Nitrous Oxide

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-018682",
  "term": "Nitrous Oxide",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. A clear, colorless gas, with slightly sweet odor. Due to its long atmospheric lifetime (approximately 120 years) and heat trapping effects-about 310 times more powerful than carbon dioxide on a per molecule basis-N₂O is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global climate change.\n\n2. A colorless, odorless greenhouse gas. It occurs both naturally and as a result of people's activities. Major sources include farming practices (such as using fertilizers) that add extra nitrogen to the soil, burning fossil fuels, and certain industrial processes.\n\n3. A powerful greenhouse gas with a global warming potential of 298 times that of carbon dioxide (CO₂). Major sources of nitrous oxide include soil cultivation practices, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning. The GWP is from the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report (AR4). Natural emissions of N₂O are mainly from bacteria breaking down nitrogen in soils and the oceans. Nitrous oxide is mainly removed from the atmosphere through destruction in the stratosphere by ultraviolet radiation and associated chemical reactions, but it can also be consumed by certain types of bacteria in soils.\n\n4. A powerful greenhouse gas with a global warming potential most recently evaluated at 310. Major sources of nitrous oxide include soil cultivation practices, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning.",
  "abbreviation": "N₂O",
  "synonyms": [
    "NO",
    "N2O"
  ],
  "subject": "Climate change",
  "references": [
    "Greening EPA Glossary",
    "Student's Guide to Global Climate Change; Global Climate Change",
    "Glossary of Climate Change Terms",
    "Greenhouse Gas Emissions"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/nitrous-oxide/"
}