (SFB‐754)
  • Agence Nationale de la Recherche (2016-2021, ANR-16-CONV-0003)
  • Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (56910, 172476)
  • National Natural Science Foundation of China (2017YFA0604702, 41671464, 41961124006, 1903722)
  • Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (016.160.324)
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NA13OAR4310086, NA16NOS4780207, NA16NOS4780204)
  • Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (821003, 647204, 820989, 776810, EC H2020, 641816, 2016-2021)
  • Center for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine
  • Natural Environment Research Council (NE/R016518/1, nceo020004)
  • Australian Research Council (LP150100519, LP190100271)
  • Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (821003, 17H01867)
  • Climate Program Office
  • Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (B628407)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Soil Science › Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Atmospheric Science › Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
Keywords
nitrous oxide, nitrous oxide emissions, greenhouse gas inventory, anthropogenic emissions, N2O sinks, temperature inversion, bottom-up estimation, emerging markets
MeSH terms
Agriculture, Atmosphere, Human Activities, Nitrogen, Nitrous Oxide, Crops, Agricultural, Internationality

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