Articles | Volume 20, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3859-2020
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3859-2020
Research article
 | 
31 Mar 2020
Research article |  | 31 Mar 2020

Global inorganic nitrate production mechanisms: comparison of a global model with nitrate isotope observations

Becky Alexander, Tomás Sherwen, Christopher D. Holmes, Jenny A. Fisher, Qianjie Chen, Mat J. Evans, and Prasad Kasibhatla

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Cited articles

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Alexander, B., Hastings, M. G., Allman, D. J., Dachs, J., Thornton, J. A., and Kunasek, S. A.: Quantifying atmospheric nitrate formation pathways based on a global model of the oxygen isotopic composition (Δ17O) of atmospheric nitrate, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 5043–5056, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-9-5043-2009, 2009. 
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Short summary
Nitrogen oxides are important for the formation of tropospheric oxidants and are removed from the atmosphere mainly through the formation of nitrate. We compare observations of the oxygen isotopes of nitrate with a global model to test our understanding of the chemistry nitrate formation. We use the model to quantify nitrate formation pathways in the atmosphere and identify key uncertainties and their relevance for the oxidation capacity of the atmosphere.
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