Acidity-driven gas-particle partitioning of nitrate regulates its transport to Arctic through the industrial era

Yoshinori Iizuka (), Mai Matsumoto, Kaoru Kawakami, Mahiro Sasage, Sakiko Ishino (), Shohei Hattori (), Ryu Uemura, Hitoshi Matsui, Koji Fujita, Naga Oshima, Andrea Spolaor, Anders Svensson, Bo Møllesøe Vinther, Hiroshi Ohno, Osamu Seki and Sumito Matoba
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Yoshinori Iizuka: Hokkaido University
Mai Matsumoto: Hokkaido University
Kaoru Kawakami: Hokkaido University
Mahiro Sasage: Hokkaido University
Sakiko Ishino: Kanazawa University
Shohei Hattori: Nanjing University
Ryu Uemura: Nagoya University
Hitoshi Matsui: Nagoya University
Koji Fujita: Nagoya University
Naga Oshima: Meteorological Research Institute
Andrea Spolaor: National Research Council of Italy (ISP-CNR)
Anders Svensson: Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen
Bo Møllesøe Vinther: Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen
Hiroshi Ohno: Kitami Institute of Technology
Osamu Seki: Hokkaido University
Sumito Matoba: Hokkaido University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Anthropogenic NOx emissions have altered the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle since the Industrial Revolution, yet Arctic ice core nitrate (NO3−) records are inconsistent with post-1970s NOx emission reductions. Here we show a NO3− deposition history covering 1800–2020 using an ice core from the southeastern Greenland dome with high snow accumulation. The ice core NO3− concentrations are particularly disconnected from NOx source regions during the peak pollution period and post-1990s. A global chemical transport model reproduced these discordances between total NO3− and NOx emissions by altering gaseous HNO3 and particulate NO3− (p-NO3−) ratios and subsequently NO3− lifetime. This result and correlations with acidity parameters recorded in the ice core, suggest that acidity-driven gas-particle partitioning of NO3− regulates its transport to Arctic regions alongside changes in NOx emissions. In the future, despite NOx reductions, the increase in proportion of p-NO3− with longer atmospheric lifetime becomes crucial to control the Arctic NO3− burden.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59208-0

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