Table 1 Annual Net Southern Ocean nitrous oxide (N2O) flux

From: Low-pressure storms drive nitrous oxide emissions in the Southern Ocean

Condition

Southern Ocean N2O flux (Tg N/yr)

σ

CO2 equivalents (Tg CO2/yr)

σ

This study observed SLP

1.6

0.3

218

41

Nevison et al., 1995 (ref. 4)

1.4

2.0

191

268

Suntharalingam & Sarmiento, 2000 (ref. 9)

1.6

2.3

224

308

Nevison et al., 2005 (ref. 5)

0.9

 

123

 

Yang et al., 2020 (ref. 6)

0.8

0.2

109

27

This study, SLP = 1 atm

0.9

0.3

116

41

This study, Oct-Dec

0.9

0.1

123

14

This study, Apr-Jun

2.4

0.2

328

27

This study, lower SLP by 0.01 atm

2.1

0.4

287

55

This study, 25% higher winds

2.2

0.7

300

96

This study, no sea ice

2.0

0.4

273

55

This study, higher winds + no ice

2.9

0.8

396

109

  1. The annual net Southern Ocean N2O flux in teragrams of nitrogen per year (Tg N/yr) determined in this study with the observed barometric pressure at sea level (SLP), compared to previous estimates of the annual Southern Ocean N2O flux4,5,6,9. Carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalents in teragrams CO2 per year (Tg CO2/yr) are calculated based on a global warming potential of 273 molecules N2O/molecule CO2. Additional numerical sensitivity tests include the annual net Southern Ocean N2O flux determined in this study with 1 atmosphere (atm) barometric level pressure, estimated only from data in the months of October-December, estimated only from data in the months of April-June, lowering all observed barometric pressures by 0.01 atm, increasing wind speeds by 25%, removing the capping effect of sea ice, and both increasing wind speeds by 25% and removing the capping effect of sea ice.
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