N2O Concentration and Isotope Data for 74-59 ka from Taylor Glacier, Antarctica

Ice core measurements of the concentration and stable isotopic composition of atmospheric nitrous oxide (N2O) 74,000-59,000 years ago constrain marine and terrestrial emissions. The data include two major Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) events and the N2O decrease during global cooling at the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5a-4 transition. The N2O increase associated with D-O 19 (~73-71.5 ka) was driven by equal contributions from marine and terrestrial emissions. The N2O decrease during the transition into MIS 4 (~71.5-67.5 ka) was caused by gradual reductions of similar magnitude in both marine and terrestrial sources. A 50 ppb increase in N2O concentration at the end of MIS 4 was caused by gradual increases in marine and terrestrial emissions between ~64-61 ka, followed by an abrupt increase in marine emissions at the onset of D-O 16/17 (59.5 ka). This suggests that the importance of marine versus terrestrial emissions in controlling millennial-scale N2O fluctuations varied in time.