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Atmospheric Nitrous Oxide Variations on Centennial Time Scales During the Past Two Millennia
Author(s) -
Ryu Y.,
Ahn J.,
Yang J.W.,
Brook E. J.,
Timmermann A.,
Blunier T.,
Hur S.,
Kim S.J.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
global biogeochemical cycles
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.512
H-Index - 187
eISSN - 1944-9224
pISSN - 0886-6236
DOI - 10.1029/2020gb006568
Subject(s) - ice core , environmental science , climatology , centennial , paleoclimatology , glacier , climate change , cryosphere , subtropics , global warming , physical geography , atmospheric sciences , geology , oceanography , geography , sea ice , ecology , archaeology , biology
The continuous growth of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N 2 O) is of concern for its potential role in global warming and future stratospheric ozone destruction. Climate feedbacks that enhance N 2 O emissions in response to global warming are not well understood, and past records of N 2 O from ice cores are not sufficiently well resolved to examine the underlying climate‐N 2 O feedbacks on societally relevant time scales. Here, we present a new high‐resolution and high‐precision N 2 O reconstruction obtained from the Greenland NEEM (North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling) and the Antarctic Styx Glacier ice cores. Covering the N 2 O history of the past two millennia, our reconstruction shows a centennial‐scale variability of ~10 ppb. A pronounced minimum at ~600 CE coincides with the reorganizations of tropical hydroclimate and ocean productivity changes. Comparisons with proxy records suggest association of centennial‐ to millennial‐scale variations in N 2 O with changes in tropical and subtropical land hydrology and marine productivity.