Articles | Volume 25, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-11703-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.Fertilization-driven pulses of atmospheric nitrogen dioxide complicate air pollution in early spring over the North China Plain
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- Final revised paper (published on 01 Oct 2025)
- Supplement to the final revised paper
- Preprint (discussion started on 06 Feb 2025)
- Supplement to the preprint
Interactive discussion
Status: closed
Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor
| : Report abuse
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RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-243', Anonymous Referee #1, 03 Mar 2025
- AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Guohui Li, 23 Apr 2025
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RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2025-243', Anonymous Referee #2, 03 Mar 2025
- AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Guohui Li, 23 Apr 2025
Peer review completion
AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
AR by Guohui Li on behalf of the Authors (23 Apr 2025)
Author's response
Author's tracked changes
Manuscript
ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (29 Apr 2025) by Kostas Tsigaridis
RR by Anonymous Referee #1 (09 May 2025)

RR by Anonymous Referee #2 (24 May 2025)

ED: Reconsider after major revisions (24 May 2025) by Kostas Tsigaridis

AR by Guohui Li on behalf of the Authors (07 Jul 2025)
Author's response
Author's tracked changes
Manuscript
ED: Publish as is (14 Jul 2025) by Kostas Tsigaridis

AR by Guohui Li on behalf of the Authors (15 Jul 2025)
Manuscript
General comments:
This study investigates fertilizer-induced soil NOx emissions and their contributions to atmospheric NO2, as well as quantifies the impacts on regional air quality during March over North China. Unlike previous studies that focused on summertime, this work examines the early spring fertilizer application season, providing new insights into the significance of soil NOx on regional particulate matter (PM) and ozone concentrations. These insights are particularly important as fossil fuel combustion-related NOx emissions decline, making other sources, such as soil emissions, increasingly important.
The authors first analyze two decades of satellite-retrieved atmospheric NO2 data over North China and identify recurring sub-peaks in March. They link these sub-peaks to fertilizer application activities and validate this hypothesis through air quality model simulations using the BDSNP mechanism for NO emission estimations. The study further assesses the impacts of fertilizer-induced NOx emissions on PM and ozone levels, highlighting the importance of this often-overlooked source in the context of air quality management.
Overall, this paper provides evidence to support its conclusions and presents a relatively comprehensive analysis of the influence of soil NOx emissions on air quality. The manuscript is well-organized and clear. However, there are some concerns regarding the uncertainties associated with BDSNP mechanisms in the WRF-Chem model, which may introduce some biases into the analysis. These uncertainties are not sufficiently discussed. Additionally, some details are missing in the method part, and certain discussions are insufficient, along with several technical issues that need to be addressed.
I recommend accepting this paper once these concerns have been addressed.
Specific comments:
Additionally, the authors attribute the seasonal differences in ozone responses to sunlight intensity driving ozone formation regime shifts. However, this explanation is not robust, as no ozone sensitivity indicators (such as empirical metrics or modeled VOC-/NOx-limited regimes) are provided to support this claim. Please consider expanding this section with additional localized studies and include more concrete evidence to justify your conclusions.
Technical corrections: