Articles | Volume 22, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1081-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1081-2022
Research article
 | 
21 Jan 2022
Research article |  | 21 Jan 2022

The importance of alkyl nitrates and sea ice emissions to atmospheric NOx sources and cycling in the summertime Southern Ocean marine boundary layer

Jessica M. Burger, Julie Granger, Emily Joyce, Meredith G. Hastings, Kurt A. M. Spence, and Katye E. Altieri

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Cited articles

Alexander, B. and Mickley, L. J.: Paleo-perspectives on the potential future changes in the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere due to climate change and anthropogenic emissions, Current Pollution Reports, 1, 57–69, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40726-015-0006-0, 2015. 
Alexander, B., Sherwen, T., Holmes, C. D., Fisher, J. A., Chen, Q., Evans, M. J., and Kasibhatla, P.: Global inorganic nitrate production mechanisms: comparison of a global model with nitrate isotope observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3859–3877, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3859-2020, 2020. 
Altieri, K. E., Hastings, M. G., Gobel, A. R., Peters, A. J., and Sigman, D. M.: Isotopic composition of rainwater nitrate at Bermuda: the influence of air mass source and chemistry in the marine boundary layer, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 118, 11304–11316, https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50829, 2013. 
Altieri, K. E., Fawcett, S. E., Peters, A. J., Sigman, D. M., and Hastings, M. G.: Marine biogenic source of atmospheric organic nitrogen in the subtropical North Atlantic, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 113, 925–930, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1516847113, 2016. 
Altieri, K. E., Fawcett, S. E., and Hastings, M. G.: Reactive Nitrogen Cycling in the Atmosphere and Ocean, Annu. Rev. Earth Pl. Sc., 49, 513–540, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-083120-052147, 2021. 
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Short summary
The nitrogen (N) isotopic composition of atmospheric nitrate in the Southern Ocean (SO) marine boundary layer (MBL) reveals the importance of oceanic alkyl nitrate emissions as a source of reactive N to the atmosphere. The oxygen isotopic composition suggests peroxy radicals contribute up to 63 % to NO oxidation and that nitrate forms via the OH pathway. This work improves our understanding of reactive N sources and cycling in a remote marine region, a proxy for the pre-industrial atmosphere.
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