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Oxygen isotope ratios in N2O from nitrification at a wastewater treatment facility

Nature volume 317, pages 349–350 (1985)Cite this article

Abstract

Atmospheric N2O plays an important part in the destruction of ozone in the stratosphere1 and influences the troposphere heat budget2. Although the emission of N2O formed by nitrification3,4 and denitrification5 from soil and aquatic environments has been considered and rates of production and destruction estimated6, the strengths of different sources and sinks of NO2 for a global budget have yet to be successfully assessed. This is mainly because the number of measurements and the areal coverage have been limited. We proposed previously7 a comparison of the 18O/16O ratio of N2O from different sources with that of the atmosphere for the evaluation of source strengths. We report here that the δ18O in N2O predominantly produced by nitrification in a wastewater treatment facility was significantly lower than that of atmospheric N2O. This suggests that the δ18O of atmospheric N2O cannot be explained by formation and release from nitrification alone. There must be other important sources or mechanisms that cause higher values of δ18O in atmospheric N2O.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wadsworth Center for Laboratories and Research, New York State Department of Health, Albany, New York, 12201, USA

    T. Yoshinari & M. Wahlen

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  1. T. Yoshinari
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  2. M. Wahlen
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Yoshinari, T., Wahlen, M. Oxygen isotope ratios in N2O from nitrification at a wastewater treatment facility. Nature 317, 349–350 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/317349a0

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