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Oxygen isotope ratios in N2O from different environments

Abstract

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is an important ‘greenhouse’ gas (besides CO2 and CH4) and is also involved in the destruction of ozone in the stratosphere. The relative importance of major sources and sinks of N2O for a global budget has yet to be assessed accurately. Measurements of the 15N/14N (refs 1, 2) and 18O/16O isotopic composition of N2O from different sources and the comparison with the isotopic composition of atmospheric N2O could lead to more accurate estimates of the contributions to the atmospheric pool by the different production mechanisms. Here we report the first results for 18O/16O ratios in N2O collected from different environments, measured by high-resolution infrared spectroscopy using tunable diode lasers. The results show a considerable range in δ18O (Table 1), which could eventually lead to an isotopic budget for atmospheric N2O.

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Wahlen, M., Yoshinari, T. Oxygen isotope ratios in N2O from different environments. Nature 313, 780–782 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/313780a0

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