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Abstract. Nitrogen (N) plays a central role in marine biogeochemistry by limiting biological productivity in the surface ocean; influencing the cycles of other nutrients, carbon, and oxygen; and controlling oceanic emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) to the atmosphere. Multiple chemical forms of N are linked together in a dynamic N cycle that is especially active in oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), where high organic matter remineralization and low oxygen concentrations fuel aerobic and anaerobic N transformations. Biogeochemical models used to understand the oceanic N cycle and project its change often employ simple parameterizations of the network of N transformations and omit key intermediary tracers such as nitrite (NO2-) and N2O. Here we present a new model of the oceanic N cycle (Nitrogen cycling in Oxygen Minimum Zones, or NitrOMZ) that resolves N transformation occurring within OMZs and their sensitivity to environmental drivers. The model is designed to be easily coupled to current ocean biogeochemical models by representing the major forms of N as prognostic tracers and parameterizing their transformations as a function of seawater chemistry and organic matter remineralization, with minimal interference in other elemental cycles. We describe the model rationale, formulation, and numerical implementation in a one-dimensional representation of the water column that reproduces typical OMZ conditions. We further detail the optimization of uncertain model parameters against observations from the eastern tropical South Pacific OMZ and evaluate the model's ability to reproduce observed profiles of N tracers and transformation rates in this region. We conclude by describing the model's sensitivity to parameter choices and environmental factors and discussing the model's suitability for ocean biogeochemical studies. 

Oceanic emissions of nitrous oxide (N₂O) account for roughly one‐third of all natural sources to the atmosphere. Hot‐spots of N₂O outgassing occur over oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), where the presence of steep oxygen gradients surrounding anoxic waters leads to enhanced N₂O production from both nitrification and denitrification. However, the relative contributions from these pathways to N₂O production and outgassing in these regions remains poorly constrained, in part due to shared intermediary nitrogen tracers, and the tight coupling of denitrification sources and sinks. To shed light on this problem, we embed a new, mechanistic model of the OMZ nitrogen cycle within a three‐dimensional eddy‐resolving physical‐biogeochemical model of the Eastern Tropical South Pacific (ETSP), tracking contributions from remote advection, atmospheric exchange, and local nitrification and denitrification. The model indicates that net N₂O production from denitrification is approximately one order of magnitude greater than nitrification within the ETSP OMZ. However, only ∼32% of denitrification‐derived N₂O production ultimately outgasses to the atmosphere in this region (contributing ∼36% of the air‐sea N₂O flux on an annual basis), while the remaining is exported out of the domain. Instead, remotely produced N₂O advected into the OMZ region accounts for roughly half (∼57%) of the total N₂O outgassing, with smaller contributions from nitrification (∼7%). Our results suggests that, together with enhanced production by denitrification, upwelling of remotely derived N₂O contributes the most to N₂O outgassing over the ETSP OMZ.

 

Assessment of the global budget of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (${\mathrm{N}}_2$O) is limited by poor knowledge of the oceanic${\mathrm{N}}_2$O flux to the atmosphere, of which the magnitude, spatial distribution, and temporal variability remain highly uncertain. Here, we reconstruct climatological${\mathrm{N}}_2$O emissions from the ocean by training a supervised learning algorithm with over 158,000${\mathrm{N}}_2$O measurements from the surface ocean—the largest synthesis to date. The reconstruction captures observed latitudinal gradients and coastal hot spots of${\mathrm{N}}_2$O flux and reveals a vigorous global seasonal cycle. We estimate an annual mean${\mathrm{N}}_2$O flux of 4.2 ± 1.0 Tg N$\cdot {\mathrm{y}}^{-1}$, 64% of which occurs in the tropics, and 20% in coastal upwelling systems that occupy less than 3% of the ocean area. This${\mathrm{N}}_2$O flux ranges from a low of 3.3 ± 1.3 Tg N$\cdot {\mathrm{y}}^{-1}$in the boreal spring to a high of 5.5 ± 2.0 Tg N$\cdot {\mathrm{y}}^{-1}$in the boreal summer. Much of the seasonal variations in global${\mathrm{N}}_2$O emissions can be traced to seasonal upwelling in the tropical ocean and winter mixing in the Southern Ocean. The dominant contribution to seasonality by productive, low-oxygen tropical upwelling systems (>75%) suggests a sensitivity of the global${\mathrm{N}}_2$O flux to El Niño–Southern Oscillation and anthropogenic stratification of the low latitude ocean. This ocean flux estimate is consistent with the range adopted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, but reduces its uncertainty by more than fivefold, enabling more precise determination of other terms in the atmospheric${\mathrm{N}}_2$O budget.

 

Abstract. In the current era of rapid climate change, accuratecharacterization of climate-relevant gas dynamics – namely production,consumption, and net emissions – is required for all biomes, especially thoseecosystems most susceptible to the impact of change. Marine environmentsinclude regions that act as net sources or sinks for numerous climate-activetrace gases including methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). Thetemporal and spatial distributions of CH4 and N2O are controlledby the interaction of complex biogeochemical and physical processes. Toevaluate and quantify how these mechanisms affect marine CH4 andN2O cycling requires a combination of traditional scientificdisciplines including oceanography, microbiology, and numerical modeling.Fundamental to these efforts is ensuring that the datasets produced byindependent scientists are comparable and interoperable. Equally critical istransparent communication within the research community about the technicalimprovements required to increase our collective understanding of marineCH4 and N2O. A workshop sponsored by Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB)was organized to enhance dialogue and collaborations pertaining tomarine CH4 and N2O. Here, we summarize the outcomes from theworkshop to describe the challenges and opportunities for near-futureCH4 and N2O research in the marine environment.