Articles | Volume 23, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6127-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6127-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Quantification of oil and gas methane emissions in the Delaware and Marcellus basins using a network of continuous tower-based measurements
Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Kenneth Davis
Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Natasha Miles
Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Scott Richardson
Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
Aijun Deng
Utopus Insights, Inc, Valhalla, NY, USA
Benjamin Hmiel
Environmental Defense Fund, 301 Congress Ave., Suite 1300, Austin, TX, USA
David Lyon
Environmental Defense Fund, 301 Congress Ave., Suite 1300, Austin, TX, USA
Thomas Lauvaux
GSMA, University of Reims-Champagne Ardenne, UMR CNRS 7331, Reims, France
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Daniel J. Varon, Daniel J. Jacob, Benjamin Hmiel, Ritesh Gautam, David R. Lyon, Mark Omara, Melissa Sulprizio, Lu Shen, Drew Pendergrass, Hannah Nesser, Zhen Qu, Zachary R. Barkley, Natasha L. Miles, Scott J. Richardson, Kenneth J. Davis, Sudhanshu Pandey, Xiao Lu, Alba Lorente, Tobias Borsdorff, Joannes D. Maasakkers, and Ilse Aben
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We use TROPOMI satellite observations to quantify weekly methane emissions from the US Permian oil and gas basin from May 2018 to October 2020. We find that Permian emissions are highly variable, with diverse economic and activity drivers. The most important drivers during our study period were new well development and natural gas price. Permian methane intensity averaged 4.6 % and decreased by 1 % per year.
Vanessa C. Monteiro, Natasha L. Miles, Scott J. Richardson, Zachary Barkley, Bernd J. Haupt, David Lyon, Benjamin Hmiel, and Kenneth J. Davis
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 2401–2417, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2401-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2401-2022, 2022
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We describe a network of five ground-based in situ towers, equipped to measure concentrations of methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and the isotopic ratio of methane, in the Permian Basin, United States. The main goal is to use methane concentrations with atmospheric models to determine methane emissions from one of the Permian sub-basins. These datasets can improve emissions estimations, leading to best practices in the oil and natural gas industry, and policies for emissions reduction.
David R. Lyon, Benjamin Hmiel, Ritesh Gautam, Mark Omara, Katherine A. Roberts, Zachary R. Barkley, Kenneth J. Davis, Natasha L. Miles, Vanessa C. Monteiro, Scott J. Richardson, Stephen Conley, Mackenzie L. Smith, Daniel J. Jacob, Lu Shen, Daniel J. Varon, Aijun Deng, Xander Rudelis, Nikhil Sharma, Kyle T. Story, Adam R. Brandt, Mary Kang, Eric A. Kort, Anthony J. Marchese, and Steven P. Hamburg
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The Permian Basin (USA) is the world’s largest oil field. We use tower- and aircraft-based approaches to measure how methane emissions in the Permian Basin changed throughout 2020. In early 2020, 3.3 % of the region’s gas was emitted; then in spring 2020, the loss rate temporarily dropped to 1.9 % as oil price crashed. We find this short-term reduction to be a result of reduced well development, less gas flaring, and fewer abnormal events despite minimal reductions in oil and gas production.
Petter Weibring, Dirk Richter, James G. Walega, Alan Fried, Joshua DiGangi, Hannah Halliday, Yonghoon Choi, Bianca Baier, Colm Sweeney, Ben Miller, Kenneth J. Davis, Zachary Barkley, and Michael D. Obland
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6095–6112, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6095-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6095-2020, 2020
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The present study describes an autonomously operated instrument for high-precision (20–40 parts per trillion in 1 s) measurements of ethane during actual airborne operations on a small aircraft platform (NASA's King Air B200). This paper discusses the dynamic nature of airborne performance due to various aircraft-induced perturbations, methods devised to identify such events, and solutions we have enacted to circumvent these perturbations.
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Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 4545–4559, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4545-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4545-2020, 2020
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An accurate independent verification methodology to estimate methane (a powerful greenhouse gas) emissions is essential for the effective implementation of policies that aim to reduce the impacts of climate change. In this paper, four uncertainties that complicate the independent estimation of urban methane emissions are identified: the definition of urban domain, background heterogeneity, emissions temporal variability, and missing sources. Ways to improve emission estimates are suggested.
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Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2561–2576, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2561-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2561-2019, 2019
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In this study, we use atmospheric methane concentration observations collected during an airborne campaign to compare different model-based emissions estimates from the Barnett Shale oil and natural gas production basin in Texas, USA. We find that the tracer dispersion model has a significant impact on the results because the models differ in their simulation of vertical dispersion. Additional work is needed to evaluate and improve vertical mixing in the tracer dispersion models.
Natasha L. Miles, Douglas K. Martins, Scott J. Richardson, Christopher W. Rella, Caleb Arata, Thomas Lauvaux, Kenneth J. Davis, Zachary R. Barkley, Kathryn McKain, and Colm Sweeney
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1273–1295, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1273-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1273-2018, 2018
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Analyzers measuring methane and methane isotopic ratio were deployed at four towers in the Marcellus Shale natural gas extraction region of Pennsylvania. The methane isotopic ratio is helpful for differentiating emissions from natural gas activities from other sources (e.g., landfills). We describe the analyzer calibration. The signals observed in the study region were generally small, but the instrumental performance demonstrated here could be used in regions with stronger enhancements.
Zachary R. Barkley, Thomas Lauvaux, Kenneth J. Davis, Aijun Deng, Natasha L. Miles, Scott J. Richardson, Yanni Cao, Colm Sweeney, Anna Karion, MacKenzie Smith, Eric A. Kort, Stefan Schwietzke, Thomas Murphy, Guido Cervone, Douglas Martins, and Joannes D. Maasakkers
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This study quantifies methane emissions from natural gas production in north-eastern Pennsylvania. Methane observations from 10 flights in spring 2015 are compared to model-projected values, and methane emissions from natural gas are adjusted within the model to create the best match between the two data sets. This study find methane emissions from natural gas production to be low and may be indicative of characteristics of the basin that make sources from north-eastern Pennsylvania unique.
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This research investigates the role and importance of reprojecting geographic information system layers used by weather numerical models as input by performing sensitivity studies of greenhouse gas transport and dispersion in northeastern Pennsylvania. To bridge the gap between geographic information system data and atmospheric models, this study presents an innovative approach by creating R code to automatically generate model input from geographic data and analyze the model output.
Tobias Gerken, Kenneth J. Davis, Klaus Keller, and Sha Feng
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-341, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-341, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).
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We apply the Patient Rule Induction Method (PRIM) technique to airborne CO2 and meteorological data to better understand atmospheric conditions and implications for carbon dioxide model-observation-mismatches. We found PRIM is capable of separating observations from different seasons and levels based on atmospheric conditions. Large magnitude carbon dioxide model-observation-differences were associated with non-typical atmospheric conditions, with implications for transport model evaluation.
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Daniel J. Varon, Daniel J. Jacob, Benjamin Hmiel, Ritesh Gautam, David R. Lyon, Mark Omara, Melissa Sulprizio, Lu Shen, Drew Pendergrass, Hannah Nesser, Zhen Qu, Zachary R. Barkley, Natasha L. Miles, Scott J. Richardson, Kenneth J. Davis, Sudhanshu Pandey, Xiao Lu, Alba Lorente, Tobias Borsdorff, Joannes D. Maasakkers, and Ilse Aben
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We use TROPOMI satellite observations to quantify weekly methane emissions from the US Permian oil and gas basin from May 2018 to October 2020. We find that Permian emissions are highly variable, with diverse economic and activity drivers. The most important drivers during our study period were new well development and natural gas price. Permian methane intensity averaged 4.6 % and decreased by 1 % per year.
Michael N. Dyonisius, Vasilii V. Petrenko, Andrew M. Smith, Benjamin Hmiel, Peter D. Neff, Bin Yang, Quan Hua, Jochen Schmitt, Sarah A. Shackleton, Christo Buizert, Philip F. Place, James A. Menking, Ross Beaudette, Christina Harth, Michael Kalk, Heidi A. Roop, Bernhard Bereiter, Casey Armanetti, Isaac Vimont, Sylvia Englund Michel, Edward J. Brook, Jeffrey P. Severinghaus, Ray F. Weiss, and Joseph R. McConnell
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Cosmic rays that enter the atmosphere produce secondary particles which react with surface minerals to produce radioactive nuclides. These nuclides are often used to constrain Earth's surface processes. However, the production rates from muons are not well constrained. We measured 14C in ice with a well-known exposure history to constrain the production rates from muons. 14C production in ice is analogous to quartz, but we obtain different production rates compared to commonly used estimates.
Lu Shen, Ritesh Gautam, Mark Omara, Daniel Zavala-Araiza, Joannes D. Maasakkers, Tia R. Scarpelli, Alba Lorente, David Lyon, Jianxiong Sheng, Daniel J. Varon, Hannah Nesser, Zhen Qu, Xiao Lu, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Steven P. Hamburg, and Daniel J. Jacob
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We use 22 months of TROPOMI satellite observations to quantity methane emissions from the oil (O) and natural gas (G) sector in the US and Canada at the scale of both individual basins as well as country-wide aggregates. We find that O/G-related methane emissions are underestimated in these inventories by 80 % for the US and 40 % for Canada, and 70 % of the underestimate in the US is from five O/G basins, including Permian, Haynesville, Anadarko, Eagle Ford, and Barnett.
Rory A. Barton-Grimley, Amin R. Nehrir, Susan A. Kooi, James E. Collins, David B. Harper, Anthony Notari, Joseph Lee, Joshua P. DiGangi, Yonghoon Choi, and Kenneth J. Davis
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HALO is a multi-functional lidar that measures CH4 columns and profiles of H2O mixing ratio and aerosol/cloud optical properties. HALO supports carbon cycle, weather dynamics, and radiation science suborbital research and is a technology testbed for future space-based differential absorption lidar missions. In 2019 HALO collected CH4 columns and aerosol/cloud profiles during the ACT-America campaign. Here we assess HALO's CH4 accuracy and precision compared to co-located in situ observations.
Vanessa C. Monteiro, Natasha L. Miles, Scott J. Richardson, Zachary Barkley, Bernd J. Haupt, David Lyon, Benjamin Hmiel, and Kenneth J. Davis
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 2401–2417, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2401-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-2401-2022, 2022
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We describe a network of five ground-based in situ towers, equipped to measure concentrations of methane, carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and the isotopic ratio of methane, in the Permian Basin, United States. The main goal is to use methane concentrations with atmospheric models to determine methane emissions from one of the Permian sub-basins. These datasets can improve emissions estimations, leading to best practices in the oil and natural gas industry, and policies for emissions reduction.
David F. Baker, Emily Bell, Kenneth J. Davis, Joel F. Campbell, Bing Lin, and Jeremy Dobler
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 649–668, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-649-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-649-2022, 2022
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The OCO-2 satellite measures many closely spaced column-averaged CO2 values around its orbit. To give these data proper weight in flux inversions, their error correlations must be accounted for. Here we lay out a 1-D error model with correlations that die out exponentially along-track to do so. A correlation length scale of ∼20 km is derived from column CO2 measurements from an airborne lidar flown underneath OCO-2 for use in this model. The model's performance is compared to previous ones.
Tao Zheng, Sha Feng, Kenneth J. Davis, Sandip Pal, and Josep-Anton Morguí
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 3037–3066, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-3037-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-3037-2021, 2021
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Carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas. We develop the numerical model that represents carbon dioxide transport in the atmosphere. This model development is based on the MPAS model, which has a variable-resolution capability. The purpose of developing carbon dioxide transport in MPAS is to allow for high-resolution transport model simulation that is not limited by the lateral boundaries. It will also form the base for a future development of MPAS-based carbon inversion system.
David R. Lyon, Benjamin Hmiel, Ritesh Gautam, Mark Omara, Katherine A. Roberts, Zachary R. Barkley, Kenneth J. Davis, Natasha L. Miles, Vanessa C. Monteiro, Scott J. Richardson, Stephen Conley, Mackenzie L. Smith, Daniel J. Jacob, Lu Shen, Daniel J. Varon, Aijun Deng, Xander Rudelis, Nikhil Sharma, Kyle T. Story, Adam R. Brandt, Mary Kang, Eric A. Kort, Anthony J. Marchese, and Steven P. Hamburg
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6605–6626, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6605-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6605-2021, 2021
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The Permian Basin (USA) is the world’s largest oil field. We use tower- and aircraft-based approaches to measure how methane emissions in the Permian Basin changed throughout 2020. In early 2020, 3.3 % of the region’s gas was emitted; then in spring 2020, the loss rate temporarily dropped to 1.9 % as oil price crashed. We find this short-term reduction to be a result of reduced well development, less gas flaring, and fewer abnormal events despite minimal reductions in oil and gas production.
Xueying Yu, Dylan B. Millet, Kelley C. Wells, Daven K. Henze, Hansen Cao, Timothy J. Griffis, Eric A. Kort, Genevieve Plant, Malte J. Deventer, Randall K. Kolka, D. Tyler Roman, Kenneth J. Davis, Ankur R. Desai, Bianca C. Baier, Kathryn McKain, Alan C. Czarnetzki, and A. Anthony Bloom
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 951–971, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-951-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-951-2021, 2021
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Methane concentrations have doubled since 1750. The US Upper Midwest is a key region contributing to such trends, but sources are poorly understood. We collected and analyzed aircraft data to resolve spatial and timing biases in wetland and livestock emission estimates and uncover errors in inventory treatment of manure management. We highlight the importance of intensive agriculture for the regional and US methane budgets and the potential for methane mitigation through improved management.
Petter Weibring, Dirk Richter, James G. Walega, Alan Fried, Joshua DiGangi, Hannah Halliday, Yonghoon Choi, Bianca Baier, Colm Sweeney, Ben Miller, Kenneth J. Davis, Zachary Barkley, and Michael D. Obland
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 6095–6112, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6095-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-6095-2020, 2020
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The present study describes an autonomously operated instrument for high-precision (20–40 parts per trillion in 1 s) measurements of ethane during actual airborne operations on a small aircraft platform (NASA's King Air B200). This paper discusses the dynamic nature of airborne performance due to various aircraft-induced perturbations, methods devised to identify such events, and solutions we have enacted to circumvent these perturbations.
Nikolay V. Balashov, Kenneth J. Davis, Natasha L. Miles, Thomas Lauvaux, Scott J. Richardson, Zachary R. Barkley, and Timothy A. Bonin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 4545–4559, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4545-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-4545-2020, 2020
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An accurate independent verification methodology to estimate methane (a powerful greenhouse gas) emissions is essential for the effective implementation of policies that aim to reduce the impacts of climate change. In this paper, four uncertainties that complicate the independent estimation of urban methane emissions are identified: the definition of urban domain, background heterogeneity, emissions temporal variability, and missing sources. Ways to improve emission estimates are suggested.
Jens Mühle, Cathy M. Trudinger, Luke M. Western, Matthew Rigby, Martin K. Vollmer, Sunyoung Park, Alistair J. Manning, Daniel Say, Anita Ganesan, L. Paul Steele, Diane J. Ivy, Tim Arnold, Shanlan Li, Andreas Stohl, Christina M. Harth, Peter K. Salameh, Archie McCulloch, Simon O'Doherty, Mi-Kyung Park, Chun Ok Jo, Dickon Young, Kieran M. Stanley, Paul B. Krummel, Blagoj Mitrevski, Ove Hermansen, Chris Lunder, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Bo Yao, Jooil Kim, Benjamin Hmiel, Christo Buizert, Vasilii V. Petrenko, Jgor Arduini, Michela Maione, David M. Etheridge, Eleni Michalopoulou, Mike Czerniak, Jeffrey P. Severinghaus, Stefan Reimann, Peter G. Simmonds, Paul J. Fraser, Ronald G. Prinn, and Ray F. Weiss
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 10335–10359, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10335-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-10335-2019, 2019
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We discuss atmospheric concentrations and emissions of the strong greenhouse gas perfluorocyclobutane. A large fraction of recent emissions stem from China, India, and Russia, probably as a by-product from the production of fluoropolymers and fluorochemicals. Most historic emissions likely stem from developed countries. Total emissions are higher than what is being reported. Clearly, more measurements and better reporting are needed to understand emissions of this and other greenhouse gases.
Isaac J. Vimont, Jocelyn C. Turnbull, Vasilii V. Petrenko, Philip F. Place, Colm Sweeney, Natasha Miles, Scott Richardson, Bruce H. Vaughn, and James W. C. White
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 8547–8562, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8547-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-8547-2019, 2019
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Stable isotopes of Carbon Monoxide (CO) and radiocarbon carbon dioxide were measured over three summers at Indianapolis, Indiana, US, and for 1 year at a site thought to be strongly influenced by CO from oxidized volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in South Carolina, US. The Indianapolis results were used to provide an estimate of the carbon and oxygen isotopic signatures of CO produced from oxidized VOCs. This updated estimate agrees well with the data from South Carolina during the summer.
Liza I. Díaz-Isaac, Thomas Lauvaux, Marc Bocquet, and Kenneth J. Davis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 5695–5718, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5695-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-5695-2019, 2019
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We demonstrate that transport model errors, one of the main contributors to the uncertainty in regional CO2 inversions, can be represented by a small-size ensemble carefully calibrated with meteorological data. Our results also confirm transport model errors represent a significant fraction of the model–data mismatch in CO2 mole fractions and hence in regional inverse CO2 fluxes.
Julian Kostinek, Anke Roiger, Kenneth J. Davis, Colm Sweeney, Joshua P. DiGangi, Yonghoon Choi, Bianca Baier, Frank Hase, Jochen Groß, Maximilian Eckl, Theresa Klausner, and André Butz
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 12, 1767–1783, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1767-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-12-1767-2019, 2019
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We demonstrate the successful adaption of a laser-based spectrometer for airborne in situ trace gas measurements. The modified instrument allows for precise and simultaneous airborne observation of five climatologically relevant gases. We further report on instrument performance during a first field deployment over the eastern and central USA.
Anna Karion, Thomas Lauvaux, Israel Lopez Coto, Colm Sweeney, Kimberly Mueller, Sharon Gourdji, Wayne Angevine, Zachary Barkley, Aijun Deng, Arlyn Andrews, Ariel Stein, and James Whetstone
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2561–2576, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2561-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2561-2019, 2019
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In this study, we use atmospheric methane concentration observations collected during an airborne campaign to compare different model-based emissions estimates from the Barnett Shale oil and natural gas production basin in Texas, USA. We find that the tracer dispersion model has a significant impact on the results because the models differ in their simulation of vertical dispersion. Additional work is needed to evaluate and improve vertical mixing in the tracer dispersion models.
Martha P. Butler, Thomas Lauvaux, Sha Feng, Junjie Liu, Kevin W. Bowman, and Kenneth J. Davis
Geosci. Model Dev. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2018-342, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2018-342, 2019
Revised manuscript not accepted
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This paper describes a mass-conserving framework for computing time-varying lateral boundary conditions from global model carbon dioxide concentrations for introduction into the WRF-Chem regional model. The goal is to create a laboratory environment in which carbon dioxide transport uncertainties may be explored separately from inversion-derived flux uncertainties. The software is currently available on GitHub at https://github.com/psu-inversion/WRF_Boundary_Coupling.
Liza I. Díaz-Isaac, Thomas Lauvaux, and Kenneth J. Davis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 14813–14835, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14813-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14813-2018, 2018
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Atmospheric inversions rely on the accurate representation of the atmospheric dynamics in order to produce reliable surface fluxes. In this work, we evaluate the sensitivity of a state-of-the-art mesoscale atmospheric model to the different physics parameterizations and forcing. We conclude that no model configuration is optimal across an entire region. Therefore, we recommend an ensemble approach or the assimilation of meteorological observations in future inversion studies.
Natasha L. Miles, Douglas K. Martins, Scott J. Richardson, Christopher W. Rella, Caleb Arata, Thomas Lauvaux, Kenneth J. Davis, Zachary R. Barkley, Kathryn McKain, and Colm Sweeney
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 11, 1273–1295, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1273-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-11-1273-2018, 2018
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Analyzers measuring methane and methane isotopic ratio were deployed at four towers in the Marcellus Shale natural gas extraction region of Pennsylvania. The methane isotopic ratio is helpful for differentiating emissions from natural gas activities from other sources (e.g., landfills). We describe the analyzer calibration. The signals observed in the study region were generally small, but the instrumental performance demonstrated here could be used in regions with stronger enhancements.
Zachary R. Barkley, Thomas Lauvaux, Kenneth J. Davis, Aijun Deng, Natasha L. Miles, Scott J. Richardson, Yanni Cao, Colm Sweeney, Anna Karion, MacKenzie Smith, Eric A. Kort, Stefan Schwietzke, Thomas Murphy, Guido Cervone, Douglas Martins, and Joannes D. Maasakkers
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 13941–13966, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13941-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-13941-2017, 2017
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This study quantifies methane emissions from natural gas production in north-eastern Pennsylvania. Methane observations from 10 flights in spring 2015 are compared to model-projected values, and methane emissions from natural gas are adjusted within the model to create the best match between the two data sets. This study find methane emissions from natural gas production to be low and may be indicative of characteristics of the basin that make sources from north-eastern Pennsylvania unique.
Yanni Cao, Guido Cervone, Zachary Barkley, Thomas Lauvaux, Aijun Deng, and Alan Taylor
Geosci. Model Dev., 10, 3425–3440, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-3425-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-10-3425-2017, 2017
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This research investigates the role and importance of reprojecting geographic information system layers used by weather numerical models as input by performing sensitivity studies of greenhouse gas transport and dispersion in northeastern Pennsylvania. To bridge the gap between geographic information system data and atmospheric models, this study presents an innovative approach by creating R code to automatically generate model input from geographic data and analyze the model output.
Susan L. Brantley, Roman A. DiBiase, Tess A. Russo, Yuning Shi, Henry Lin, Kenneth J. Davis, Margot Kaye, Lillian Hill, Jason Kaye, David M. Eissenstat, Beth Hoagland, Ashlee L. Dere, Andrew L. Neal, Kristen M. Brubaker, and Dan K. Arthur
Earth Surf. Dynam., 4, 211–235, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-211-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-4-211-2016, 2016
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In order to better understand and forecast the evolution of the environment from the top of the vegetation canopy down to bedrock, numerous types of intensive measurements have been made over several years in a small watershed. The ability to expand such a study to larger areas and different environments requiring fewer measurements is essential. This study presents one possible approach to such an expansion, to collect necessary and sufficient measurements in order to forecast this evolution.
L. Haszpra, Z. Barcza, T. Haszpra, Zs. Pátkai, and K. J. Davis
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 1657–1671, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1657-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-1657-2015, 2015
A. W. King, R. J. Andres, K. J. Davis, M. Hafer, D. J. Hayes, D. N. Huntzinger, B. de Jong, W. A. Kurz, A. D. McGuire, R. Vargas, Y. Wei, T. O. West, and C. W. Woodall
Biogeosciences, 12, 399–414, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-399-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-12-399-2015, 2015
M. O. L. Cambaliza, P. B. Shepson, D. R. Caulton, B. Stirm, D. Samarov, K. R. Gurney, J. Turnbull, K. J. Davis, A. Possolo, A. Karion, C. Sweeney, B. Moser, A. Hendricks, T. Lauvaux, K. Mays, J. Whetstone, J. Huang, I. Razlivanov, N. L. Miles, and S. J. Richardson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 9029–9050, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-9029-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-9029-2014, 2014
T. W. Hilton, K. J. Davis, and K. Keller
Biogeosciences, 11, 217–235, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-217-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-11-217-2014, 2014
Related subject area
Subject: Gases | Research Activity: Atmospheric Modelling and Data Analysis | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
Estimating the variability in NOx emissions from Wuhan with TROPOMI NO2 data during 2018 to 2023
Enhanced understanding of atmospheric blocking modulation on ozone dynamics within a high-resolution Earth system model
Natural emissions of VOC and NOx over Africa constrained by TROPOMI HCHO and NO2 data using the MAGRITTEv1.1 model
Anthropogenic emission controls reduce summertime ozone–temperature sensitivity in the United States
Investigating the response of China's surface ozone concentration to the future changes of multiple factors
Assessing the relative impacts of satellite ozone and its precursor observations to improve global tropospheric ozone analysis using multiple chemical reanalysis systems
Evaluating present-day and future impacts of agricultural ammonia emissions on atmospheric chemistry and climate
Air-pollution-satellite-based CO2 emission inversion: system evaluation, sensitivity analysis, and future research direction
Insights into ozone pollution control in urban areas by decoupling meteorological factors based on machine learning
Quantification of regional net CO2 flux errors in the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) v10 model intercomparison project (MIP) ensemble using airborne measurements
Reactive nitrogen in and around the northeastern and mid-Atlantic US: sources, sinks, and connections with ozone
Preindustrial-to-present-day changes in atmospheric carbon monoxide: agreement and gaps between ice archives and global model reconstructions
Investigating processes influencing simulation of local Arctic wintertime anthropogenic pollution in Fairbanks, Alaska, during ALPACA-2022
Urban ozone formation and sensitivities to volatile chemical products, cooking emissions, and NOx upwind of and within two Los Angeles Basin cities
Causes of growing middle-to-upper tropospheric ozone over the northwest Pacific region
Impact of introducing electric vehicles on ground-level O3 and PM2.5 in the Greater Tokyo Area: yearly trends and the importance of changes in the urban heat island effect
Constraining the budget of NOx and VOCs at a remote Tropical island using multi-platform observations and WRF-Chem model simulations
A CO2–Δ14CO2 inversion setup for estimating European fossil CO2 emissions
Maximum ozone concentrations in the southwestern US and Texas: implications of the growing predominance of the background contribution
Derivation of atmospheric reaction mechanisms for volatile organic compounds by the SAPRC mechanism generation system (MechGen)
Seasonal, regional, and vertical characteristics of high-carbon-monoxide plumes along with their associated ozone anomalies, as seen by IAGOS between 2002 and 2019
The potential of drone observations to improve air quality predictions by 4D-Var
Process analysis of elevated concentrations of organic acids at Whiteface Mountain, New York
Sensitivity of climate-chemistry model simulated atmospheric composition to lightning-produced NOx parameterizations based on lightning frequency
Ozone source attribution in polluted European areas during summer 2017 as simulated with MECO(n)
Surface ozone trend variability across the United States and the impact of heatwaves (1990–2023)
Opinion: Challenges and needs of tropospheric chemical mechanism development
Decrease of the European NOx anthropogenic emissions between 2005 and 2019 as seen from the OMI and TROPOMI NO2 satellite observations
Tracking daily NOx emissions from an urban agglomeration based on TROPOMI NO2 and a local ensemble transform Kalman filter
The atmospheric oxidizing capacity in China – Part 2: Sensitivity to emissions of primary pollutants
Role of chemical production and depositional losses on formaldehyde in the Community Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Multiphase Mechanism (CRACMM)
Review of source analyses of ambient volatile organic compounds considering reactive losses: methods of reducing loss effects, impacts of losses, and sources
Interpreting summertime hourly variation of NO2 columns with implications for geostationary satellite applications
An investigation into atmospheric nitrous acid (HONO) processes in South Korea
Performance evaluation of UKESM1 for surface ozone across the pan-tropics
Constraining light dependency in modeled emissions through comparison to observed biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) concentrations in a southeastern US forest
A global re-analysis of regionally resolved emissions and atmospheric mole fractions of SF6 for the period 2005–2021
Monoterpene oxidation pathways initiated by acyl peroxy radical addition
Tropospheric ozone precursors: global and regional distributions, trends, and variability
Representing improved tropospheric ozone distribution by including lightning NOx emissions in CHIMERE
Sensitivity of climate effects of hydrogen to leakage size, location, and chemical background
The contribution of transport emissions to ozone mixing ratios and methane lifetime in 2015 and 2050 in the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs)
Local and transboundary contributions to nitrogen loadings across East Asia using CMAQ-ISAM and GEMS-informed emissions inventory during the winter-spring transition
Ether and ester formation from peroxy radical recombination: a qualitative reaction channel analysis
ACEIC: a comprehensive anthropogenic chlorine emission inventory for China
Impact of methane and other precursor emission reductions on surface ozone in Europe: scenario analysis using the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP) Meteorological Synthesizing Centre – West (MSC-W) model
High-resolution mapping of on-road vehicle emissions with real-time traffic datasets based on big data
Chemistry-climate feedback of atmospheric methane in a methane emission flux driven chemistry-climate model
Verifying national inventory-based combustion emissions of CO2 across the UK and mainland Europe using satellite observations of atmospheric CO and CO2
Revisiting the high tropospheric ozone over Southern Africa: overestimated biomass burning and underestimated anthropogenic emissions
Qianqian Zhang, K. Folkert Boersma, Chiel van der Laan, Alba Mols, Bin Zhao, Shengyue Li, and Yuepeng Pan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3313–3326, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3313-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3313-2025, 2025
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Accurate NOx emission estimates are required to better understand air pollution. This study investigates and demonstrates the ability of the superposition column model in combination with TROPOMI tropospheric NO2 column data to estimate city-scale NOx emissions and lifetimes and their variabilities. The results of this work nevertheless confirm the strength of the superposition column model in estimating urban NOx emissions with reasonable accuracy.
Wenbin Kou, Yang Gao, Dan Tong, Xiaojie Guo, Xiadong An, Wenyu Liu, Mengshi Cui, Xiuwen Guo, Shaoqing Zhang, Huiwang Gao, and Lixin Wu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3029–3048, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3029-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3029-2025, 2025
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Unlike traditional numerical studies, we apply a high-resolution Earth system model, improving simulations of surface ozone and large-scale circulations such as atmospheric blocking. Besides local heat waves, we quantify the impact of atmospheric blocking on downstream ozone concentrations, which is closely associated with the blocking position. We identify three major pathways of Rossby wave propagation, stressing the critical role of large-scale circulation in regional air quality.
Beata Opacka, Trissevgeni Stavrakou, Jean-François Müller, Isabelle De Smedt, Jos van Geffen, Eloise A. Marais, Rebekah P. Horner, Dylan B. Millet, Kelly C. Wells, and Alex B. Guenther
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2863–2894, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2863-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2863-2025, 2025
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Vegetation releases biogenic volatile organic compounds, while soils and lightning contribute to the natural emissions of nitrogen oxides into the atmosphere. These gases interact in complex ways. Using satellite data and models, we developed a new method to simultaneously optimize these natural emissions over Africa in 2019. Our approach resulted in an increase in natural emissions, supported by independent data indicating that current estimates are underestimated.
Shuai Li, Haolin Wang, and Xiao Lu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2725–2743, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2725-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2725-2025, 2025
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Summertime ozone–temperature sensitivity has decreased by 50 % from 3.0 ppbv per K in 1990 to 1.5 ppb per K in 2021 in the US. GEOS-Chem simulations show that anthropogenic nitrogen oxide emission reduction is the dominant driver of ozone–temperature sensitivity decline by influencing both temperature direct and temperature indirect processes. Reduced ozone–temperature sensitivity has decreased ozone enhancement from low to high temperatures by an average of 6.8 ppbv across the US.
Jinya Yang, Yutong Wang, Lei Zhang, and Yu Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2649–2666, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2649-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2649-2025, 2025
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We develop a modeling framework to predict future ozone concentrations (till the 2060s) in China following an IPCC scenario. We evaluate the contributions of climatic, anthropogenic, and biogenic factors by season and region. We find persistent emission controls will alter the nonlinear response of ozone to its precursors and dominate the declining ozone level. The outcomes highlight the importance of human actions, even with a climate penalty on air quality.
Takashi Sekiya, Emanuele Emili, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, Antje Inness, Zhen Qu, R. Bradley Pierce, Dylan Jones, Helen Worden, William Y. Y. Cheng, Vincent Huijnen, and Gerbrand Koren
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2243–2268, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2243-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2243-2025, 2025
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Five global chemical reanalysis datasets were used to assess the relative impacts of assimilating satellite ozone and its precursor measurements on tropospheric ozone analyses for 2010. The multiple reanalysis system comparison allows an evaluation of the dependency of the impacts on different reanalysis systems. The results suggested the importance of satellite ozone and its precursor measurements for improving ozone analysis in the whole troposphere, with varying magnitudes among the systems.
Maureen Beaudor, Didier Hauglustaine, Juliette Lathière, Martin Van Damme, Lieven Clarisse, and Nicolas Vuichard
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2017–2046, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2017-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2017-2025, 2025
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Agriculture is the biggest ammonia (NH3) source, impacting air quality, climate, and ecosystems. Because of food demand, NH3 emissions are projected to rise by 2100. Using a global model, we analyzed the impact of present and future NH3 emissions generated from a land model. Our results show improved ammonia patterns compared to a reference inventory. Future scenarios predict up to 70 % increase in global NH3 burden, with significant changes in radiative forcing that can greatly elevate N2O.
Hui Li, Jiaxin Qiu, and Bo Zheng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1949–1963, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1949-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1949-2025, 2025
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We conduct a sensitivity analysis with 31 tests on various factors including prior emissions, model resolution, satellite constraint, and other system configurations to assess the vulnerability of emission estimates across temporal, sectoral, and regional dimensions. This reveals the robustness of emissions estimated by this air-pollution-satellite-based CO2 emission inversion system, with relative change between tests and base inversion below 4.0 % for national annual NOx and CO2 emissions.
Yuqing Qiu, Xin Li, Wenxuan Chai, Yi Liu, Mengdi Song, Xudong Tian, Qiaoli Zou, Wenjun Lou, Wangyao Zhang, Juan Li, and Yuanhang Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1749–1763, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1749-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1749-2025, 2025
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The chemical reactions of ozone (O3) formation are related to meteorology and local emissions. Here, a random forest approach was used to eliminate the effects of meteorological factors (dispersion or transport) on O3 and its precursors. Variations in the sensitivity of O3 formation and the apportionment of emission sources were revealed after meteorological normalization. Our results suggest that meteorological variations should be considered when diagnosing O3 formation.
Jeongmin Yun, Junjie Liu, Brendan Byrne, Brad Weir, Lesley E. Ott, Kathryn McKain, Bianca C. Baier, Luciana V. Gatti, and Sebastien C. Biraud
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1725–1748, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1725-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1725-2025, 2025
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This study quantifies errors in regional net surface–atmosphere CO2 flux estimates from an inverse model ensemble using airborne CO2 measurements. Our results show that flux error estimates based on observations significantly exceed those computed from the ensemble spread of flux estimates in regions with high fossil fuel emissions. This finding suggests the presence of systematic biases in the inversion estimates, associated with errors in the fossil fuel emissions common to all models.
Min Huang, Gregory R. Carmichael, Kevin W. Bowman, Isabelle De Smedt, Andreas Colliander, Michael H. Cosh, Sujay V. Kumar, Alex B. Guenther, Scott J. Janz, Ryan M. Stauffer, Anne M. Thompson, Niko M. Fedkin, Robert J. Swap, John D. Bolten, and Alicia T. Joseph
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1449–1476, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1449-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1449-2025, 2025
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We use model simulations along with multiplatform, multidisciplinary observations and a range of analysis methods to estimate and understand the distributions, temporal changes, and impacts of reactive nitrogen and ozone over the most populous US region that has undergone significant environmental changes. Deposition, biogenic emissions, and extra-regional sources have been playing increasingly important roles in controlling pollutant budgets in this area as local anthropogenic emissions drop.
Xavier Faïn, Sophie Szopa, Vaishali Naïk, Patricia Martinerie, David M. Etheridge, Rachael H. Rhodes, Cathy M. Trudinger, Vasilii V. Petrenko, Kévin Fourteau, and Philip Place
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1105–1119, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1105-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1105-2025, 2025
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Carbon monoxide (CO) plays a crucial role in the atmosphere's oxidizing capacity. In this study, we analyse how historical (1850–2014) [CO] outputs from state-of-the-art global chemistry–climate models over Greenland and Antarctica are able to capture both absolute values and trends recorded in multi-site ice archives. A disparity in [CO] growth rates emerges in the Northern Hemisphere between models and observations from 1920–1975 CE, possibly linked to uncertainties in CO emission factors.
Natalie Brett, Kathy S. Law, Steve R. Arnold, Javier G. Fochesatto, Jean-Christophe Raut, Tatsuo Onishi, Robert Gilliam, Kathleen Fahey, Deanna Huff, George Pouliot, Brice Barret, Elsa Dieudonné, Roman Pohorsky, Julia Schmale, Andrea Baccarini, Slimane Bekki, Gianluca Pappaccogli, Federico Scoto, Stefano Decesari, Antonio Donateo, Meeta Cesler-Maloney, William Simpson, Patrice Medina, Barbara D'Anna, Brice Temime-Roussel, Joel Savarino, Sarah Albertin, Jingqiu Mao, Becky Alexander, Allison Moon, Peter F. DeCarlo, Vanessa Selimovic, Robert Yokelson, and Ellis S. Robinson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1063–1104, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1063-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1063-2025, 2025
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Processes influencing dispersion of local anthropogenic pollution in Arctic wintertime are investigated with Lagrangian dispersion modelling. Simulated power plant plume rise that considers temperature inversion layers improves results compared to observations (interior Alaska). Modelled surface concentrations are improved by representation of vertical mixing and emission estimates. Large increases in diesel vehicle emissions at temperatures reaching −35°C are required to reproduce observed NOx.
Chelsea E. Stockwell, Matthew M. Coggon, Rebecca H. Schwantes, Colin Harkins, Bert Verreyken, Congmeng Lyu, Qindan Zhu, Lu Xu, Jessica B. Gilman, Aaron Lamplugh, Jeff Peischl, Michael A. Robinson, Patrick R. Veres, Meng Li, Andrew W. Rollins, Kristen Zuraski, Sunil Baidar, Shang Liu, Toshihiro Kuwayama, Steven S. Brown, Brian C. McDonald, and Carsten Warneke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1121–1143, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1121-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1121-2025, 2025
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In urban areas, emissions from everyday products like paints, cleaners, and personal care products, along with non-traditional sources such as cooking, are increasingly important and impact air quality. This study uses a box model to evaluate how these emissions impact ozone in the Los Angeles Basin and quantifies the impact of gaseous cooking emissions. Accurate representation of these and other anthropogenic sources in inventories is crucial for informing effective air quality policies.
Xiaodan Ma, Jianping Huang, Michaela I. Hegglin, Patrick Jöckel, and Tianliang Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 943–958, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-943-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-943-2025, 2025
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Our research explored changes in ozone levels in the northwest Pacific region over 30 years, revealing a significant increase in the middle-to-upper troposphere, especially during spring and summer. This rise is influenced by both stratospheric and tropospheric sources, which affect climate and air quality in East Asia. This work underscores the need for continued study to understand underlying mechanisms.
Hiroo Hata, Norifumi Mizushima, and Tomohiko Ihara
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1037–1061, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1037-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1037-2025, 2025
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The introduction of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is expected to reduce the primary air pollutants from vehicular exhaust and evaporative emissions while reducing the anthropogenic heat produced by vehicles, ultimately mitigating the urban heat island (UHI) effect. This study revealed the impact of introducing BEVs on the decrease in the UHI effect and the impact of BEVs on the formation of tropospheric ozone and fine particulate matter in the Greater Tokyo Area of Japan.
Catalina Poraicu, Jean-François Müller, Trissevgeni Stavrakou, Crist Amelynck, Bert W. D. Verreyken, Niels Schoon, Corinne Vigouroux, Nicolas Kumps, Jérôme Brioude, Pierre Tulet, and Camille Mouchel-Vallon
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3555, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3555, 2025
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We investigated the sources and impacts of nitrogen oxides and organic compounds over a remote tropical island. High-resolution WRF-Chem simulations were evaluated using in situ, FTIR and satellite measurements. This work highlights gaps in current models, like missing sources of key organic compounds and inaccuracies in emission inventories, emphasizing the importance of improving chemical and dynamical processes in atmospheric modelling for budget estimates in tropical regions.
Carlos Gómez-Ortiz, Guillaume Monteil, Sourish Basu, and Marko Scholze
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 397–424, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-397-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-397-2025, 2025
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In this paper, we test new implementations of our inverse modeling tool to estimate the weekly and regional CO2 emissions from fossil fuels in Europe. We use synthetic atmospheric observations of CO2 and radiocarbon (14CO2) to trace emissions to their sources, while separating the natural and fossil CO2. Our tool accurately estimates fossil CO2 emissions in densely monitored regions like western/central Europe. This approach aids in developing strategies for reducing CO2 emissions.
David D. Parrish, Ian C. Faloona, and Richard G. Derwent
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 263–289, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-263-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-263-2025, 2025
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Observation-based estimates of contributions to maximum ozone (O3) concentrations show that background O3 can exceed the air quality standard of 70 ppb in the southwestern US, precluding standard attainment. Over the past 4 decades, US anthropogenic O3 has decreased by a factor of ~ 6.3, while wildfire contributions have increased, so that the background now dominates maximum concentrations, even in Los Angeles, and the occurrence of maximum O3 has shifted from the eastern to the western US.
William P. L. Carter, Jia Jiang, John J. Orlando, and Kelley C. Barsanti
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 199–242, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-199-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-199-2025, 2025
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This paper describes the scientific basis for gas-phase atmospheric chemical mechanisms derived using the SAPRC mechanism generation system, MechGen. It can derive mechanisms for most organic compounds with C, H, O, or N atoms, including initial reactions of organics with OH, O3, NO3, and O3P or by photolysis, as well as the reactions of the various types of intermediates that are formed. The paper includes a description of areas of uncertainty where additional research and updates are needed.
Thibaut Lebourgeois, Bastien Sauvage, Pawel Wolff, Béatrice Josse, Virginie Marécal, Yasmine Bennouna, Romain Blot, Damien Boulanger, Hannah Clark, Jean-Marc Cousin, Philippe Nedelec, and Valérie Thouret
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13975–14004, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13975-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13975-2024, 2024
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Our study examines intense-carbon-monoxide (CO) pollution events measured by commercial aircraft from the In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System (IAGOS) research infrastructure. We combine these measurements with the SOFT-IO model to trace the origin of the observed CO. A comprehensive analysis of the geographical origin, source type, seasonal variation, and ozone levels of these pollution events is provided.
Hassnae Erraji, Philipp Franke, Astrid Lampert, Tobias Schuldt, Ralf Tillmann, Andreas Wahner, and Anne Caroline Lange
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13913–13934, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13913-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13913-2024, 2024
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Four-dimensional variational data assimilation allows for the simultaneous optimisation of initial values and emission rates by using trace-gas profiles from drone observations in a regional air quality model. Assimilated profiles positively impact the representation of air pollutants in the model by improving their vertical distribution and ground-level concentrations. This case study highlights the potential of drone data to enhance air quality analyses including local emission evaluation.
Christopher Lawrence, Mary Barth, John Orlando, Paul Casson, Richard Brandt, Daniel Kelting, Elizabeth Yerger, and Sara Lance
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13693–13713, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13693-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13693-2024, 2024
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This work uses chemical transport and box modeling to study the gas- and aqueous-phase production of organic acid concentrations measured in cloud water at the summit of Whiteface Mountain on 1 July 2018. Isoprene was the major source of formic, acetic, and oxalic acid. Gas-phase chemistry greatly underestimated formic and acetic acid, indicating missing sources, while cloud chemistry was a key source of oxalic acid. More studies of organic acids are required to better constrain their sources.
Francisco J. Pérez-Invernón, Francisco J. Gordillo-Vázquez, Heidi Huntrieser, Patrick Jöckel, and Eric J. Bucsela
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3348, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3348, 2024
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Lightning plays a significant role in tropospheric chemistry by producing substantial amounts of nitrogen oxides. According to recent estimates, thunderstorms that produce a higher lightning frequency rate also produce less nitrogen oxide per flash. We implemented the dependency of nitrogen oxide production per flash on lightning flash frequency in a chemical atmospheric model.
Markus Kilian, Volker Grewe, Patrick Jöckel, Astrid Kerkweg, Mariano Mertens, Andreas Zahn, and Helmut Ziereis
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13503–13523, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13503-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13503-2024, 2024
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Anthropogenic emissions are a major source of precursors of tropospheric ozone. As ozone formation is highly non-linear, we apply a global–regional chemistry–climate model with a source attribution method (tagging) to quantify the contribution of anthropogenic emissions to ozone. Our analysis shows that the contribution of European anthropogenic emissions largely increases during large ozone periods, indicating that emissions from these sectors drive ozone values.
Kai-Lan Chang, Brian C. McDonald, and Owen R. Cooper
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3674, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3674, 2024
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Exposure to high levels of ozone can be harmful to human health. This study shows consistent and robust evidence of decreasing ozone extremes across much of the United States over 1990–2023, previously attributed to ozone precursor emission controls. Nevertheless, we also show that the increasing heatwave frequencies are likely to contribute to additional ozone exceedances, slowing the progress of decreasing the frequency of ozone exceedances.
Barbara Ervens, Andrew Rickard, Bernard Aumont, William P. L. Carter, Max McGillen, Abdelwahid Mellouki, John Orlando, Bénédicte Picquet-Varrault, Paul Seakins, William R. Stockwell, Luc Vereecken, and Timothy J. Wallington
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13317–13339, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13317-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13317-2024, 2024
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Chemical mechanisms describe the chemical processes in atmospheric models that are used to describe the changes in the atmospheric composition. Therefore, accurate chemical mechanisms are necessary to predict the evolution of air pollution and climate change. The article describes all steps that are needed to build chemical mechanisms and discusses the advances and needs of experimental and theoretical research activities needed to build reliable chemical mechanisms.
Audrey Fortems-Cheiney, Grégoire Broquet, Robin Plauchu, Elise Potier, Antoine Berchet, Isabelle Pison, Adrien Martinez, Rimal Abeed, Gaelle Dufour, Adriana Coman, Dilek Savas, Guillaume Siour, Henk Eskes, Hugo A. C. Denier van der Gon, and Stijn N. C. Dellaert
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3679, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3679, 2024
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This study assesses the potential of the OMI and TROPOMI satellite observations to inform about the evolution of NOx anthropogenic emissions between year 2005 and year 2019 at the regional to national scales in Europe. Both the OMI and TROPOMI inversions show decreases in European NOx anthropogenic emission budgets between 2005 and 2019, but with different magnitudes.
Yawen Kong, Bo Zheng, and Yuxi Liu
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2996, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2996, 2024
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Current high-resolution satellite remote sensing technologies provide a unique opportunity to derive timely, high-resolution emission data. We developed an emission inversion system to assimilate satellite NO2 data to obtain daily, kilometer-scale NOx emission inventories. Our results enhance inventory accuracy, allowing us to capture the effects of pollution control policies on daily emissions (e.g., during COVID-19 lockdown) and improve fine-scale air quality modeling.
Jianing Dai, Guy P. Brasseur, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Maria Kanakidou, Kun Qu, Yijuan Zhang, Hongliang Zhang, and Tao Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12943–12962, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12943-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12943-2024, 2024
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This paper employs a regional chemical transport model to quantify the sensitivity of air pollutants and photochemical parameters to specified emission reductions in China for representative winter and summer conditions. The study provides insights into further air quality control in China with reduced primary emissions.
T. Nash Skipper, Emma L. D'Ambro, Forwood C. Wiser, V. Faye McNeill, Rebecca H. Schwantes, Barron H. Henderson, Ivan R. Piletic, Colleen B. Baublitz, Jesse O. Bash, Andrew R. Whitehill, Lukas C. Valin, Asher P. Mouat, Jennifer Kaiser, Glenn M. Wolfe, Jason M. St. Clair, Thomas F. Hanisco, Alan Fried, Bryan K. Place, and Havala O.T. Pye
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12903–12924, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12903-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12903-2024, 2024
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We develop the Community Regional Atmospheric Chemistry Multiphase Mechanism (CRACMM) version 2 to improve predictions of formaldehyde in ambient air compared to satellite-, aircraft-, and ground-based observations. With the updated chemistry, we estimate the cancer risk from inhalation exposure to ambient formaldehyde across the contiguous USA and predict that 40 % of this risk is controllable through reductions in anthropogenic emissions of nitrogen oxides and reactive organic carbon.
Baoshuang Liu, Yao Gu, Yutong Wu, Qili Dai, Shaojie Song, Yinchang Feng, and Philip K. Hopke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12861–12879, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12861-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12861-2024, 2024
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Reactive loss of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is a long-term issue yet to be resolved in VOC source analyses. We assess common methods of, and existing issues in, reducing losses, impacts of losses, and sources in current source analyses. We offer a potential supporting role for solving issues of VOC conversion. Source analyses of consumed VOCs that reacted to produce ozone and secondary organic aerosols can play an important role in the effective control of secondary pollution in air.
Deepangsu Chatterjee, Randall V. Martin, Chi Li, Dandan Zhang, Haihui Zhu, Daven K. Henze, James H. Crawford, Ronald C. Cohen, Lok N. Lamsal, and Alexander M. Cede
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12687–12706, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12687-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12687-2024, 2024
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We investigate the hourly variation of NO2 columns and surface concentrations by applying the GEOS-Chem model to interpret aircraft and ground-based measurements over the US and Pandora sun photometer measurements over the US, Europe, and Asia. Corrections to the Pandora columns and finer model resolution improve the modeled representation of the summertime hourly variation of total NO2 columns to explain the weaker hourly variation in NO2 columns than at the surface.
Kiyeon Kim, Kyung Man Han, Chul Han Song, Hyojun Lee, Ross Beardsley, Jinhyeok Yu, Greg Yarwood, Bonyoung Koo, Jasper Madalipay, Jung-Hun Woo, and Seogju Cho
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12575–12593, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12575-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12575-2024, 2024
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We incorporated each HONO process into the current CMAQ modeling framework to enhance the accuracy of HONO mixing ratio predictions. These results expand our understanding of HONO photochemistry and identify crucial sources of HONO that impact the total HONO budget in Seoul, South Korea. Through this investigation, we contribute to resolving discrepancies in understanding chemical transport models, with implications for better air quality management and environmental protection in the region.
Flossie Brown, Gerd Folberth, Stephen Sitch, Paulo Artaxo, Marijn Bauters, Pascal Boeckx, Alexander W. Cheesman, Matteo Detto, Ninong Komala, Luciana Rizzo, Nestor Rojas, Ines dos Santos Vieira, Steven Turnock, Hans Verbeeck, and Alfonso Zambrano
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12537–12555, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12537-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12537-2024, 2024
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Ozone is a pollutant that is detrimental to human and plant health. Ozone monitoring sites in the tropics are limited, so models are often used to understand ozone exposure. We use measurements from the tropics to evaluate ozone from the UK Earth system model, UKESM1. UKESM1 is able to capture the pattern of ozone in the tropics, except in southeast Asia, although it systematically overestimates it at all sites. This work highlights that UKESM1 can capture seasonal and hourly variability.
Namrata Shanmukh Panji, Deborah F. McGlynn, Laura E. R. Barry, Todd M. Scanlon, Manuel T. Lerdau, Sally E. Pusede, and Gabriel Isaacman-VanWertz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12495–12507, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12495-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12495-2024, 2024
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Climate change will bring about changes in parameters that are currently used in global-scale models to calculate biogenic emissions. This study seeks to understand the factors driving these models by comparing long-term datasets of biogenic compounds to modeled emissions. We note that the light-dependent fractions currently used in models do not accurately represent regional observations. We provide evidence for the time-dependent variation in this parameter for future modifications to models.
Martin Vojta, Andreas Plach, Saurabh Annadate, Sunyoung Park, Gawon Lee, Pallav Purohit, Florian Lindl, Xin Lan, Jens Mühle, Rona L. Thompson, and Andreas Stohl
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12465–12493, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12465-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12465-2024, 2024
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We constrain the global emissions of the very potent greenhouse gas sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) between 2005 and 2021. We show that SF6 emissions are decreasing in the USA and in the EU, while they are substantially growing in China, leading overall to an increasing global emission trend. The national reports for the USA, EU, and China all underestimated their SF6 emissions. However, stringent mitigation measures can successfully reduce SF6 emissions, as can be seen in the EU emission trend.
Dominika Pasik, Thomas Golin Almeida, Emelda Ahongshangbam, Siddharth Iyer, and Nanna Myllys
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3464, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3464, 2024
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We used quantum chemistry methods to investigate the oxidation mechanisms of acyl peroxy radicals (APRs) with various monoterpenes. Our findings reveal unique oxidation pathways for different monoterpenes, leading to either chain-terminating products or highly reactive intermediates that can contribute to particle formation in the atmosphere. This research highlights APRs as potentially significant but underexplored atmospheric oxidants, which may influence future approaches to modeling climate.
Yasin Elshorbany, Jerald R. Ziemke, Sarah Strode, Hervé Petetin, Kazuyuki Miyazaki, Isabelle De Smedt, Kenneth Pickering, Rodrigo J. Seguel, Helen Worden, Tamara Emmerichs, Domenico Taraborrelli, Maria Cazorla, Suvarna Fadnavis, Rebecca R. Buchholz, Benjamin Gaubert, Néstor Y. Rojas, Thiago Nogueira, Thérèse Salameh, and Min Huang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12225–12257, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12225-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12225-2024, 2024
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We investigated tropospheric ozone spatial variability and trends from 2005 to 2019 and related those to ozone precursors on global and regional scales. We also investigate the spatiotemporal characteristics of the ozone formation regime in relation to ozone chemical sources and sinks. Our analysis is based on remote sensing products of the tropospheric column of ozone and its precursors, nitrogen dioxide, formaldehyde, and total column CO, as well as ozonesonde data and model simulations.
Sanhita Ghosh, Arineh Cholakian, Sylvain Mailler, and Laurent Menut
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3087, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3087, 2024
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In the study, we estimate the emissions of nitrogen oxides from lightning (LNOx) over the northern hemisphere and study its impact on tropospheric ozone (O3). We evaluate the present state of modelling the lightning, using a classical parametrization scheme and the model CHIMERE. The comparison of the simulated O3 to measurements shows that the inclusion of LNOx emissions remarkably improves the tropospheric O3 distribution, reducing the bias significantly, particularly in the free troposphere.
Ragnhild Bieltvedt Skeie, Marit Sandstad, Srinath Krishnan, Gunnar Myhre, and Maria Sand
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3079, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3079, 2024
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Hydrogen leakages can alter the amount of climate gases in the atmosphere and hence have a climate impact. In this study we investigate, using an atmospheric chemistry model, how this indirect climate effect differs for different amounts of leakages, where the hydrogen leaks and if this effect changes in the future. The effect is largest for emissions far from areas where hydrogen is removed from the atmosphere by the soil, but these are not relevant locations for a future hydrogen economy.
Mariano Mertens, Sabine Brinkop, Phoebe Graf, Volker Grewe, Johannes Hendricks, Patrick Jöckel, Anna Lanteri, Sigrun Matthes, Vanessa S. Rieger, Mattia Righi, and Robin N. Thor
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12079–12106, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12079-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12079-2024, 2024
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We quantified the contributions of land transport, shipping, and aviation emissions to tropospheric ozone; its radiative forcing; and the reductions of the methane lifetime using chemistry-climate model simulations. The contributions were analysed for the conditions of 2015 and for three projections for the year 2050. The results highlight the challenges of mitigating ozone formed by emissions of the transport sector, caused by the non-linearitiy of the ozone chemistry and the long lifetime.
Jincheol Park, Yunsoo Choi, and Sagun Kayastha
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3312, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3312, 2024
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We investigated NOx emissions’ contributions to nitrogen loadings across five regions of East Asia during the 2022 winter-spring transition through chemical transport modeling informed by satellite data. As seasons progress, local contributions within each region to its NOy budget decreased from 32 %–43 % to 23 %–30 %, while transboundary contributions increased from 16 %–33 % to 27 %–37 %, driven by a shift in synoptic settings that allowed pollutants to spread more broadly across the regions.
Lauri Franzon, Marie Camredon, Richard Valorso, Bernard Aumont, and Theo Kurtén
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11679–11699, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11679-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11679-2024, 2024
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In this article we investigate the formation of large, sticky molecules from various organic compounds entering the atmosphere as primary emissions and the degree to which these processes may contribute to organic aerosol particle mass. More specifically, we qualitatively investigate a recently discovered chemical reaction channel for one of the most important short-lived radical compounds, peroxy radicals, and discover which of these reactions are most atmospherically important.
Siting Li, Yiming Liu, Yuqi Zhu, Yinbao Jin, Yingying Hong, Ao Shen, Yifei Xu, Haofan Wang, Haichao Wang, Xiao Lu, Shaojia Fan, and Qi Fan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11521–11544, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11521-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11521-2024, 2024
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This study establishes an inventory of anthropogenic chlorine emissions in China in 2019 with expanded species (HCl, Cl-, Cl2, HOCl) and sources (41 specific sources). The inventory is validated by a modeling study against the observations. This study enhances the understanding of anthropogenic chlorine emissions in the atmosphere, identifies key sources, and provides scientific support for pollution control and climate change.
Willem E. van Caspel, Zbigniew Klimont, Chris Heyes, and Hilde Fagerli
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11545–11563, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11545-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11545-2024, 2024
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Methane in the atmosphere contributes to the production of ozone gas – an air pollutant and greenhouse gas. Our results highlight that simultaneous reductions in methane emissions help avoid offsetting the air pollution benefits already achieved by the already-approved precursor emission reductions by 2050 in the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme region, while also playing an important role in bringing air pollution further down towards World Health Organization guideline limits.
Yujia Wang, Hongbin Wang, Bo Zhang, Peng Liu, Xinfeng Wang, Shuchun Si, Likun Xue, Qingzhu Zhang, and Qiao Wang
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2791, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2791, 2024
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This study established a bottom-up approach that employs real-time traffic flows and interpolation to obtain a spatially continuous on-road vehicle emission mapping for the main urban area of Jinan. The diurnal variation, spatial distribution, and emission hotspots were analyzed with clustering and hotspot analysis, showing unique fine-scale variation characteristics of on-road vehicle emissions. Future scenario analysis demonstrates remarkable benefits of electrification on emission reduction.
Laura Stecher, Franziska Winterstein, Patrick Jöckel, Michael Ponater, Mariano Mertens, and Martin Dameris
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2938, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2938, 2024
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Methane, the second most important anthropogenic greenhouse gas, is chemically decomposed in the atmosphere. The chemical sink of atmospheric methane is not constant, but depends on the temperature and on the abundance of its reaction partners. In this study, we use a global chemistry-climate model to assess the feedback of atmospheric methane induced by changes of the chemical sink in a warming climate, and its implications for the chemical composition and the surface air temperature change.
Tia R. Scarpelli, Paul I. Palmer, Mark Lunt, Ingrid Super, and Arjan Droste
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10773–10791, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10773-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10773-2024, 2024
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Under the Paris Agreement, countries must track their anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. This study describes a method to determine self-consistent estimates for combustion emissions and natural fluxes of CO2 from atmospheric data. We report consistent estimates inferred using this approach from satellite data and ground-based data over Europe, suggesting that satellite data can be used to determine national anthropogenic CO2 emissions for countries where ground-based CO2 data are absent.
Yufen Wang, Ke Li, Xi Chen, Zhenjiang Yang, Minglong Tang, Pascoal M. D. Campos, Yang Yang, Xu Yue, and Hong Liao
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2576, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2576, 2024
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The impact of biomass burning and anthropogenic emissions on high tropospheric ozone was not well studied in Southern Africa. We combined the model simulation with recent observations at the surface and from space to quantify tropospheric ozone and its main drivers in Southern Africa. Our work focuses on the impact of emissions from different sources at different spatial scales, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of air pollution drivers and their uncertainties in Southern Africa.
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Short summary
Using methane monitoring instruments attached to towers, we measure methane concentrations and quantify methane emissions coming from the Marcellus and Permian oil and gas basins. In the Marcellus, emissions were 3 times higher than the state inventory across the entire monitoring period. In the Permian, we see a sharp decline in emissions aligning with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tower observational networks can be utilized in other basins for long-term monitoring of emissions.
Using methane monitoring instruments attached to towers, we measure methane concentrations and...
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