Articles | Volume 25, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2385-2025
© Author(s) 2025. 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-25-2385-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
25 Feb 2025
Research article |
| 25 Feb 2025
| 25 Feb 2025
The importance of moist thermodynamics on neutral buoyancy height for plumes from anthropogenic sources
Air Quality Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, Canada
Paul Makar
Air Quality Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, Canada
Wanmin Gong
Air Quality Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, Canada
Junhua Zhang
Air Quality Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, Canada
Katherine Hayden
Air Quality Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Toronto, Canada
Mark Gordon
Earth and Space Science, York University, Toronto, Canada
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Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 5069–5091, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-5069-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-5069-2023, 2023
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We have combined various capabilities within a WRF model to generate simulations of atmospheric pollutant dispersion at 50 m resolution. The study objective was to resolve transport processes at the scale of measurements to assess and optimize aircraft-based emission rate retrievals. Model performance evaluation resulted in agreement within 5 % of observed meteorological and within 1–2 standard deviations of observed wind fields. Mass was conserved in the model within 5 % of input emissions.
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Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3049–3107, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3049-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3049-2025, 2025
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Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2423–2442, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2423-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2423-2025, 2025
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Yugo Kanaya, Roberto Sommariva, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, Andrea Mazzeo, Theodore K. Koenig, Kaori Kawana, James E. Johnson, Aurélie Colomb, Pierre Tulet, Suzie Molloy, Ian E. Galbally, Rainer Volkamer, Anoop Mahajan, John W. Halfacre, Paul B. Shepson, Julia Schmale, Hélène Angot, Byron Blomquist, Matthew D. Shupe, Detlev Helmig, Junsu Gil, Meehye Lee, Sean C. Coburn, Ivan Ortega, Gao Chen, James Lee, Kenneth C. Aikin, David D. Parrish, John S. Holloway, Thomas B. Ryerson, Ilana B. Pollack, Eric J. Williams, Brian M. Lerner, Andrew J. Weinheimer, Teresa Campos, Frank M. Flocke, J. Ryan Spackman, Ilann Bourgeois, Jeff Peischl, Chelsea R. Thompson, Ralf M. Staebler, Amir A. Aliabadi, Wanmin Gong, Roeland Van Malderen, Anne M. Thompson, Ryan M. Stauffer, Debra E. Kollonige, Juan Carlos Gómez Martin, Masatomo Fujiwara, Katie Read, Matthew Rowlinson, Keiichi Sato, Junichi Kurokawa, Yoko Iwamoto, Fumikazu Taketani, Hisahiro Takashima, Monica Navarro Comas, Marios Panagi, and Martin G. Schultz
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-566, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-566, 2025
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Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-601, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2024-601, 2025
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Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 7713–7749, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-7713-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-7713-2024, 2024
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Debora Griffin, Jack Chen, Kerry Anderson, Paul Makar, Chris A. McLinden, Enrico Dammers, and Andre Fogal
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10159–10186, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10159-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10159-2024, 2024
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Stefan J. Miller, Paul A. Makar, and Colin J. Lee
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 2197–2219, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-2197-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-2197-2024, 2024
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This work outlines a new solver written in Fortran to calculate the partitioning of metastable aerosols at thermodynamic equilibrium based on the forward algorithms of ISORROPIA II. The new code includes numerical improvements that decrease the computational speed (compared to ISORROPIA II) while improving the accuracy of the partitioning solution.
Roya Ghahreman, Wanmin Gong, Paul A. Makar, Alexandru Lupu, Amanda Cole, Kulbir Banwait, Colin Lee, and Ayodeji Akingunola
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 685–707, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-685-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-685-2024, 2024
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Victoria A. Flood, Kimberly Strong, Cynthia H. Whaley, Kaley A. Walker, Thomas Blumenstock, James W. Hannigan, Johan Mellqvist, Justus Notholt, Mathias Palm, Amelie N. Röhling, Stephen Arnold, Stephen Beagley, Rong-You Chien, Jesper Christensen, Makoto Deushi, Srdjan Dobricic, Xinyi Dong, Joshua S. Fu, Michael Gauss, Wanmin Gong, Joakim Langner, Kathy S. Law, Louis Marelle, Tatsuo Onishi, Naga Oshima, David A. Plummer, Luca Pozzoli, Jean-Christophe Raut, Manu A. Thomas, Svetlana Tsyro, and Steven Turnock
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1079–1118, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1079-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1079-2024, 2024
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It is important to understand the composition of the Arctic atmosphere and how it is changing. Atmospheric models provide simulations that can inform policy. This study examines simulations of CH4, CO, and O3 by 11 models. Model performance is assessed by comparing results matched in space and time to measurements from five high-latitude ground-based infrared spectrometers. This work finds that models generally underpredict the concentrations of these gases in the Arctic troposphere.
Colin J. Lee, Paul A. Makar, and Joana Soares
Geosci. Model Dev. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2023-185, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-2023-185, 2023
Publication in GMD not foreseen
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Clustering is an analysis technique for finding similarities within datasets. We present a new implementation of the hierarchical clustering algorithm that is able to process much larger datasets than was previously possible, by spreading the program out over many connected computers in a high-performance computing system. We show airshed maps of a high-resolution regional model output domain, and find related air pollution profiles at monitoring stations separated by thousands of kilometers.
Xuanyi Zhang, Mark Gordon, Paul A. Makar, Timothy Jiang, Jonathan Davies, and David Tarasick
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 13647–13664, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13647-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-13647-2023, 2023
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Measurements of ozone in the atmosphere were made in a forest downwind of oil sands mining and production facilities in northern Alberta. These measurements show that the emissions of other pollutants from oil sands production and processing reduce the amount of ozone in the forest. By using an atmospheric model combined with measurements, we find that the rate at which ozone is absorbed by the forest is lower than typical rates from similar measurements in other forests.
Olivia E. Clifton, Donna Schwede, Christian Hogrefe, Jesse O. Bash, Sam Bland, Philip Cheung, Mhairi Coyle, Lisa Emberson, Johannes Flemming, Erick Fredj, Stefano Galmarini, Laurens Ganzeveld, Orestis Gazetas, Ignacio Goded, Christopher D. Holmes, László Horváth, Vincent Huijnen, Qian Li, Paul A. Makar, Ivan Mammarella, Giovanni Manca, J. William Munger, Juan L. Pérez-Camanyo, Jonathan Pleim, Limei Ran, Roberto San Jose, Sam J. Silva, Ralf Staebler, Shihan Sun, Amos P. K. Tai, Eran Tas, Timo Vesala, Tamás Weidinger, Zhiyong Wu, and Leiming Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9911–9961, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9911-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9911-2023, 2023
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A primary sink of air pollutants is dry deposition. Dry deposition estimates differ across the models used to simulate atmospheric chemistry. Here, we introduce an effort to examine dry deposition schemes from atmospheric chemistry models. We provide our approach’s rationale, document the schemes, and describe datasets used to drive and evaluate the schemes. We also launch the analysis of results by evaluating against observations and identifying the processes leading to model–model differences.
Sepehr Fathi, Mark Gordon, and Yongsheng Chen
Geosci. Model Dev., 16, 5069–5091, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-5069-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-16-5069-2023, 2023
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We have combined various capabilities within a WRF model to generate simulations of atmospheric pollutant dispersion at 50 m resolution. The study objective was to resolve transport processes at the scale of measurements to assess and optimize aircraft-based emission rate retrievals. Model performance evaluation resulted in agreement within 5 % of observed meteorological and within 1–2 standard deviations of observed wind fields. Mass was conserved in the model within 5 % of input emissions.
Mark Gordon, Dane Blanchard, Timothy Jiang, Paul A. Makar, Ralf M. Staebler, Julian Aherne, Cris Mihele, and Xuanyi Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7241–7255, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7241-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7241-2023, 2023
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Measurements of the gas sulfur dioxide (SO2) were made in a forest downwind of oil sands mining and production facilities in northern Alberta. These measurements tell us the rate at which SO2 is absorbed by the forest. The measured rate is much higher than what is currently used by air quality models, which is supported by a previous study in this region. This suggests that SO2 may have a much shorter lifetime in the atmosphere at this location than currently predicted by models.
Monica Crippa, Diego Guizzardi, Tim Butler, Terry Keating, Rosa Wu, Jacek Kaminski, Jeroen Kuenen, Junichi Kurokawa, Satoru Chatani, Tazuko Morikawa, George Pouliot, Jacinthe Racine, Michael D. Moran, Zbigniew Klimont, Patrick M. Manseau, Rabab Mashayekhi, Barron H. Henderson, Steven J. Smith, Harrison Suchyta, Marilena Muntean, Efisio Solazzo, Manjola Banja, Edwin Schaaf, Federico Pagani, Jung-Hun Woo, Jinseok Kim, Fabio Monforti-Ferrario, Enrico Pisoni, Junhua Zhang, David Niemi, Mourad Sassi, Tabish Ansari, and Kristen Foley
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2667–2694, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2667-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2667-2023, 2023
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This study responds to the global and regional atmospheric modelling community's need for a mosaic of air pollutant emissions with global coverage, long time series, spatially distributed data at a high time resolution, and a high sectoral resolution in order to enhance the understanding of transboundary air pollution. The mosaic approach to integrating official regional emission inventories with a global inventory based on a consistent methodology ensures policy-relevant results.
Timothy Jiang, Mark Gordon, Paul A. Makar, Ralf M. Staebler, and Michael Wheeler
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 4361–4372, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4361-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4361-2023, 2023
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Measurements of submicron aerosols (particles smaller than 1 / 1000 of a millimeter) were made in a forest downwind of oil sands mining and production facilities in northern Alberta. These measurements tell us how quickly aerosols are absorbed by the forest (known as deposition rate) and how the deposition rate depends on the size of the aerosol. The measurements show good agreement with a parameterization developed from a recent study for deposition of aerosols to a similar pine forest.
Stefan J. Miller and Mark Gordon
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 6563–6584, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6563-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-6563-2022, 2022
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This research investigates the measurement of atmospheric turbulence using a low-cost instrumented car that travels at near-highway speeds and is impacted by upwind obstructions and other on-road traffic. We show that our car design can successfully measure the mean flow and atmospheric turbulence near the surface. We outline a technique to isolate and remove the effects of sporadic passing traffic from car-measured velocity variances and discuss potential measurement uncertainties.
Katherine L. Hayden, Shao-Meng Li, John Liggio, Michael J. Wheeler, Jeremy J. B. Wentzell, Amy Leithead, Peter Brickell, Richard L. Mittermeier, Zachary Oldham, Cristian M. Mihele, Ralf M. Staebler, Samar G. Moussa, Andrea Darlington, Mengistu Wolde, Daniel Thompson, Jack Chen, Debora Griffin, Ellen Eckert, Jenna C. Ditto, Megan He, and Drew R. Gentner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 12493–12523, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12493-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-12493-2022, 2022
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In this study, airborne measurements provided the most detailed characterization, to date, of boreal forest wildfire emissions. Measurements showed a large diversity of air pollutants expanding the volatility range typically reported. A large portion of organic species was unidentified, likely comprised of complex organic compounds. Aircraft-derived emissions improve wildfire chemical speciation and can support reliable model predictions of pollution from boreal forest wildfires.
Cynthia H. Whaley, Rashed Mahmood, Knut von Salzen, Barbara Winter, Sabine Eckhardt, Stephen Arnold, Stephen Beagley, Silvia Becagli, Rong-You Chien, Jesper Christensen, Sujay Manish Damani, Xinyi Dong, Konstantinos Eleftheriadis, Nikolaos Evangeliou, Gregory Faluvegi, Mark Flanner, Joshua S. Fu, Michael Gauss, Fabio Giardi, Wanmin Gong, Jens Liengaard Hjorth, Lin Huang, Ulas Im, Yugo Kanaya, Srinath Krishnan, Zbigniew Klimont, Thomas Kühn, Joakim Langner, Kathy S. Law, Louis Marelle, Andreas Massling, Dirk Olivié, Tatsuo Onishi, Naga Oshima, Yiran Peng, David A. Plummer, Olga Popovicheva, Luca Pozzoli, Jean-Christophe Raut, Maria Sand, Laura N. Saunders, Julia Schmale, Sangeeta Sharma, Ragnhild Bieltvedt Skeie, Henrik Skov, Fumikazu Taketani, Manu A. Thomas, Rita Traversi, Kostas Tsigaridis, Svetlana Tsyro, Steven Turnock, Vito Vitale, Kaley A. Walker, Minqi Wang, Duncan Watson-Parris, and Tahya Weiss-Gibbons
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 5775–5828, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5775-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5775-2022, 2022
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Air pollutants, like ozone and soot, play a role in both global warming and air quality. Atmospheric models are often used to provide information to policy makers about current and future conditions under different emissions scenarios. In order to have confidence in those simulations, in this study we compare simulated air pollution from 18 state-of-the-art atmospheric models to measured air pollution in order to assess how well the models perform.
Mahtab Majdzadeh, Craig A. Stroud, Christopher Sioris, Paul A. Makar, Ayodeji Akingunola, Chris McLinden, Xiaoyi Zhao, Michael D. Moran, Ihab Abboud, and Jack Chen
Geosci. Model Dev., 15, 219–249, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-219-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-15-219-2022, 2022
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A new lookup table for aerosol optical properties based on a Mie scattering code was calculated and adopted within an improved version of the photolysis module in the GEM-MACH in-line chemical transport model. The modified version of the photolysis module makes use of online interactive aerosol feedback and applies core-shell parameterizations to the black carbon absorption efficiency based on Bond et al. (2006) to the size bins with black carbon mass fraction of less than 40 %.
Debora Griffin, Chris A. McLinden, Enrico Dammers, Cristen Adams, Chelsea E. Stockwell, Carsten Warneke, Ilann Bourgeois, Jeff Peischl, Thomas B. Ryerson, Kyle J. Zarzana, Jake P. Rowe, Rainer Volkamer, Christoph Knote, Natalie Kille, Theodore K. Koenig, Christopher F. Lee, Drew Rollins, Pamela S. Rickly, Jack Chen, Lukas Fehr, Adam Bourassa, Doug Degenstein, Katherine Hayden, Cristian Mihele, Sumi N. Wren, John Liggio, Ayodeji Akingunola, and Paul Makar
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 7929–7957, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7929-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7929-2021, 2021
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Satellite-derived NOx emissions from biomass burning are estimated with TROPOMI observations. Two common emission estimation methods are applied, and sensitivity tests with model output were performed to determine the accuracy of these methods. The effect of smoke aerosols on TROPOMI NO2 columns is estimated and compared to aircraft observations from four different aircraft campaigns measuring biomass burning plumes in 2018 and 2019 in North America.
Stefano Galmarini, Paul Makar, Olivia E. Clifton, Christian Hogrefe, Jesse O. Bash, Roberto Bellasio, Roberto Bianconi, Johannes Bieser, Tim Butler, Jason Ducker, Johannes Flemming, Alma Hodzic, Christopher D. Holmes, Ioannis Kioutsioukis, Richard Kranenburg, Aurelia Lupascu, Juan Luis Perez-Camanyo, Jonathan Pleim, Young-Hee Ryu, Roberto San Jose, Donna Schwede, Sam Silva, and Ralf Wolke
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15663–15697, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15663-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15663-2021, 2021
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This technical note presents the research protocols for phase 4 of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII4). This initiative has three goals: (i) to define the state of wet and dry deposition in regional models, (ii) to evaluate how dry deposition influences air concentration and flux predictions, and (iii) to identify the causes for prediction differences. The evaluation compares LULC-specific dry deposition and effective conductances and fluxes.
Sepehr Fathi, Mark Gordon, Paul A. Makar, Ayodeji Akingunola, Andrea Darlington, John Liggio, Katherine Hayden, and Shao-Meng Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 15461–15491, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15461-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15461-2021, 2021
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We have investigated the accuracy of aircraft-based mass balance methodologies through computer model simulations of the atmosphere and air quality at a regional high-resolution scale. We have defined new quantitative metrics to reduce emission retrieval uncertainty by evaluating top-down mass balance estimates against the known simulated meteorology and input emissions. We also recommend methodologies and flight strategies for improved retrievals in future aircraft-based studies.
Xinxin Ye, Pargoal Arab, Ravan Ahmadov, Eric James, Georg A. Grell, Bradley Pierce, Aditya Kumar, Paul Makar, Jack Chen, Didier Davignon, Greg R. Carmichael, Gonzalo Ferrada, Jeff McQueen, Jianping Huang, Rajesh Kumar, Louisa Emmons, Farren L. Herron-Thorpe, Mark Parrington, Richard Engelen, Vincent-Henri Peuch, Arlindo da Silva, Amber Soja, Emily Gargulinski, Elizabeth Wiggins, Johnathan W. Hair, Marta Fenn, Taylor Shingler, Shobha Kondragunta, Alexei Lyapustin, Yujie Wang, Brent Holben, David M. Giles, and Pablo E. Saide
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14427–14469, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14427-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14427-2021, 2021
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Wildfire smoke has crucial impacts on air quality, while uncertainties in the numerical forecasts remain significant. We present an evaluation of 12 real-time forecasting systems. Comparison of predicted smoke emissions suggests a large spread in magnitudes, with temporal patterns deviating from satellite detections. The performance for AOD and surface PM2.5 and their discrepancies highlighted the role of accurately represented spatiotemporal emission profiles in improving smoke forecasts.
Paul A. Makar, Craig Stroud, Ayodeji Akingunola, Junhua Zhang, Shuzhan Ren, Philip Cheung, and Qiong Zheng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 12291–12316, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12291-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12291-2021, 2021
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Vehicle pollutant emissions occur in an environment where upward transport can be enhanced due to the turbulence created by the vehicles as they move through the atmosphere. An approach for including these turbulence effects in regional air pollution forecast models has been derived from theoretical, observation, and higher-resolution modeling. The enhanced mixing, which occurs in the immediate vicinity of roadways, changes pollutant concentrations on the regional to continental scale.
Zhiyong Wu, Leiming Zhang, John T. Walker, Paul A. Makar, Judith A. Perlinger, and Xuemei Wang
Geosci. Model Dev., 14, 5093–5105, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-5093-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-14-5093-2021, 2021
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A community dry deposition algorithm for modeling the gaseous dry deposition process in chemistry transport models was extended to include an additional 12 oxidized volatile organic compounds and hydrogen cyanide based on their physicochemical properties and was then evaluated using field flux measurements over a mixed forest. This study provides a useful tool that is needed in chemistry transport models with increasing complexity for simulating an important atmospheric process.
Paul A. Makar, Ayodeji Akingunola, Jack Chen, Balbir Pabla, Wanmin Gong, Craig Stroud, Christopher Sioris, Kerry Anderson, Philip Cheung, Junhua Zhang, and Jason Milbrandt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 10557–10587, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10557-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-10557-2021, 2021
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We have examined the effects of airborne particles on absorption and scattering of incoming sunlight by the particles themselves via cloud formation. We used an advanced, combined high-resolution weather forecast and chemical transport computer model, for western North America, and simulations with and without the connections between particles and weather enabled. Feedbacks improved weather and air pollution forecasts and changed cloud behaviour and forest-fire pollutant amount and height.
Katherine Hayden, Shao-Meng Li, Paul Makar, John Liggio, Samar G. Moussa, Ayodeji Akingunola, Robert McLaren, Ralf M. Staebler, Andrea Darlington, Jason O'Brien, Junhua Zhang, Mengistu Wolde, and Leiming Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 8377–8392, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8377-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8377-2021, 2021
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We developed a method using aircraft measurements to determine lifetimes with respect to dry deposition for oxidized sulfur and nitrogen compounds over the boreal forest in Alberta, Canada. Atmospheric lifetimes were significantly shorter than derived from chemical transport models with differences related to modelled dry deposition velocities. The shorter lifetimes suggest models need to reassess dry deposition treatment and predictions of sulfur and nitrogen in the atmosphere and ecosystems.
Debora Griffin, Christopher Sioris, Jack Chen, Nolan Dickson, Andrew Kovachik, Martin de Graaf, Swadhin Nanda, Pepijn Veefkind, Enrico Dammers, Chris A. McLinden, Paul Makar, and Ayodeji Akingunola
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 13, 1427–1445, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1427-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-13-1427-2020, 2020
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This study looks into validating the aerosol layer height product from the recently launched TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) for forest fire plume through comparisons with two other satellite products, and interpreting differences due to the individual measurement techniques. These satellite observations are compared to predicted plume heights from Environment and Climate Change's air quality forecast model.
Cynthia H. Whaley, Elisabeth Galarneau, Paul A. Makar, Michael D. Moran, and Junhua Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 2911–2925, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2911-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-2911-2020, 2020
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Benzene and polycyclic aromatic compounds are toxic air pollutants and ubiquitous in the environment. Using a chemical transport model, we have determined the net impact of vehicle emissions on ambient concentrations of these species. Traffic emissions were found to be a significant fraction of ambient pollution in the densely populated modelled region of North America. Our simulations demonstrate the air quality benefits that would result from transitioning to a zero-emission vehicle fleet.
Roya Ghahreman, Wanmin Gong, Martí Galí, Ann-Lise Norman, Stephen R. Beagley, Ayodeji Akingunola, Qiong Zheng, Alexandru Lupu, Martine Lizotte, Maurice Levasseur, and W. Richard Leaitch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 14455–14476, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-14455-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-14455-2019, 2019
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Atmospheric DMS(g) is a climatically important compound and the main source of biogenic sulfate in the Arctic. Its abundance in the Arctic increases during summer due to greater ice-free sea surface and higher biological activity. In this study, we implemented DMS(g) in a regional air quality forecast model configured for the Arctic. The study showed a significant impact from DMS(g) on sulfate aerosols, particularly in the 50–100 nm size range, in the Arctic marine boundary layer during summer.
Matthew Russell, Amir Hakami, Paul A. Makar, Ayodeji Akingunola, Junhua Zhang, Michael D. Moran, and Qiong Zheng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 4393–4417, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4393-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-4393-2019, 2019
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High-resolution air-quality forecast modeling results are compared for two different grid spacings for the Environment and Climate Change Canada GEM-MACH model. While the higher-resolution simulations have worse formal error scores, we show that the higher-resolution model nevertheless has the ability to better resolve plume maxima and has better performance when the evaluation occurs using new scoring metrics which operate on an equal-representative-area basis.
Cristen Adams, Chris A. McLinden, Mark W. Shephard, Nolan Dickson, Enrico Dammers, Jack Chen, Paul Makar, Karen E. Cady-Pereira, Naomi Tam, Shailesh K. Kharol, Lok N. Lamsal, and Nickolay A. Krotkov
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2577–2599, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2577-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2577-2019, 2019
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We estimated how much carbon monoxide, ammonia, and nitrogen oxides were emitted in the smoke from the Fort McMurray Horse River wildfire using satellite data and air quality models. The fire emitted amounts of carbon monoxide that were similar to anthropogenic (human-caused) emissions for all of Alberta over a full year. We also estimated large amounts of ammonia and nitrogen oxides emitted from the fire. These results can be used to evaluate the performance of air quality forecasting models.
Jonathan P. D. Abbatt, W. Richard Leaitch, Amir A. Aliabadi, Allan K. Bertram, Jean-Pierre Blanchet, Aude Boivin-Rioux, Heiko Bozem, Julia Burkart, Rachel Y. W. Chang, Joannie Charette, Jai P. Chaubey, Robert J. Christensen, Ana Cirisan, Douglas B. Collins, Betty Croft, Joelle Dionne, Greg J. Evans, Christopher G. Fletcher, Martí Galí, Roya Ghahreman, Eric Girard, Wanmin Gong, Michel Gosselin, Margaux Gourdal, Sarah J. Hanna, Hakase Hayashida, Andreas B. Herber, Sareh Hesaraki, Peter Hoor, Lin Huang, Rachel Hussherr, Victoria E. Irish, Setigui A. Keita, John K. Kodros, Franziska Köllner, Felicia Kolonjari, Daniel Kunkel, Luis A. Ladino, Kathy Law, Maurice Levasseur, Quentin Libois, John Liggio, Martine Lizotte, Katrina M. Macdonald, Rashed Mahmood, Randall V. Martin, Ryan H. Mason, Lisa A. Miller, Alexander Moravek, Eric Mortenson, Emma L. Mungall, Jennifer G. Murphy, Maryam Namazi, Ann-Lise Norman, Norman T. O'Neill, Jeffrey R. Pierce, Lynn M. Russell, Johannes Schneider, Hannes Schulz, Sangeeta Sharma, Meng Si, Ralf M. Staebler, Nadja S. Steiner, Jennie L. Thomas, Knut von Salzen, Jeremy J. B. Wentzell, Megan D. Willis, Gregory R. Wentworth, Jun-Wei Xu, and Jacqueline D. Yakobi-Hancock
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 19, 2527–2560, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2527-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-2527-2019, 2019
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The Arctic is experiencing considerable environmental change with climate warming, illustrated by the dramatic decrease in sea-ice extent. It is important to understand both the natural and perturbed Arctic systems to gain a better understanding of how they will change in the future. This paper summarizes new insights into the relationships between Arctic aerosol particles and climate, as learned over the past five or so years by a large Canadian research consortium, NETCARE.
Wanmin Gong, Stephen R. Beagley, Sophie Cousineau, Mourad Sassi, Rodrigo Munoz-Alpizar, Sylvain Ménard, Jacinthe Racine, Junhua Zhang, Jack Chen, Heather Morrison, Sangeeta Sharma, Lin Huang, Pascal Bellavance, Jim Ly, Paul Izdebski, Lynn Lyons, and Richard Holt
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 16653–16687, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-16653-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-16653-2018, 2018
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The navigability of the Arctic Ocean is increasing with the warming in recent years. Using model simulations at a much finer resolution than previous pan-Arctic studies, the impact of marine shipping emissions on air pollution in the Canadian Arctic is assessed for present (2010) and projected levels in 2030. The study found that shipping emissions have a local-to-regional impact in the Arctic at the current level; the impact will increase significantly in a projected business-as-usual scenario.
Mark Gordon, Paul A. Makar, Ralf M. Staebler, Junhua Zhang, Ayodeji Akingunola, Wanmin Gong, and Shao-Meng Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 14695–14714, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14695-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14695-2018, 2018
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This work uses aircraft-based measurements of smokestack plumes carried out in northern Alberta in 2013. These measurements are used to test equations used to predict how high in the air smokestack plumes rise. It is important to predict plume rise height accurately as it tells us how far downwind pollutants are carried and what air quality can be expected at the surface. We found that the equations that are typically used significantly underestimate the plume rise at this location.
Craig A. Stroud, Paul A. Makar, Junhua Zhang, Michael D. Moran, Ayodeji Akingunola, Shao-Meng Li, Amy Leithead, Katherine Hayden, and May Siu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 13531–13545, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13531-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-13531-2018, 2018
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It is shown that using measurement-derived volatile organic compound (VOC) and organic aerosol (OA) emissions in the GEM-MACH air quality model provides better overall predictions compared to using bottom-up emission inventories. This work was done to better constrain the fugitive organic emissions from the Athabasca oil sands region, which are a challenge to estimate with bottom-up emission approaches. We use observations from the 2013 Joint Oil Sands Monitoring study.
Junhua Zhang, Michael D. Moran, Qiong Zheng, Paul A. Makar, Pegah Baratzadeh, George Marson, Peter Liu, and Shao-Meng Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 10459–10481, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-10459-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-10459-2018, 2018
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This paper discusses the development of new synthesized emissions inventories and the generation of air quality model-ready emissions files for the Athabasca Oil Sands Region of Alberta, Canada, using multiple emissions inventories, continuous emissions monitoring data, and inferred emission rates based on aircraft measurements. Novel facility-specific gridded spatial surrogate fields were generated to allocate emissions spatially within each huge mining facility.
Paul A. Makar, Ayodeji Akingunola, Julian Aherne, Amanda S. Cole, Yayne-abeba Aklilu, Junhua Zhang, Isaac Wong, Katherine Hayden, Shao-Meng Li, Jane Kirk, Ken Scott, Michael D. Moran, Alain Robichaud, Hazel Cathcart, Pegah Baratzedah, Balbir Pabla, Philip Cheung, Qiong Zheng, and Dean S. Jeffries
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 9897–9927, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-9897-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-9897-2018, 2018
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Complex computer model output was compared to and fused with observation data, to estimate potential damage due to acidifying precipitation for ecosystems in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan. Estimated deposition was compared to the maximum no-damage ecosystem capacity for sulfur and/or nitrogen uptake; these critical loads were exceeded, for areas between 10 000 and 330 000 square kilometres, depending on ecosystem type: ecosystem damage will occur at 2013 emission levels.
Cynthia H. Whaley, Elisabeth Galarneau, Paul A. Makar, Ayodeji Akingunola, Wanmin Gong, Sylvie Gravel, Michael D. Moran, Craig Stroud, Junhua Zhang, and Qiong Zheng
Geosci. Model Dev., 11, 2609–2632, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-2609-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-11-2609-2018, 2018
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We present a new, high-resolution, North American model of PAHs and benzene, which are toxic air pollutants that cause a variety of negative health impacts. Our simulation in a densely populated region of Canada and the U.S. shows that the model is improved over a previous model. The new model is particularly refined regarding the gas–particle partitioning of these pollutants, which has impacts on deposition and inhalation. The simulation was sensitive to the selection of vehicle emissions.
Ayodeji Akingunola, Paul A. Makar, Junhua Zhang, Andrea Darlington, Shao-Meng Li, Mark Gordon, Michael D. Moran, and Qiong Zheng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 8667–8688, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8667-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-8667-2018, 2018
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We examine the manner in which air-quality models simulate lofting of buoyant plumes of emissions from stacks (plume rise) and the impact of the level of detail in algorithms simulating particles' variation in size (particle size distribution). The most commonly used plume rise algorithm underestimates the height of plumes compared to observations, while a revised algorithm has much better performance. A 12-bin size distribution reduced the forecast 2-bin size distribution bias error by 32 %.
Sabour Baray, Andrea Darlington, Mark Gordon, Katherine L. Hayden, Amy Leithead, Shao-Meng Li, Peter S. K. Liu, Richard L. Mittermeier, Samar G. Moussa, Jason O'Brien, Ralph Staebler, Mengistu Wolde, Doug Worthy, and Robert McLaren
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 7361–7378, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-7361-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-7361-2018, 2018
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Methane emissions from major oil sands facilities in the Athabasca Oil Sands Region (AOSR) of Alberta were measured in the summer of 2013 using two related aircraft mass-balance approaches. Tailings ponds and fugitive emissions of methane from open pit mines were found to be the major sources of methane in the region. Total methane emissions in the AOSR were measured to be ~ 20 tonnes of CH4 per hour, which is 48 % higher than the Canadian Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program Emissions Inventory.
Joana Soares, Paul Andrew Makar, Yayne Aklilu, and Ayodeji Akingunola
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 6543–6566, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-6543-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-6543-2018, 2018
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Grouping data on the basis of (dis)similarity can be used to assess the efficacy of monitoring networks. The data are cross-compared in terms of temporal variation and magnitude of concentrations, and sites are ranked according to their level of potential redundancy. The methodology can be applied to measurement data, helping to identify sites with different measuring technologies or data flaws, and to model output, generating maps of areas of spatial representativeness of a monitoring site.
Cynthia H. Whaley, Paul A. Makar, Mark W. Shephard, Leiming Zhang, Junhua Zhang, Qiong Zheng, Ayodeji Akingunola, Gregory R. Wentworth, Jennifer G. Murphy, Shailesh K. Kharol, and Karen E. Cady-Pereira
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 2011–2034, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2011-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2011-2018, 2018
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Using a modified air quality forecasting model, we have found that a significant fraction (> 50 %) of ambient ammonia comes from re-emission from plants and soils in the broader Athabasca Oil Sands region and much of Alberta and Saskatchewan. We also found that about 20 % of ambient ammonia in Alberta and Saskatchewan came from forest fires in the summer of 2013. The addition of these two processes improved modelled ammonia, which was a motivating factor in undertaking this research.
M. W. Shephard, C. A. McLinden, K. E. Cady-Pereira, M. Luo, S. G. Moussa, A. Leithead, J. Liggio, R. M. Staebler, A. Akingunola, P. Makar, P. Lehr, J. Zhang, D. K. Henze, D. B. Millet, J. O. Bash, L. Zhu, K. C. Wells, S. L. Capps, S. Chaliyakunnel, M. Gordon, K. Hayden, J. R. Brook, M. Wolde, and S.-M. Li
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 5189–5211, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5189-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-5189-2015, 2015
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This study provides direct validations of Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) satellite retrieved profiles against coincident aircraft profiles of carbon monoxide, ammonia, methanol, and formic acid, all of which are of interest for air quality. The comparisons are performed over the Canadian oil sands region during an intensive field campaign in support of the Joint Canada-Alberta Implementation Plan for the Oil Sands Monitoring (JOSM). Initial model evaluations are also provided.
M. Gordon, S.-M. Li, R. Staebler, A. Darlington, K. Hayden, J. O'Brien, and M. Wolde
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 8, 3745–3765, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3745-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-8-3745-2015, 2015
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Aircraft-based measurements of air pollutants from sources in the Canadian oil sands were made during a summer intensive field campaign in 2013. This paper describes the top-down emission rate retrieval algorithm (TERRA) to determine facility emissions of pollutants, using SO2 and CH4 as examples. Uncertainty of the emission rates estimated with TERRA is estimated as less than 30%, which is primarily due to the unknown SO2 and CH4 mixing ratios near the surface below the lowest flight level.
I. Nuaaman, S.-M. Li, K. L. Hayden, T. B. Onasch, P. Massoli, D. Sueper, D. R. Worsnop, T. S. Bates, P. K. Quinn, and R. McLaren
Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acpd-15-2085-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/acpd-15-2085-2015, 2015
Revised manuscript has not been submitted
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In this paper, we focus on the measurement and reporting of mass concentrations of particulate chloride and sea salt in a marine area off the coast of California using a High Resolution Aerosol Mass Spectrometer. We outline a method of deconvolving the total aerosol chloride mass into refractory and non-refractory components, previously not reported in the literature. This can be important in regions where refractory sea salt aerosols can contribute to the aerosol chloride signal measured with t
M. Gordon, A. Vlasenko, R. M. Staebler, C. Stroud, P. A. Makar, J. Liggio, S.-M. Li, and S. Brown
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 9087–9097, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-9087-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-9087-2014, 2014
P. A. Makar, R. Nissen, A. Teakles, J. Zhang, Q. Zheng, M. D. Moran, H. Yau, and C. diCenzo
Geosci. Model Dev., 7, 1001–1024, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-1001-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-7-1001-2014, 2014
E. Galarneau, P. A. Makar, Q. Zheng, J. Narayan, J. Zhang, M. D. Moran, M. A. Bari, S. Pathela, A. Chen, and R. Chlumsky
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 4065–4077, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4065-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-4065-2014, 2014
C. A. McLinden, V. Fioletov, K. F. Boersma, S. K. Kharol, N. Krotkov, L. Lamsal, P. A. Makar, R. V. Martin, J. P. Veefkind, and K. Yang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 3637–3656, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3637-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-3637-2014, 2014
G. M. Buffaloe, D. A. Lack, E. J. Williams, D. Coffman, K. L. Hayden, B. M. Lerner, S.-M. Li, I. Nuaaman, P. Massoli, T. B. Onasch, P. K. Quinn, and C. D. Cappa
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1881–1896, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1881-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1881-2014, 2014
C. D. Cappa, E. J. Williams, D. A. Lack, G. M. Buffaloe, D. Coffman, K. L. Hayden, S. C. Herndon, B. M. Lerner, S.-M. Li, P. Massoli, R. McLaren, I. Nuaaman, T. B. Onasch, and P. K. Quinn
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 1337–1352, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1337-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-1337-2014, 2014
J. R. Brook, P. A. Makar, D. M. L. Sills, K. L. Hayden, and R. McLaren
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 10461–10482, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10461-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-10461-2013, 2013
L. Ahlm, K. M. Shakya, L. M. Russell, J. C. Schroder, J. P. S. Wong, S. J. Sjostedt, K. L. Hayden, J. Liggio, J. J. B. Wentzell, H. A. Wiebe, C. Mihele, W. R. Leaitch, and A. M. Macdonald
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 13, 3393–3407, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3393-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-13-3393-2013, 2013
C. R. Lonsdale, R. G. Stevens, C. A. Brock, P. A. Makar, E. M. Knipping, and J. R. Pierce
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 12, 11519–11531, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-11519-2012, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-12-11519-2012, 2012
Related subject area
Subject: Gases | Research Activity: Atmospheric Modelling and Data Analysis | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Physics (physical properties and processes)
Distinct structures of interannual variations in stratosphere-to-troposphere ozone transport induced by the Tibetan Plateau thermal forcing
Global CH4 fluxes derived from JAXA/GOSAT lower-tropospheric partial column data and the CarbonTracker Europe-CH4 atmospheric inverse model
Improved understanding of anthropogenic and biogenic carbonyl sulfide (COS) fluxes in western Europe from long-term continuous mixing ratio measurements
The skill at modeling an extremely high ozone episode varies substantially amongst ensemble simulation
Quantifying transboundary transport flux of CO over the Tibetan Plateau: variabilities and drivers
Inverse modelling of New Zealand's carbon dioxide balance estimates a larger than expected carbon sink
Combined CO2 measurement record indicates Amazon forest carbon uptake is offset by savanna carbon release
Operational and Probabilistic Evaluation of AQMEII-4 Regional Scale Ozone Dry Deposition. Time to Harmonise Our LULC Masks
How reliable are process-based 222radon emission maps? Results from an atmospheric 222radon inversion in Europe
Partitioning anthropogenic and natural methane emissions in Finland during 2000–2021 by combining bottom-up and top-down estimates
A Diagnostic Intercomparison of Modeled Ozone Dry Deposition Over North America and Europe Using AQMEII4 Regional-Scale Simulations
The role of OCO-3 XCO2 retrievals in estimating global terrestrial net ecosystem exchanges
Surface and tropospheric ozone over East Asia and Southeast Asia from observations: distributions, trends, and variability
The improved Trajectory-mapped Ozonesonde dataset for the Stratosphere and Troposphere (TOST): update, validation and applications
Constraining elemental mercury air–sea exchange using long-term ground-based observations
Climate Forcing due to Future Ozone Changes: An intercomparison of metrics and methods
Variation in shortwave water vapour continuum and impact on clear-sky shortwave radiative feedback
Tracing the origins of stratospheric ozone intrusions: direct vs. indirect pathways and their impacts on Central and Eastern China in spring–summer 2019
Flow-dependent observation errors for greenhouse gas inversions in an ensemble Kalman smoother
A WRF-Chem study of the greenhouse gas column and in situ surface concentrations observed at Xianghe, China. Part 1: Methane (CH4)
Evaluation and updates to the oxidized reactive nitrogen trace gas dry deposition parameterization from the GEOS-Chem CTM, including a pathway for ground surface NO2 hydrolysis
Observational and model evidence for a prominent stratospheric influence on variability in tropospheric nitrous oxide
Estimation of Canada's methane emissions: inverse modelling analysis using the Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) measurement network
Spatiotemporal source apportionment of ozone pollution over the Greater Bay Area
Potential of 14C-based vs. ΔCO-based ΔffCO2 observations to estimate urban fossil fuel CO2 (ffCO2) emissions
On the uncertainty of anthropogenic aromatic volatile organic compound emissions: model evaluation and sensitivity analysis
A mechanism of stratospheric O3 intrusion into the atmospheric environment: a case study of the North China Plain
Influence of atmospheric circulation on the interannual variability of transport from global and regional emissions into the Arctic
Surface networks in the Arctic may miss a future methane bomb
Potential of using CO2 observations over India in a regional carbon budget estimation by improving the modelling system
A bottom-up emission estimate for the 2022 Nord Stream gas leak: derivation, simulations, and evaluation
European CH4 inversions with ICON-ART coupled to the CarbonTracker Data Assimilation Shell
Extreme weather exacerbates ozone pollution in the Pearl River Delta, China: role of natural processes
Multidecadal ozone trends in China and implications for human health and crop yields: a hybrid approach combining a chemical transport model and machine learning
On the influence of vertical mixing, boundary layer schemes, and temporal emission profiles on tropospheric NO2 in WRF-Chem – comparisons to in situ, satellite, and MAX-DOAS observations
Decreasing trends of ammonia emissions over Europe seen from remote sensing and inverse modelling
The sensitivity of Southern Ocean atmospheric dimethyl sulfide (DMS) to modeled oceanic DMS concentrations and emissions
Impacts of maritime shipping on air pollution along the US East Coast
Understanding greenhouse gas (GHG) column concentrations in Munich using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model
Impact of transport model resolution and a priori assumptions on inverse modeling of Swiss F-gas emissions
Estimation of power plant SO2 emissions using the HYSPLIT dispersion model and airborne observations with plume rise ensemble runs
Can we use atmospheric CO2 measurements to verify emission trends reported by cities? Lessons from a 6-year atmospheric inversion over Paris
A new steady-state gas–particle partitioning model of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: implication for the influence of the particulate proportion in emissions
An analysis of CMAQ gas-phase dry deposition over North America through grid-scale and land-use-specific diagnostics in the context of AQMEII4
Rethinking the role of transport and photochemistry in regional ozone pollution: insights from ozone concentration and mass budgets
Decreasing seasonal cycle amplitude of methane in the northern high latitudes being driven by lower-latitude changes in emissions and transport
The effect of anthropogenic emission, meteorological factors, and carbon dioxide on the surface ozone increase in China from 2008 to 2018 during the East Asia summer monsoon season
Development of a CMAQ–PMF-based composite index for prescribing an effective ozone abatement strategy: a case study of sensitivity of surface ozone to precursor volatile organic compound species in southern Taiwan
Comment on “Climate consequences of hydrogen emissions” by Ocko and Hamburg (2022)
Constraining emissions of volatile organic compounds from western US wildfires with WE-CAN and FIREX-AQ airborne observations
Qingjian Yang, Tianliang Zhao, Yongqing Bai, Kai Meng, Yuehan Luo, Zhijie Tian, Xiaoyun Sun, Weikang Fu, Kai Yang, and Jun Hu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 8029–8042, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8029-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8029-2025, 2025
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This study reveals a unique driver of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) thermal forcing of the interannual variations in stratosphere-to-troposphere transport (STT) of ozone with diverse structures. Anomalous strong TP thermal forcing induces anticyclonic anomalies in the upper troposphere over the TP, which strengthens and attenuates the northern and southern branches of the westerly jet, intensifying (weakening) the westerly trough for more (fewer) tropopause folds of ozone STT over the East Asian region.
Aki Tsuruta, Akihiko Kuze, Kei Shiomi, Fumie Kataoka, Nobuhiro Kikuchi, Tuula Aalto, Leif Backman, Ella Kivimäki, Maria K. Tenkanen, Kathryn McKain, Omaira E. García, Frank Hase, Rigel Kivi, Isamu Morino, Hirofumi Ohyama, David F. Pollard, Mahesh K. Sha, Kimberly Strong, Ralf Sussmann, Yao Te, Voltaire A. Velazco, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Thorsten Warneke, Minqiang Zhou, and Hiroshi Suto
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7829–7862, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7829-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7829-2025, 2025
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Satellite data bring invaluable information about greenhouse gas emissions globally. We found that a new type of data from the Greenhouse Gas Observing Satellite (GOSAT), which contains information about methane in the lowest layer of Earth's atmosphere, could provide reliable estimates of recent methane emissions when combined with atmospheric modelling. Therefore, the use of such data is encouraged to improve emission quantification methods and advance our understanding of methane cycles.
Antoine Berchet, Isabelle Pison, Camille Huselstein, Clément Narbaud, Marine Remaud, Sauveur Belviso, Camille Abadie, and Fabienne Maignan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7499–7525, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7499-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7499-2025, 2025
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We use the measurements of atmospheric carbonyl sulfide (COS) concentrations at the monitoring site of Gif-sur-Yvette (in the Paris region) from August 2014 to December 2019, combined with existing knowledge on COS fluxes in the atmosphere and a transport model, to gain insight into COS fluxes, either natural, such as oceanic emissions or vegetation and soil fluxes, or anthropogenic, from industrial activities and power generation.
Jinhui Gao and Hui Xiao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 7387–7401, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7387-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-7387-2025, 2025
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The ensemble simulation provides a solution to better reproduce and understand the extremely high ozone episode that occurred in the Great Bay Area when Typhoon Nida approached South China in summer 2016. Elevated temperatures and weak winds contributed to the increase in ozone precursors, resulting in enhanced ozone production. Large amounts of ozone aloft also contributed to the increase in surface ozone via vertical transport. Notably, ozone from Southeast Asia contributed through this mechanism.
Zhenda Sun, Hao Yin, Zhongfeng Pan, Chongyang Li, Xiao Lu, Ke Liu, Youwen Sun, and Cheng Liu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6823–6842, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6823-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6823-2025, 2025
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This study investigates the variability and driving forces of transboundary CO transport flux over the Tibetan Plateau from May 2018 to April 2024. During this period, external CO influx increased by 2.86 Tg yr-1, while internal efflux slightly declined by 1.70 Tg yr-1. The rising influx in recent years is likely linked to the rapid increase in CO concentrations from South Asia.
Beata Bukosa, Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher, Gordon Brailsford, Dan Smale, Elizabeth D. Keller, W. Troy Baisden, Miko U. F. Kirschbaum, Donna L. Giltrap, Lìyǐn Liáng, Stuart Moore, Rowena Moss, Sylvia Nichol, Jocelyn Turnbull, Alex Geddes, Daemon Kennett, Dóra Hidy, Zoltán Barcza, Louis A. Schipper, Aaron M. Wall, Shin-Ichiro Nakaoka, Hitoshi Mukai, and Andrea Brandon
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6445–6473, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6445-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6445-2025, 2025
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We used atmospheric measurements and inverse modelling to estimate New Zealand's carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and removals from 2011 to 2020. Our study reveals that New Zealand's land absorbs more CO2 than previously estimated, particularly in areas dominated by indigenous forests. Our results highlight gaps in current national CO2 estimates and methods, suggesting a need for further research to improve emissions reports and refine approaches to track progress toward climate mitigation goals.
Santiago Botía, Saqr Munassar, Thomas Koch, Danilo Custodio, Luana S. Basso, Shujiro Komiya, Jost V. Lavric, David Walter, Manuel Gloor, Giordane Martins, Stijn Naus, Gerbrand Koren, Ingrid T. Luijkx, Stijn Hantson, John B. Miller, Wouter Peters, Christian Rödenbeck, and Christoph Gerbig
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6219–6255, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6219-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6219-2025, 2025
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This study uses dry CO2 mole fractions from the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory together with airborne profiles to estimate net carbon exchange in tropical South America. We found that the biogeographic Amazon is a net carbon sink, while the Cerrado and Caatinga biomes are net carbon sources, resulting in an overall neutral balance. Finally, to further reduce the uncertainty in our estimates we call for an expansion of the monitoring capacity, especially in the Amazon–Andes foothills.
Ioannis Kioutsioukis, Christian Hogrefe, Paul A. Makar, Ummugulsun Alyuz, Jessy O. Bash, Roberto Bellasio, Roberto Bianconi, Tim Buttler, Olivia E. Clifton, Philippe Cheung, Alma Hodzic, Richard Kranenburg, Aurelia Lupascu, Kester Momoh, Juan Luis Perez-Camaño, John Pleim, Young-Hee Ryu, Robero San Jose, Donna Schwede, Ranjeet Sokhi, and Stefano Galmarini
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1091, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-1091, 2025
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Deposition is a key in air quality modelling. An evaluation of the AQMEII4 models is performed prior to analysing the different deposition schemes in relation to the LULC used. Such analysis is unprecedented. Among the results, LULC masks have to be harmonised and up-to-date information used in place of outdated and too course masks. Alternatively LULC masks should be evaluated and intercom pared when multiple model results are analysed.
Fabian Maier, Eva Falge, Maksym Gachkivskyi, Stephan Henne, Ute Karstens, Dafina Kikaj, Ingeborg Levin, Alistair Manning, Christian Rödenbeck, and Christoph Gerbig
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-477, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-477, 2025
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The radioactive noble gas radon (222Rn) is a suitable natural tracer for atmospheric transport and mixing processes that can be used to validate and calibrate atmospheric transport models. However, this requires accurate estimates of the 222Rn flux from the soil into the atmosphere. In our study, we evaluate the reliability of process-based 222Rn flux maps for Europe using a 222Rn inversion. Our inversion results can give some indications on how to improve the process-based 222Rn flux maps.
Maria K. Tenkanen, Aki Tsuruta, Hugo Denier van der Gon, Lena Höglund-Isaksson, Antti Leppänen, Tiina Markkanen, Ana Maria Roxana Petrescu, Maarit Raivonen, Hermanni Aaltonen, and Tuula Aalto
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2181–2206, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2181-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2181-2025, 2025
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Accurate national methane (CH4) emission estimates are essential for tracking progress towards climate goals. This study compares estimates from Finland, which use different methods and scales, and shows how well a global model estimates emissions within a country. The bottom-up estimates vary a lot, but constraining them with atmospheric CH4 measurements brought the estimates closer together. We also highlight the importance of quantifying natural emissions alongside anthropogenic emissions.
Christian Hogrefe, Stefano Galmarini, Paul A. Makar, Ioannis Kioutsioukis, Olivia E. Clifton, Ummugulsum Alyuz, Jesse O. Bash, Roberto Bellasio, Roberto Bianconi, Tim Butler, Philip Cheung, Alma Hodzic, Richard Kranenburg, Aurelia Lupascu, Kester Momoh, Juan Luis Perez-Camanyo, Jonathan E. Pleim, Young-Hee Ryu, Roberto San Jose, Martijn Schaap, Donna B. Schwede, and Ranjeet Sokhi
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-225, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-225, 2025
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Performed under the umbrella of the fourth phase of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII4), this study applies AQMEII4 diagnostic tools to better characterize how dry deposition removes pollutants from the atmosphere in regional-scale models. The results also strongly suggest that improvement and harmonization of the representation of land use in these models would serve the community in their future development efforts.
Xingyu Wang, Fei Jiang, Hengmao Wang, Zhengqi Zhang, Mousong Wu, Jun Wang, Wei He, Weimin Ju, and Jing M. Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 867–880, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-867-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-867-2025, 2025
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The role of OCO-3 XCO2 retrievals in estimating global terrestrial carbon fluxes is unclear. We investigate this by assimilating OCO-3 XCO2 retrievals alone and in combination with OCO-2 XCO2. The assimilation of OCO-3 XCO2 alone underestimates global land sinks, mainly at high latitudes, due to the lack of observations beyond 52° S and 52° N, large variations in the number of data, and varying observation times, while the joint assimilation of OCO-2 and OCO-3 XCO2 has the best performance.
Ke Li, Rong Tan, Wenhao Qiao, Taegyung Lee, Yufen Wang, Danyuting Zhang, Minglong Tang, Wenqing Zhao, Yixuan Gu, Shaojia Fan, Jinqiang Zhang, Xiaopu Lyu, Likun Xue, Jianming Xu, Zhiqiang Ma, Mohd Talib Latif, Teerachai Amnuaylojaroen, Junsu Gil, Mee-Hye Lee, Juseon Bak, Joowan Kim, Hong Liao, Yugo Kanaya, Xiao Lu, Tatsuya Nagashima, and Ja-Ho Koo
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3756, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3756, 2025
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East Asia and Southeast Asia has been identified as a global hot spot with the fastest ozone increase. This paper presents the most comprehensive observational view of ozone distributions and evolution over East Asia and Southeast Asia across different spatiotemporal scales in the past two decades, which will have important implications for assessing ozone impacts on public health and crop yields, and for developing future ozone control strategies.
Zhou Zang, Jane Liu, David Tarasick, Omid Moeini, Jianchun Bian, Jinqiang Zhang, Anne M. Thompson, Roeland Van Malderen, Herman G. J. Smit, Ryan M. Stauffer, Bryan J. Johnson, and Debra E. Kollonige
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 13889–13912, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13889-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-13889-2024, 2024
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The Trajectory-mapped Ozonesonde dataset for the Stratosphere and Troposphere (TOST) provides a global-scale, long-term ozone climatology that is horizontally and vertically resolved. In this study, we improved, updated and validated TOST from 1970 to 2021. Based on this TOST dataset, we characterized global ozone variations spatially in both the troposphere and stratosphere and temporally by season and decade. We also showed a stagnant lower stratospheric ozone variation since the late 1990s.
Koketso Michelle Molepo, Johannes Bieser, Alkuin Maximilian Koenig, Ian Michael Hedgecock, Ralf Ebinghaus, Aurélien Dommergue, Olivier Magand, Hélène Angot, Oleg Travnikov, Lynwill Martin, Casper Labuschagne, Katie Read, and Yann Bertrand
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3722, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3722, 2024
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Mercury exchange between the ocean and atmosphere is poorly understood due to limited in situ data. Here, using atmospheric mercury observations from ground-based monitoring stations along with air mass trajectories, we found that atmospheric Hg levels increase with air mass ocean exposure time, matching predictions for ocean mercury emissions. This finding indicates that ocean emissions directly influence atmospheric mercury levels and enables us to estimate these emissions on a global scale.
William J. Collins, Fiona M. O'Connor, Connor R. Barker, Rachael E. Byrom, Sebastian D. Eastham, Øivind Hodnebrog, Patrick Jöckel, Eloise A. Marais, Mariano Mertens, Gunnar Myhre, Matthias Nützel, Dirk Olivié, Ragnhild Bieltvedt Skeie, Laura Stecher, Larry W. Horowitz, Vaishali Naik, Gregory Faluvegi, Ulas Im, Lee T. Murray, Drew Shindell, Kostas Tsigaridis, Nathan Luke Abraham, and James Keeble
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3698, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3698, 2024
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If reductions aren’t implemented to limit emissions of pollutants that produce ozone then we calculate that this will cause a warming of climate. We assess how the future warming from ozone is affected by changing meteorological variables such as clouds and atmospheric temperatures. We find that reductions in high cloud cover tend to slightly reduce the warming from ozone.
Kaah P. Menang, Stefan A. Buehler, Lukas Kluft, Robin J. Hogan, and Florian E. Roemer
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3051, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3051, 2024
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We investigated how the uncertainty in representing water vapour continuum absorption in the shortwave affects clear-sky shortwave radiative feedback. For current surface temperature, the impact is modest (<2 %). In a warmer world, continuum induced error in estimated shortwave feedback is up to ~5 %. Using the MT_CKD model in radiative transfer calculations may lead to an underestimation of the shortwave feedback. Constraining shortwave continuum will contribute to reducing these discrepancies.
Kai Meng, Tianliang Zhao, Yongqing Bai, Ming Wu, Le Cao, Xuewei Hou, Yuehan Luo, and Yongcheng Jiang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12623–12642, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12623-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12623-2024, 2024
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We studied the impact of stratospheric intrusions (SIs) on tropospheric and near-surface ozone in Central and Eastern China from a stratospheric source tracing perspective. SIs contribute the most in the eastern plains, with a contribution exceeding 15 %, and have a small contribution to the west and south. Western Siberia and Mongolia are the most critical source areas for indirect and direct SIs, with the Rossby wave and northeast cold vortex being important driving circulation systems.
Michael Steiner, Luca Cantarello, Stephan Henne, and Dominik Brunner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12447–12463, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12447-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12447-2024, 2024
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Atmospheric greenhouse gas inversions have great potential to independently check reported bottom-up emissions; however they are subject to large uncertainties. It is paramount to address and reduce the largest source of uncertainty, which stems from the representation of atmospheric transport in the models. In this study, we show that the use of a temporally varying flow-dependent atmospheric transport uncertainty can enhance the accuracy of emission estimation in an idealized experiment.
Sieglinde Callewaert, Minqiang Zhou, Bavo Langerock, Pucai Wang, Ting Wang, Emmanuel Mahieu, and Martine De Mazière
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3228, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-3228, 2024
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We used an atmospheric transport model and satellite data to study CH4 observations at Xianghe, China. Our study shows the key source sectors that influence the concentrations and their respective importance. Furthermore, meteorological factors such as wind direction are discussed. This research highlights the challenges in accurately simulating these kind of measurements and helps us to better understand CH4 variability in the region.
Brian L. Boys, Randall V. Martin, and Trevor C. VandenBoer
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2994, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2994, 2024
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A widely used dry deposition parameterization for NO2 is updated by including a well-known heterogeneous hydrolysis reaction on deposition surfaces. This mechanistic update eliminates a large low bias of -80 % in simulated NO2 nocturnal deposition velocities evaluated against long-term eddy covariance flux observations over Harvard Forest. We highlight the importance of canopy surface area effects as well as soil NO emission in formulating and evaluating NO2 dry deposition parameterizations.
Cynthia D. Nevison, Qing Liang, Paul A. Newman, Britton B. Stephens, Geoff Dutton, Xin Lan, Roisin Commane, Yenny Gonzalez, and Eric Kort
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10513–10529, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10513-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10513-2024, 2024
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This study examines the drivers of interannual variability in tropospheric N2O. New insights are obtained from aircraft data and a chemistry–climate model that explicitly simulates stratospheric N2O. The stratosphere is found to be the dominant driver of N2O variability in the Northern Hemisphere, while both the stratosphere and El Niño cycles are important in the Southern Hemisphere. These results are consistent with known atmospheric dynamics and differences between the hemispheres.
Misa Ishizawa, Douglas Chan, Doug Worthy, Elton Chan, Felix Vogel, Joe R. Melton, and Vivek K. Arora
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10013–10038, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10013-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10013-2024, 2024
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Methane (CH4) emissions in Canada for 2007–2017 were estimated using Canada’s surface greenhouse gas measurements. The estimated emissions show no significant trend, but emission uncertainty was reduced as more measurement sites became available. Notably for climate change, we find the wetland CH4 emissions show a positive correlation with surface air temperature in summer. Canada’s measurement network could monitor future CH4 emission changes and compliance with climate change mitigation goals.
Yiang Chen, Xingcheng Lu, and Jimmy C. H. Fung
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8847–8864, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8847-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8847-2024, 2024
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This study investigates the contribution of pollutants from different emitting periods to ozone episodes over the Greater Bay Area. The analysis reveals the variation in major spatiotemporal contributors to the O3 pollution under the influence of typhoons and subtropical high pressure. Through temporal contribution analysis, our work offers a new perspective on the evolution of O3 pollution and can aid in developing effective and timely control policies under unfavorable weather conditions.
Fabian Maier, Christian Rödenbeck, Ingeborg Levin, Christoph Gerbig, Maksym Gachkivskyi, and Samuel Hammer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8183–8203, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8183-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8183-2024, 2024
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We investigate the usage of discrete radiocarbon (14C)-based fossil fuel carbon dioxide (ffCO2) concentration estimates vs. continuous carbon monoxide (CO)-based ffCO2 estimates to evaluate the seasonal cycle of ffCO2 emissions in an urban region with an inverse modeling framework. We find that the CO-based ffCO2 estimates allow us to reconstruct robust seasonal cycles, which show the distinct COVID-19 drawdown in 2020 and can be used to validate emission inventories.
Kevin Oliveira, Marc Guevara, Oriol Jorba, Hervé Petetin, Dene Bowdalo, Carles Tena, Gilbert Montané Pinto, Franco López, and Carlos Pérez García-Pando
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7137–7177, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7137-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7137-2024, 2024
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In this work, we assess and evaluate benzene, toluene, and xylene primary emissions and air quality levels in Spain by combining observations, emission inventories, and air quality modelling techniques. The comparison between modelled and observed levels allows identifying uncertainty sources within the emission input. This contributes to improving air quality models' performance when simulating these compounds, leading to better support for the design of effective pollution control strategies.
Yuehan Luo, Tianliang Zhao, Kai Meng, Jun Hu, Qingjian Yang, Yongqing Bai, Kai Yang, Weikang Fu, Chenghao Tan, Yifan Zhang, Yanzhe Zhang, and Zhikuan Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 7013–7026, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7013-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-7013-2024, 2024
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We reveal a significant mechanism of stratospheric O3 intrusion (SI) into the atmospheric environment induced by an extratropical cyclone system. This system facilitates the downward transport of stratospheric O3 to the near-surface layer by vertical coupling, involving the upper westerly trough, the middle northeast cold vortex, and the lower extratropical cyclone in the troposphere. On average, stratospheric O3 contributed 26.77 % to near-surface O3 levels over the North China Plain.
Cheng Zheng, Yutian Wu, Mingfang Ting, and Clara Orbe
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 6965–6985, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6965-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6965-2024, 2024
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Trace gases and aerosols in the Arctic, which typically originate from midlatitude and tropical emission regions, modulate the Arctic climate via their radiative and chemistry impacts. Thus, long-range transport of these substances is important for understanding the current and the future change of Arctic climate. By employing chemistry–climate models, we explore how year-to-year variations in the atmospheric circulation modulate atmospheric long-range transport into the Arctic.
Sophie Wittig, Antoine Berchet, Isabelle Pison, Marielle Saunois, and Jean-Daniel Paris
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 6359–6373, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6359-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-6359-2024, 2024
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The aim of this work is to analyse how accurately a methane bomb event could be detected with the current and a hypothetically extended stationary observation network in the Arctic. For this, we incorporate synthetically modelled possible future CH4 concentrations based on plausible emission scenarios into an inverse modelling framework. We analyse how well the increase is detected in different Arctic regions and evaluate the impact of additional observation sites in this respect.
Vishnu Thilakan, Dhanyalekshmi Pillai, Jithin Sukumaran, Christoph Gerbig, Haseeb Hakkim, Vinayak Sinha, Yukio Terao, Manish Naja, and Monish Vijay Deshpande
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 5315–5335, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5315-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-5315-2024, 2024
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This study investigates the usability of CO2 mixing ratio observations over India to infer regional carbon sources and sinks. We demonstrate that a high-resolution modelling system can represent the observed CO2 variations reasonably well by improving the transport and flux variations at a fine scale. Future carbon data assimilation systems can thus benefit from these recently available CO2 observations when fine-scale variations are adequately represented in the models.
Rostislav Kouznetsov, Risto Hänninen, Andreas Uppstu, Evgeny Kadantsev, Yalda Fatahi, Marje Prank, Dmitrii Kouznetsov, Steffen Manfred Noe, Heikki Junninen, and Mikhail Sofiev
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4675–4691, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4675-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4675-2024, 2024
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By relying solely on publicly available media reports, we were able to infer the temporal evolution and the injection height for the Nord Stream gas leaks in September 2022. The inventory specifies locations, vertical distributions, and temporal evolution of the methane sources. The inventory can be used to simulate the event with atmospheric transport models. The inventory is supplemented with a set of observational data tailored to evaluate the results of the simulated atmospheric dispersion.
Michael Steiner, Wouter Peters, Ingrid Luijkx, Stephan Henne, Huilin Chen, Samuel Hammer, and Dominik Brunner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2759–2782, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2759-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2759-2024, 2024
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The Paris Agreement increased interest in estimating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of individual countries, but top-down emission estimation is not yet considered policy-relevant. It is therefore paramount to reduce large errors and to build systems that are based on the newest atmospheric transport models. In this study, we present the first application of ICON-ART in the inverse modeling of GHG fluxes with an ensemble Kalman filter and present our results for European CH4 emissions.
Nan Wang, Hongyue Wang, Xin Huang, Xi Chen, Yu Zou, Tao Deng, Tingyuan Li, Xiaopu Lyu, and Fumo Yang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 1559–1570, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1559-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-1559-2024, 2024
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This study explores the influence of extreme-weather-induced natural processes on ozone pollution, which is often overlooked. By analyzing meteorological factors, natural emissions, chemistry pathways and atmospheric transport, we discovered that these natural processes could substantially exacerbate ozone pollution. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of ozone pollution and offer valuable insights for controlling ozone pollution in the context of global warming.
Jia Mao, Amos P. K. Tai, David H. Y. Yung, Tiangang Yuan, Kong T. Chau, and Zhaozhong Feng
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 345–366, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-345-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-345-2024, 2024
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Surface ozone (O3) is well-known for posing great threats to both human health and agriculture worldwide. However, a multidecadal assessment of the impacts of O3 on public health and agriculture in China is lacking without sufficient O3 observations. We used a hybrid approach combining a chemical transport model and machine learning to provide a robust dataset of O3 concentrations over the past 4 decades in China, thereby filling the gap in the long-term O3 trend and impact assessment in China.
Leon Kuhn, Steffen Beirle, Vinod Kumar, Sergey Osipov, Andrea Pozzer, Tim Bösch, Rajesh Kumar, and Thomas Wagner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 185–217, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-185-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-185-2024, 2024
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NO₂ is an important air pollutant. It was observed that the WRF-Chem model shows significant deviations in NO₂ abundance when compared to measurements. We use a 1-month simulation over central Europe to show that these deviations can be mostly resolved by reparameterization of the vertical mixing routine. In order to validate our results, they are compared to in situ, satellite, and MAX-DOAS measurements.
Ondřej Tichý, Sabine Eckhardt, Yves Balkanski, Didier Hauglustaine, and Nikolaos Evangeliou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15235–15252, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15235-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15235-2023, 2023
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We show declining trends in NH3 emissions over Europe for 2013–2020 using advanced dispersion and inverse modelling and satellite measurements from CrIS. Emissions decreased by −26% since 2013, showing that the abatement strategies adopted by the European Union have been very efficient. Ammonia emissions are low in winter and peak in summer due to temperature-dependent soil volatilization. The largest decreases were observed in central and western Europe in countries with high emissions.
Yusuf A. Bhatti, Laura E. Revell, Alex J. Schuddeboom, Adrian J. McDonald, Alex T. Archibald, Jonny Williams, Abhijith U. Venugopal, Catherine Hardacre, and Erik Behrens
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15181–15196, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15181-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15181-2023, 2023
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Aerosols are a large source of uncertainty over the Southern Ocean. A dominant source of sulfate aerosol in this region is dimethyl sulfide (DMS), which is poorly simulated by climate models. We show the sensitivity of simulated atmospheric DMS to the choice of oceanic DMS data set and emission scheme. We show that oceanic DMS has twice the influence on atmospheric DMS than the emission scheme. Simulating DMS more accurately in climate models will help to constrain aerosol uncertainty.
Maryam Golbazi and Cristina Archer
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15057–15075, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15057-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15057-2023, 2023
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We use scientific models to study the impact of ship emissions on air quality along the US East Coast. We find an increase in three major pollutants (PM2.5, NO2, and SO2) in coastal regions. However, we detect a reduction in ozone (O3) levels in major coastal cities. This reduction is linked to the significant emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) from ships, which scavenged O3, especially in highly polluted urban areas experiencing an NOx-limited regime.
Xinxu Zhao, Jia Chen, Julia Marshall, Michal Gałkowski, Stephan Hachinger, Florian Dietrich, Ankit Shekhar, Johannes Gensheimer, Adrian Wenzel, and Christoph Gerbig
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14325–14347, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14325-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14325-2023, 2023
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We develop a modeling framework using the Weather Research and Forecasting model at a high spatial resolution (up to 400 m) to simulate atmospheric transport of greenhouse gases and interpret column observations. Output is validated against weather stations and column measurements in August 2018. The differential column method is applied, aided by air-mass transport tracing with the Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport (STILT) model, also for an exploratory measurement interpretation.
Ioannis Katharopoulos, Dominique Rust, Martin K. Vollmer, Dominik Brunner, Stefan Reimann, Simon J. O'Doherty, Dickon Young, Kieran M. Stanley, Tanja Schuck, Jgor Arduini, Lukas Emmenegger, and Stephan Henne
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 14159–14186, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14159-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-14159-2023, 2023
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The effectiveness of climate change mitigation needs to be scrutinized by monitoring greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Countries report their emissions to the UN in a bottom-up manner. By combining atmospheric observations and transport models someone can independently validate emission estimates in a top-down fashion. We report Swiss emissions of synthetic GHGs based on kilometer-scale transport and inverse modeling, highlighting the role of appropriate resolution in complex terrain.
Tianfeng Chai, Xinrong Ren, Fong Ngan, Mark Cohen, and Alice Crawford
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 12907–12933, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12907-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-12907-2023, 2023
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The SO2 emissions of three power plants are estimated using aircraft observations and an ensemble of HYSPLIT dispersion simulations with different plume rise parameters. The emission estimates using the runs with the lowest root mean square errors (RMSEs) and the runs with the best correlation coefficients between the predicted and observed mixing ratios both agree well with the Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems (CEMS) data. The RMSE-based plume rise appears to be more reasonable.
Jinghui Lian, Thomas Lauvaux, Hervé Utard, François-Marie Bréon, Grégoire Broquet, Michel Ramonet, Olivier Laurent, Ivonne Albarus, Mali Chariot, Simone Kotthaus, Martial Haeffelin, Olivier Sanchez, Olivier Perrussel, Hugo Anne Denier van der Gon, Stijn Nicolaas Camiel Dellaert, and Philippe Ciais
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8823–8835, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8823-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8823-2023, 2023
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This study quantifies urban CO2 emissions via an atmospheric inversion for the Paris metropolitan area over a 6-year period from 2016 to 2021. Results show a long-term decreasing trend of about 2 % ± 0.6 % per year in the annual CO2 emissions over Paris. We conclude that our current capacity can deliver near-real-time CO2 emission estimates at the city scale in under a month, and the results agree within 10 % with independent estimates from multiple city-scale inventories.
Fu-Jie Zhu, Peng-Tuan Hu, and Wan-Li Ma
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8583–8590, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8583-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8583-2023, 2023
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A new steady-state gas–particle partitioning model of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons was established based on the level-III multimedia fugacity model, which proved that the particulate proportion of PAHs in emissions was a crucial factor for G–P partitioning of PAHs. In addition, gaseous and particulate interference was also derived in the new steady-state model determined by the particulate proportion in emission that could derivate the G–P partitioning quotients from the equilibrium state.
Christian Hogrefe, Jesse O. Bash, Jonathan E. Pleim, Donna B. Schwede, Robert C. Gilliam, Kristen M. Foley, K. Wyat Appel, and Rohit Mathur
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8119–8147, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8119-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8119-2023, 2023
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Under the umbrella of the fourth phase of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII4), this study applies AQMEII4 diagnostic tools to better characterize how dry deposition removes pollutants from the atmosphere in the widely used CMAQ model. The results illustrate how these tools can provide insights into similarities and differences between the two CMAQ dry deposition options that affect simulated pollutant budgets and ecosystem impacts from atmospheric pollution.
Kun Qu, Xuesong Wang, Xuhui Cai, Yu Yan, Xipeng Jin, Mihalis Vrekoussis, Maria Kanakidou, Guy P. Brasseur, Jin Shen, Teng Xiao, Limin Zeng, and Yuanhang Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7653–7671, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7653-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7653-2023, 2023
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Basic understandings of ozone processes, especially transport and chemistry, are essential to support ozone pollution control, but studies often have different views on their relative importance. We developed a method to quantify their contributions in the ozone mass and concentration budgets based on the WRF-CMAQ model. Results in a polluted region highlight the differences between two budgets. For future studies, two budgets are both needed to fully understand the effects of ozone processes.
Emily Dowd, Chris Wilson, Martyn P. Chipperfield, Emanuel Gloor, Alistair Manning, and Ruth Doherty
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 7363–7382, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7363-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-7363-2023, 2023
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Surface observations of methane show that the seasonal cycle amplitude (SCA) of methane is decreasing in the northern high latitudes (NHLs) but increased globally (1995–2020). The NHL decrease is counterintuitive, as we expect the SCA to increase with increasing concentrations. We use a chemical transport model to investigate changes in SCA in the NHLs. We find well-mixed methane and changes in emissions from Canada, the Middle East, and Europe are the largest contributors to the SCA in NHLs.
Danyang Ma, Tijian Wang, Hao Wu, Yawei Qu, Jian Liu, Jane Liu, Shu Li, Bingliang Zhuang, Mengmeng Li, and Min Xie
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6525–6544, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6525-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6525-2023, 2023
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Increasing surface ozone (O3) concentrations have long been a significant environmental issue in China, despite the Clean Air Action Plan launched in 2013. Most previous research ignores the contributions of CO2 variations. Our study comprehensively analyzed O3 variation across China from various perspectives and highlighted the importance of considering CO2 variations when designing long-term O3 control policies, especially in high-vegetation-coverage areas.
Jackson Hian-Wui Chang, Stephen M. Griffith, Steven Soon-Kai Kong, Ming-Tung Chuang, and Neng-Huei Lin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6357–6382, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6357-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6357-2023, 2023
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A novel CMAQ–PMF-based composite index is developed to identify the key VOC source species for an effective ozone abatement strategy. The index provides information as to which VOC species are key to ozone formation and where to reduce sources of these VOC species. Using the composite index, we recommended the VOC control measures in southern Taiwan should prioritize solvent usage, vehicle emissions, and the petrochemical industry.
Lei Duan and Ken Caldeira
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6011–6020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6011-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6011-2023, 2023
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Ocko and Hamburg (2022) emphasize the short-term climate impact of hydrogen, and we present an analysis that places greater focus on long-term outcomes. We have derived equations that describe the time-evolving impact of hydrogen and show that higher methane leakage is primarily responsible for the warming potential of blue hydrogen, while hydrogen leakage plays a less critical role. Fossil fuels show more prominent longer-term climate impacts than clean hydrogen under all emission scenarios.
Lixu Jin, Wade Permar, Vanessa Selimovic, Damien Ketcherside, Robert J. Yokelson, Rebecca S. Hornbrook, Eric C. Apel, I-Ting Ku, Jeffrey L. Collett Jr., Amy P. Sullivan, Daniel A. Jaffe, Jeffrey R. Pierce, Alan Fried, Matthew M. Coggon, Georgios I. Gkatzelis, Carsten Warneke, Emily V. Fischer, and Lu Hu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 5969–5991, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5969-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-5969-2023, 2023
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Air quality in the USA has been improving since 1970 due to anthropogenic emission reduction. Those gains have been partly offset by increased wildfire pollution in the western USA in the past 20 years. Still, we do not understand wildfire emissions well due to limited measurements. Here, we used a global transport model to evaluate and constrain current knowledge of wildfire emissions with recent observational constraints, showing the underestimation of wildfire emissions in the western USA.
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Makar, P. A., Akingunola, A., Aherne, J., Cole, A. S., Aklilu, Y.-A., Zhang, J., Wong, I., Hayden, K., Li, S.-M., Kirk, J., Scott, K., Moran, M. D., Robichaud, A., Cathcart, H., Baratzedah, P., Pabla, B., Cheung, P., Zheng, Q., and Jeffries, D. S.: Estimates of exceedances of critical loads for acidifying deposition in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 18, 9897–9927, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-9897-2018, 2018. a, b
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Short summary
Our study explores the influence of water phase changes in plumes from industrial sources on atmospheric dispersion of emitted pollutants and air quality. Employing PRISM (Plume-Rise-Iterative-Stratified-Moist), a new method, we found that considering these effects significantly improves predictions of pollutant dispersion. This insight enhances our understanding of environmental impacts, enabling more accurate air quality modelling and fostering more effective pollution management strategies.
Our study explores the influence of water phase changes in plumes from industrial sources on...
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