Non-CO2 greenhouse gases (N2O, CH4, CO) and the ocean

The open and coastal oceans play an important role as sources of atmospheric non-carbon dioxide (CO₂) greenhouse gases (GHG) such as nitrous oxide (N₂O), methane (CH₄) and carbon monoxide (CO). However, our knowledge about their production and consumption pathways, as well as the major drivers, is rudimentary at best and estimates of their oceanic emissions are still associated with a high degree of uncertainties. In his Commentary in One Earth, Hermann Bange is arguing that a coordinated international effort to establish a global ocean observation network is needed to gain a better understanding of non-CO₂ GHG cycling in a rapidly changing ocean and to significantly reduce the uncertainties in emission estimates and future emission projections.

Reference: Bange, H.W. (2022). Non-CO₂ greenhouse gases (N₂O, CH₄, CO) and the ocean. One Earth, 5, 1316-1318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2022.11.011