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[1] A continuous record of atmospheric N 2 O measured from a tower in northern California captures strong pulses of N 2 O released by coastal upwelling events. The atmospheric record offers a unique, observation-based method for quantifying the coastal N 2 O source. A coastal upwelling model is developed and compared to the constraints imposed by the atmospheric record in the Pacific Northwest coastal region. The upwelling model is based on Ekman theory and driven by high-resolution wind and SST data and by relationships between subsurface N 2 O and temperature. A simplified version of the upwelling model is extended to the world's major eastern boundary regions to estimate a total coastal upwelling source of $0.2 ± >70% Tg N 2 O-N/yr. This flux represents $5% of the total ocean source, estimated here at $4 Tg N 2 O-N/yr using traditional gastransfer methods, and is probably largely neglected in current N 2 O budgets.