Marine Nitrous Oxide Emissions From Three Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems Inferred From Atmospheric Observations

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Abstract
Eastern Boundary Upwelling Systems (EBUSs) are coastal hotspots of the potent greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). However, estimates of their emissions suffer from large uncertainties due to their significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity. Here, we derive the first multiyear, monthly resolution N2O emissions from three of the four major EBUSs using high‐frequency coastal atmospheric measurements and an inverse method. We find average combined N2O emissions from the northern California, Benguela, and southern Canary upwelling systems to be 57.7 (51.4–63.9) Gg‐N yr−1. We also find an offshore region near the Benguela EBUS that exhibits large pulses of emissions with emissions that reach 677 Gg‐N yr−1 in 1 month. Our findings highlight that atmospheric measurements coupled with inverse modeling can capture the large variability in EBUS emissions by quantifying emissions over large spatial distances and over long time periods compared to previous methods using traditional oceanographic measurements.
Funding Information
  • Natural Environment Research Council (NE/L010992/1)
  • National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NNX16AC96G, NNX16AC97G, NAG5‐6179, NAG5‐10737, NNX11AL73G)

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