Airborne nitrous oxide observations over the western Pacific Ocean: September October 1991

The Langley tunable diode laser instrument package incorporated an additional channel to measure nitrous oxide (N2O) during the Pacific Exploratory Mission (PEM) West A. These measurements represent the first airborne, fast response (5-s) N2O data set obtained within the troposphere, Most data were recorded over the western Pacific between 0 degrees N and 45 degrees N latitude, 110 degrees E and 180 degrees E longitude, and 0.3 to 12 km altitude. Important observations include a decreasing N2O latitude gradient of approximately 0.4 parts per billion volumn (ppbv) from northern midlatitudes to the equator, a decreasing N2O longitude gradient of 0.4 ppbv from the western Pacific to the central Pacific at northern midlatitudes, and an enhancement of 0.2 ppbv in the boundary layer (altitudes below 0.5 km) relative to the rest of the tropospheric vertical profile. Other observations include increased N2O mixing ratios within both urban and biogenic affected air masses and reduced N2O mixing ratios in stratospheric intrusions. These relationships with air mass source characteristics are exhibited in the large-scale correlations between N2O and CO, CH4, and CO2 in the free troposphere. Atmospheric inputs of N2O are examined and the relative strengths of continental biogenic and anthropogenic/industrial sources are estimated. The data set is also examined for evidence of an oceanic source of N2O.