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The Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) in northern India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh is a major source of carbonaceous aerosols in South Asia. However, poorly constrained seasonality of their sources over the IGP leads to large uncertainty in climate and health effects. Here we present a first data set for year-round radiocarbon (C-14) and stable carbon (C-13)-based source apportionment of total carbon (TC) in ambient PM10 (n = 17) collected from an urban site (Kanpur: 26.5 degrees N, 80.3 degrees E) in the IGP during January 2007 to January 2008. The year-round C-14-based fraction biomass (f(bio-TC)) estimate at Kanpur averages 777% and emphasizes an impact of biomass burning emissions (BBEs). The highest f(bio-TC) (%) is observed in fall season (October-November, 856%) followed by winter (December-February, 804%) and spring (March-May, 758%), while lowest values are found in summer (June-September, 69 +/- 2%). Since biomass/coal combustion and vehicular emissions mostly contribute to carbonaceous aerosols over the IGP, we predict C-13(TC) (C-13(pred)) over Kanpur using known C-13 source signatures and the measured C-14 value of each sample. The seasonal variability of C-13(obs)-C-13(pred) versus C-14(TC) together with air mass back trajectories and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer fire count data reveal that carbonaceous aerosols in winter/fall are significantly influenced by atmospheric aging (downwind transport of crop residue burning/wood combustion emissions in the northern IGP), while local sources (wheat residue combustion/vehicular emissions) dominate in spring/summer. Given the large temporal and seasonal variability in sources and emission strength of TC over the IGP, C-14-based constraints are, thus, crucial for reducing their uncertainties in carbonaceous aerosol budgets in climate models.

We report a new synthesis of best estimates of the inputs of fixed nitrogen to the world ocean via atmospheric deposition and compare this to fluvial inputs and dinitrogen fixation. We evaluate the scale of human perturbation of these fluxes. Fluvial inputs dominate inputs to the continental shelf, and we estimate that about 75% of this fluvial nitrogen escapes from the shelf to the open ocean. Biological dinitrogen fixation is the main external source of nitrogen to the open ocean, i.e., beyond the continental shelf. Atmospheric deposition is the primary mechanism by which land-based nitrogen inputs, and hence human perturbations of the nitrogen cycle, reach the open ocean. We estimate that anthropogenic inputs are currently leading to an increase in overall ocean carbon sequestration of ~0.4% (equivalent to an uptake of 0.15 Pg C yr−1 and less than the Duce et al. (2008) estimate). The resulting reduction in climate change forcing from this ocean CO2 uptake is offset to a small extent by an increase in ocean N2O emissions. We identify four important feedbacks in the ocean atmosphere nitrogen system that need to be better quantified to improve our understanding of the perturbation of ocean biogeochemistry by atmospheric nitrogen inputs. These feedbacks are recycling of (1) ammonia and (2) organic nitrogen from the ocean to the atmosphere and back, (3) the suppression of nitrogen fixation by increased nitrogen concentrations in surface waters from atmospheric deposition, and (4) increased loss of nitrogen from the ocean by denitrification due to increased productivity stimulated by atmospheric inputs.

Large-scale emissions of carbonaceous aerosols (CA) from South Asia impact both regional climate and air quality, yet their sources are not well constrained. Here we use source-diagnostic stable and radiocarbon isotopes (delta C-13 and Delta C-14) to characterize CA sources at a semiurban site (Hisar: 29.2 degrees N, 75.2 degrees E) in the NW Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and a remote high-altitude location in the Himalayan foothills (Manora Peak: 29.4 degrees N, 79.5 degrees E, 1950 m above sea level) in northern India during winter. The Delta C-14 of total aerosol organic carbon (TOC) varied from -178% to -63% at Hisar and from -198% to -1% at Manora Peak. The absence of significant differences in the C-14-based fraction biomass of TOC between Hisar (0.81 +/- 0.03) and Manora Peak (0.82 +/- 0.07) reveals that biomass burning/biogenic emissions (BBEs) are the dominant sources of CA at both sites. Combining this information with d13C, other chemical tracers (K+/OC and SO42-/EC) and air mass back trajectory analyses indicate similar source regions in the IGP (e.g., Punjab and Haryana). These results highlight that CA from BBEs in the IGP are not only confined to the atmospheric boundary layer but also extend to higher elevations of the troposphere, where the synoptic-scale circulations could substantially influence their abundances both to the Himalayas and over the downwind oceanic regions such as the Indian Ocean. Given the vast emissions of CA from postharvest crop residue combustion practices in the IGP during early Northeast Monsoon, this information is important for both improved process and model understanding of climate and health effects, as well as in guiding policy decision aiming at reducing emissions.

Air- sea deposition of phosphorus is an important external source of this macronutrient for ocean primary productivity. Although global budgets have shown that atmospheric input of phosphorus is comparable to its riverine supply, studies on regional scale are rather limited. The present article summarizes sources and atmospheric pathway of phosphorus to the ocean surface as a case study of the Northern Indian Ocean. Water-soluble aerosol phosphorus (PInorg) concentrations are significantly high over the Bay of Bengal (BoB) compared to those over the Arabian Sea (ARS). Relative increase in the supply of aerosol-P over BoB is attributed to acid-processing of mineral dust during long-range atmospheric transport in addition to its supply from anthropogenic sources. Our estimate of P-deposition to the Northern Indian Ocean (similar to 1.2 Gmol-P year-1) is comparable to its atmospheric deposition in other oceanic regions such as the North Atlantic and is also consistent with the model-based projections for the Northern Indian Ocean. These results highlight the importance of atmospheric source in influencing the biogeochemical cycle of phosphorus in the Northern Indian Ocean.

The first field measurements of light absorbing water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), referred as brown carbon (BrC), have been made in the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) during the continental outflow to the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and the Arabian Sea (ARS). The absorption signal measured at 365 nm in aqueous extracts of aerosols shows a systematic linear increase with WSOC concentration, suggesting a significant contribution from BrC to the absorption properties of organic aerosols. The mass absorption coefficient (b(abs)) of BrC shows an inverse hyperbolic relation with wavelength (from 300 to 700 nm), providing an estimate of the Angstrom exponent (alpha P, range: 3-19; Av: 9 +/- 3). The mass absorption efficiency of brown carbon (sigma(abs) BrC) in the MABL varies from 0.17 to 0.72 m(2) g(-1) (Av: 0.45 +/- 0.14 m(2) g(-1)). The alpha P and sigma(abs) BrC over the BoB are quite similar to that studied from a sampling site in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), suggesting the dominant impact of organic aerosols associated with the continental outflow. A comparison of the mass absorption efficiency of BrC and elemental carbon (EC) brings to focus the significant role of light absorbing organic aerosols (from biomass burning emissions) in atmospheric radiative forcing over oceanic regions located downwind of the pollution sources.

The Himalaya-Gangetic Plain region is the iconic example of the debate about the impact on lowlands of upland land use change. Some of the scientific aspects of this debate are revisited by using new techniques to examine the role of deforestation in erosion and river sediment transport. The approach is whole-of-catchment, combining a history of deforestation with a history of sediment sources from well before deforestation. It is shown that deforestation had some effect on one very large erosional event in 1970, in the Alaknanda subcatchment of the Upper Ganga catchment, but that both deforestation and its effects on erosion and sediment transport are far from uniform in the Himalaya. Large magnitude erosional events occur for purely natural reasons. The impact on the Gangetic Plain of erosion caused by natural events and land cover change remains uncertain.

The Himalaya-Gangetic Plain region is the iconic example of the debate about the impact on lowlands of upland land-use change. Some of the scientific aspects of this debate are revisited by using new techniques to examine the role of deforestation in erosion and river sediment transport. The approach is whole-of-catchment, combining a history of deforestation with a history of sediment sources from well before deforestation. It is shown that deforestation had some effect on one very large erosional event in 1970, in the Alaknanda subcatchment of the Upper Ganga catchment, but that both deforestation and its effects on erosion and sediment transport are far from uniform in the Himalaya. Large magnitude erosional events occur for purely natural reasons. The impact on the Gangetic Plain of erosion caused by natural events and land cover change remains uncertain.

This review provides an assessment of sediment trap accuracy issues by gathering data to address trap hydrodynamics, the problem of zooplankton "swimmers," and the solubilization of material after collection. For each topic, the problem is identified, its magnitude and causes reviewed using selected examples, and an update on methods to correct for the potential bias or minimize the problem using new technologies is presented. To minimize hydrodynamic biases due to flow over the trap mouth, the use of neutrally buoyant sediment traps is encouraged. The influence of swimmers is best minimized using traps that limit zooplankton access to the sample collection chamber. New data on the impact of different swimmer removal protocols at the US time-series sites HOT and BATS are compared and shown to be important. Recent data on solubilization are compiled and assessed suggesting selective losses from sinking particles to the trap supernatant after collection, which may alter both fluxes and ratios of elements in long term and typically deeper trap deployments. Different methods are needed to assess shallow and short- term trap solubilization effects, but thus far new incubation experiments suggest these impacts to be small for most elements. A discussion of trap calibration methods reviews independent assessments of flux, including elemental budgets, particle abundance and flux modeling, and emphasizes the utility of U-Th radionuclide calibration methods.

The short-lived thorium isotope 234Th (half-life 24.1 days) has been used as a tracer for a variety of transport processes in aquatic systems. Its use as a tracer of oceanic export on sinking particles has stimulated a rapidly increasing number of studies that require analyses of 234Th, both in marine and in freshwater systems. The original 234Th method is labour intensive. Thus, there has been a quest for simpler techniques that require smaller sample volumes. Here, we review current methodologies in the collection and analysis of 234Th from the water column, discuss their individual strengths and weaknesses, and provide an outlook on possible further improvements and future challenges. Also included in this review are recommendations on calibration procedures and on the production of standard materials as well as a flow chart designed to help researchers find the most appropriate 234Th analytical technique for a specific aquatic regime and known sampling constraints.

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2005. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Global Biogeochemical Cycles 19 (2005): GB4006, doi:10.1029/2004GB002445., We report iron measurements for water column and aerosol samples collected in the Sargasso Sea during July-August 2003 (summer 2003) and April-May 2004 (spring 2004). Our data reveal a large seasonal change in the dissolved iron (dFe) concentration of surface waters in the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study region, from ∼1–2 nM in summer 2003, when aerosol iron concentrations were high (mean 10 nmol m−3), to ∼0.1–0.2 nM in spring 2004, when aerosol iron concentrations were low (mean 0.64 nmol m−3). During summer 2003, we observed an increase of ∼0.6 nM in surface water dFe concentrations over 13 days, presumably due to eolian iron input; an estimate of total iron deposition over this same period suggests an effective solubility of 3–30% for aerosol iron. Our summer 2003 water column profiles show potentially growth-limiting dFe concentrations (0.02–0.19 nM) coinciding with a deep chlorophyll maximum at 100–150 m depth, where phytoplankton biomass is typically dominated by Prochlorococcus during late summer., Funding for this work was provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation (OCE-0222053 to P. N. S., OCE-0222046 to T. M. C., and OCE-0241310 to D. J. M.), the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NAG5-11265 to D. J. M.), the Australian Research Council (DP0342826 to A. R. B.), the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Center, and the H. Unger Vetlesen Foundation.