Agricultural soil is the main source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions which contribute to global warming and stratospheric ozone depletion. In recent decades, atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition has increased dramatically as an important agricultural soil N input, while its effect on soil N2O emissions in the current and future climate change remains unknown. Here, we conducted a thorough analysis of the effect of N deposition and climate change on soil N2O emissions as well as their trends. Soil N2O emissions induced by N deposition accounted for 25% of global cropland soil N2O emissions. Global soil N2O emissions over croplands increased by 2% yr–1 during 1996–2013, of which N deposition could explain 15% of the increase. The emission factor of N deposition was ∼7 times that of N fertilizer plus manure (∼1%) through a more direct way, since N deposition including nitrate (NO3 –) and ammonium (NH4 +) could be directly used for nitrification and denitrification. By 2100, N deposition will increase by 80% and cropland soil N2O emissions will increase by 241% under the RCP8.5 scenario in comparison with the 2010 baseline. These results suggest that, under the background of increasing global N deposition, it is essential to consider its effects on soil N2O emissions in climatic change studies.

Abstract. Since the industrial revolution, human activities have dramatically changed the nitrogen (N) cycle in natural systems. Anthropogenic emissions of reactive nitrogen (Nr) can return to the earth's surface through atmospheric Nr deposition. Increased Nr deposition may improve ecosystem productivity. However, excessive Nr deposition can cause a series of negative effects on ecosystem health, biodiversity, soil, and water. Thus, accurate estimations of Nr deposition are necessary for evaluating its environmental impacts. The United States, Canada and Europe have successively launched a number of satellites with sensors that allow retrieval of atmospheric NO2 and NH3 column density and therefore estimation of surface Nr concentration and deposition at an unprecedented spatiotemporal scale. Atmosphere NH3 column can be retrieved from atmospheric infra-red emission, while atmospheric NO2 column can be retrieved from reflected solar radiation. In recent years, scientists attempted to estimate surface Nr concentration and deposition using satellite retrieval of atmospheric NO2 and NH3 columns. In this study, we give a thorough review of recent advances of estimating surface Nr concentration and deposition using the satellite retrievals of NO2 and NH3, present a framework of using satellite data to estimate surface Nr concentration and deposition based on recent works, and summarize the existing challenges for estimating surface Nr concentration and deposition using the satellite-based methods. We believe that exploiting satellite data to estimate Nr deposition has a broad and promising prospect.

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