News tagged with nitrous oxide

New study sheds light on evolutionary origin of oxygen-based cellular respiration

Researchers at the RIKEN SPring-8 Center in Harima, Japan, have clarified the crystal structure of quinol dependent nitric oxide reductase (qNOR), a bacterial enzyme that offers clues on the origins of our ...

Chemistry / Biochemistry

created Jan 22, 2012 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (7) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Soil microbiologists discover Aberdeen microbe of global agricultural significance

(PhysOrg.com) -- Organisms that oxidise ammonia were first discovered in 1890. Although a natural process, a major consequence of the activities of such organisms in soil is the transformation and loss of ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Jan 10, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

AgriLife Research adds new instrumentation to measure greenhouse gases

As greenhouse gases become more of a concern, determining the actual rates of emissions through scientific data is a growing necessity, according to a Texas AgriLife Research scientist in Amarillo.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 21, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Findings on biochar, greenhouse gas emissions and ethylene

Adding a charred biomass material called biochar to glacial soils can help reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 13, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Greenhouse gases soar; no signs warming is slowed

(AP) -- Heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are building up so high, so fast, that some scientists now think the world can no longer limit global warming to the level world leaders have agreed upon as safe.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Nov 21, 2011 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (13) | comments 61

Crop performance matters when evaluating greenhouse gas emissions: study

Measuring the emission of greenhouse gases from croplands should take into account the crops themselves.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Sep 06, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Wastewater recycling can multiply greenhouse gas emissions

New research shows that wastewater recycling processes may generate more greenhouse gases than traditional water-treatment processes. Despite this finding, there are good reasons to continue keep wastewater ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Aug 29, 2011 | popularity 3.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

How the N2O greenhouse gas is decomposed

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a harmful climate gas. Its effect as a greenhouse gas is 300 times stronger than that of carbon dioxide. Nitrous oxide destroys the ozone layer. In industrial agriculture, it is generated ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Aug 22, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Anthropogenic nitrogen plays a double role in climate change

Human nitrogen additions to the soil may reinforce the greenhouse effect.  Nitrogen additions tend to boost plant growth, so that terrestrial ecosystems absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Aug 04, 2011 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (7) | comments 14 | with audio podcast

How dairy farms contribute to greenhouse gas emissions

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have produced the first detailed data on how large-scale dairy facilities contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases. This research was conducted by Agricultural Research ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Jul 19, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 5

Soil microbes accelerate global warming

More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere causes soil to release the potent greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide, new research published in this week's edition of Nature reveals. "This feedback to our changing atmosphere means ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Jul 13, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Solar-powered nano sensor targets gases more polluting than carbon

(PhysOrg.com) -- A solar-powered sensor station to monitor in real time the concentration of gases that are key culprits in climate change and air pollution has been installed on a QUT Gardens Point roof as ...

Technology / Engineering

created May 30, 2011 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Can biochar help suppress greenhouse gases?

Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas and a precursor to compounds that contribute to the destruction of the ozone. Intensively managed, grazed pastures are responsible for an increase in nitrous oxide emissions from grazing ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Apr 20, 2011 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Greenhouse gases from forest soils

Reactive nitrogen compounds from agriculture, transport, and industry lead to increased emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O) from forests in Europe. Nitrous oxide emission from forest soils is at least twice ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Apr 12, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 1

Can biochar help suppress greenhouse gases?

Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas and a precursor to compounds that contribute to the destruction of the ozone. Intensively managed, grazed pastures are responsible for an increase in nitrous oxide ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Mar 18, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 1

Nitrous oxide

Nitrous oxide, commonly known as happy gas or laughing gas, is a chemical compound with the chemical formula N2O. At room temperature, it is a colorless non-flammable gas, with a pleasant, slightly sweet odor and taste. It is used in surgery and dentistry for its anesthetic and analgesic effects. It is known as "laughing gas" due to the euphoric effects of inhaling it, a property that has led to its recreational use as an inhalant drug. It is also used as an oxidizer in rocketry and in motor racing to increase the power output of engines. It is often created in bushfires[citation needed].

Nitrous oxide reacts with ozone and is the main naturally occurring regulator of stratospheric ozone. Nitrous oxide is also a major greenhouse gas. Considered over a 100 year period, it has 298 times more impact per unit weight than carbon dioxide.

For more information about Nitrous oxide, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.