Emerging nitrogen-driven urban atmosphere control on aerosol iron dissolution for biogeochemical cycles.

Authors

Guochen Wang, Xiyao Chen, Kan Huang, Wenkai Guan, Minkang Zhi, Qi Yuan, Keliang Li, Liang Xu, Ziwei Liu, Ruifeng Zhang, Yuntao Wang, Shixian Zhai, Pingqing Fu, Akinori Ito, Weijun Li

Published in

Science advances. Volume 12. Issue 35. Pages eaec0108. Aug 28, 2026. Epub Aug 28, 2026.

Abstract

Iron (Fe) is a critical micronutrient regulating marine productivity and the global carbon cycle, yet its atmospheric dissolution mechanisms remain debated for biogeochemical cycle. The prevailing "iron-sulfur coupling" paradigm has traditionally explained proton-promoted dissolution. However, disproportionate declines in sulfur dioxide relative to nitrogen oxides emissions have created a "low-sulfur, high-nitrogen" atmosphere over East Asia, raising questions about the role of nitric acid. Here, we develop a data-driven framework to elucidate nitric acid-driven Fe dissolution using the nitrate-to-sulfate acidification capacity ratio (R_N/S). Results show that nitrate now dominates urban aerosol Fe dissolution, contributing ∼1.5 times more than sulfate, challenging the long-standing paradigm. Global simulations further estimate that nitrate contributes to ∼68% of the enhancement in Fe solubility in PM_2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 μm) dust relative to preindustrial levels. These findings reveal an emerging nitrogen-driven control on Fe mobilization, emphasizing the need to incorporate species-dependent acid chemistry into models to accurately represent global Fe cycling and its climate feedbacks.

PMID:
42664338
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 29 Aug 2026.

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