IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v16y2025i1d10.1038_s41467-025-58715-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Global mapping of flux and microbial sources for oceanic N2O

Author

Listed:
  • Shuo Wang

    (Peking University)

  • Jilin Huang

    (Peking University)

  • Zhen Wu

    (Peking University
    Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Shengjie Li

    (Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology)

  • Xianfang Zhu

    (Peking University)

  • Yong Liu

    (Peking University)

  • Guodong Ji

    (Peking University)

Abstract

The ocean is the largest source of N2O emissions from global aquatic ecosystems. However, the N2O production–consumption mechanism and microbial spatial distribution are still unclear. Our study established a bottom-up model based on the source‒sink boundary and the microbial sources of N2O. A high-resolution (0.1°) global distribution of oceanic N2O was depicted, confirmed by approximately 150,000 surface measurements. The microbial N2O flux is 2.9 Tg/yr N-N2O, with the oxygen-deficient zones (ODZs) disproportionately accounting for more than half of the total emission. High primary productivity, sharp oxyclines, and shallow emission depths caused the ODZs to be N2O hotspots. Geographically, ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA, 1.0 Tg) are the most widely distributed contributors to N2O emissions in the ocean, completely overtaking ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB). Heterotrophic denitrification, mainly occurring in ODZs, contributes the most (1.6 Tg) to N2O emissions. Overall, this study offers a bottom-up framework for understanding microbial source-sink mechanism in the ocean.

Suggested Citation

  • Shuo Wang & Jilin Huang & Zhen Wu & Shengjie Li & Xianfang Zhu & Yong Liu & Guodong Ji, 2025. "Global mapping of flux and microbial sources for oceanic N2O," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-58715-4
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-58715-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-58715-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-025-58715-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-58715-4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.