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Upper limits on atmospheric ozone reductions following increased application of fixed nitrogen to the soil
Author(s) -
Crutzen Paul J.
Publication year - 1976
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/gl003i003p00169
Subject(s) - sink (geography) , environmental science , nitrogen , atmospheric sciences , agriculture , atmospheric chemistry , ozone , meteorology , chemistry , geography , geology , biology , ecology , cartography , organic chemistry
Our understanding of the marine and terrestrial nitrogen budgets is severely limited. For instance, atmospheric data indicate a residence time of N 2 O in the atmosphere of about 10 years and consequently sources and sinks of atmospheric N 2 O of the order of 130×10 6 ton N/year. Such large sources and especially sinks for atmospheric N 2 O have not been satisfactorily identified and it may not be excluded, a priori, that not only the N 2 O source, but also its sink is affected by man. The limited knowledge about the earth's N 2 O budget so far obtained is in favor of the view that there is no imminent danger of large ozone reductions following the predicted increase in the input of fixed nitrogen in the soil by the year 2000. However, it seems likely that, with unchanged agricultural practices, there will develop serious long term problems, certainly in a world of exponential growth, and, for best action, it is essential that a well balanced, interdisciplinary research effort now be designed to increase our knowledge of all aspects of the earth's nutrient cycles.