To many people, nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, is only known as a party drug or from the dentist.
To many people, nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, is only known as a party drug or from the dentist. However, the nitrogenous substance also contributes significantly to global warming. As a greenhouse gas, its effect in the atmosphere is almost three hundred times more powerful than that of CO2, and it also attacks the ozone layer.
“The emission of this almost forgotten greenhouse gas is decisive for the global climate,” says Dr. Claudia Frey from the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Basel. The biogeochemist has now investigated the conditions under which microorganisms produce nitrous oxide in the ocean.
Since the 19th century, nitrous oxide concentrations in the atmosphere have been steadily increasing, mainly due to human activities, such as the use of fossil fuels and the intensification of agriculture. For example, fertilizer contains a lot of nitrogen, which then ends up in rivers, lakes and oceans in the form of nitrate. There, bacteria convert the nitrogenous substances into food and energy. This process also produces nitrous oxide, which then escapes into the atmosphere.
Read More: University of Basel
Image: To investigate the conversion of nitrate into nitrous oxide in the ocean, hundreds of water samples were taken from various depths using a probe and water samplers. (Photo: Claudia Frey)
