Published January 2002 | Version v1
Report Metadata-only

Isotopic discrimination during nitrous oxide loss processes: An important piece of the N2O global atmospheric budget

Creators

  • 1. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States)
  • 2. Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA (United States)

Description

Nitrous oxide plays an important role in greenhouse forcing and stratospheric ozone regulation. It is destructed in the stratosphere mainly by UV photolysis. Laboratory studies of N2O-N2 mixtures irradiated at 193 and 207 nm reveal a significant enrichment of the residual heavy nitrous oxide isotopomers. The isotopic signatures are well described by an irreversible Rayleigh distillation process, with large enrichment factors of ε15,18 (193 nm) = -18.4, -14.5 per mil and ε15,18(207 nm) = -48.7, -46.0 per mil. These results, when combined with diffusive mixing processes might help to explain the stratospheric enrichments previously observed. (author)

Part of:
Isotope aided studies of atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Phase II

Additional details

Identifiers

URL
http://www-pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/publications.asp;

Publishing Information

Imprint Title
Isotope aided studies of atmospheric carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Phase II
Imprint Pagination
136 p.
Journal Page Range
p. 107-114
ISSN
1011-4289
Report number
IAEA-TECDOC--1268+1269/CD(pt.2)

INIS

Country of Publication
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Country of Input or Organization
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
INIS RN
34032347
Subject category
S58: GEOSCIENCES; S37: INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY;
Descriptors DEI
CONCENTRATION RATIO; EARTH ATMOSPHERE; GLOBAL ASPECTS; ISOTOPE RATIO; NITROGEN 15; NITROUS OXIDE; OXYGEN 18
Descriptors DEC
CHALCOGENIDES; EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI; ISOTOPES; LIGHT NUCLEI; NITROGEN COMPOUNDS; NITROGEN ISOTOPES; NITROGEN OXIDES; NUCLEI; ODD-EVEN NUCLEI; OXIDES; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; OXYGEN ISOTOPES; STABLE ISOTOPES

Optional Information

Notes
26 refs, 5 figs Imprint:Data in PDF format
Secondary number(s)
IAEA-TECDOC--1269