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Laughing Gas in a Vicious Circle
May 15, 2001Italian researchers discover another mechanism for the formation of atmospheric N2O
Summer smog, the ozone hole, the greenhouse effect – the complex web of chemical
reactions in the atmosphere, which leads to manifold environmental problems, is still not fully
cleared up. In a tricky way, a single chemical compound is found at the center of the action:
laughing gas (N2O). A group of Italian chemists working with Giulia de Petris at the University
La Sapienza in Rome has now discovered an important mechanism by which laughing gas is
formed in the atmosphere.
Laughing gas sounds like a nice, harmless substance. In humans, the slightly sweet-smelling gas is completely
safe if properly handled. It is used as an anesthetic as well as for making whipped cream. Unfortunately it is also
used as a party drug because it can cause convulsive laughter – hence the name – and a high when inhaled.
In our atmosphere, dinitrogen monoxide, as N2O is known to chemists, shows its unfriendly side; it acts as a
greenhouse gas and is the main source of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the upper layers of the atmosphere, the
stratosphere. Nitrogen oxides also contribute to the greenhouse effect. On top of this, the reaction that converts
laughing gas to nitrogen oxides destroys the ozone layer. The nitrogen oxides then also go on to contribute to the
formation of the ozone hole. But how does laughing gas get into the atmosphere? The main route is through
microbial decomposition of nitrogen-containing compounds in the soil, especially upon heavy fertilization with
nitrogen-containing fertilizers. It is also a byproduct of combustion processes.
Additionally, De Petris and coworkers have discovered another important, completely different mechanism for
the formation of laughing gas. They generated electrically charged ozone molecules and mixed them with nitrogen.
This caused an adduct of the two compounds to form, which then decomposed to form N2O and dioxygen.
Charged ozone particles are formed in the atmosphere when ozone-enriched air is electrically
charged. Sufficiently high voltages occur in the vicinity of power-lines and during thunderstorms.
This thus closes the circle: Under summer smog conditions, nitrogen oxides from emissions form
ozone. This ground-level ozone is then responsible for the formation of laughing gas, which then
destroys the ozone layer in the stratosphere while making more nitrogen oxides.
WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH
Ozone Current Events and Ozone News RSSOceans' uptake of manmade carbon may be slowing
The oceans play a key role in regulating climate, absorbing more than a quarter of the carbon dioxide that humans put into the air.
Tiny bubbles clean oil from water
Small amounts of oil leave a fluorescent sheen on polluted water. Oil sheen is hard to remove, even when the water is aerated with ozone or filtered through sand.
A bubbling ball of gas
The Sun is a bubbling mass. Packages of gas rise and sink, lending the sun its grainy surface structure, its granulation. Dark spots appear and disappear, clouds of matter dart up - and behind the whole thing are the magnetic fields, the engines of it all.
Nitrogen loss threatens desert plant life, study shows
As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, reports a new Cornell study. That could lead to deserts with even less plant life than they sustain today, say the researchers.
Researchers discover links between city walkability and air pollution exposure
A new study compares neighborhoods' walkability (degree of ease for walking) with local levels of air pollution and finds that some neighborhoods might be good for walking, but have poor air quality.
Interactions with aerosols boost warming potential of some gases
For decades, climate scientists have worked to identify and measure key substances -- notably greenhouse gases and aerosol particles -- that affect Earth's climate.
Report examines hidden costs of energy production and use
A new report from the National Research Council examines and, when possible, estimates "hidden" costs of energy production and use -- such as the damage air pollution imposes on human health -- that are not reflected in market prices of coal, oil, other energy sources, or the electricity and gasoline produced from them.
Air pollutants from abroad a growing concern, says new report
Plumes of harmful air pollutants can be transported across oceans and continents -- from Asia to the United States and from the United States to Europe -- and have a negative impact on air quality far from their original sources, says a new report by the National Research Council.
U.S. needs nearly $200 million more on climate-related health research
A recent commentary suggests that the U.S. should spend roughly $197 million more than it currently does to research the impact of climate change on public health.
Ozone layer depletion levelling off
By merging more than a decade of atmospheric data from European satellites, scientists have compiled a homogeneous long-term ozone record that allows them to monitor total ozone trends on a global scale - and the findings look promising.
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