Articles | Volume 26, issue 13
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-9493-2026
© Author(s) 2026. 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-26-9493-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
07 Jul 2026
Research article |
| 07 Jul 2026
| 07 Jul 2026
The changing sensitivity of wintertime particulate nitrate to precursor emissions diagnosed via GEOS-Chem and satellite observations of ammonia and nitrogen dioxide over the Midwestern United States
Toan Vo
Division of Energy, Matter & Systems, University of Missouri – Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA
Amy E. Christiansen
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Division of Energy, Matter & Systems, University of Missouri – Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, 64110, USA
Related authors
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Amy Christiansen, Loretta J. Mickley, and Lu Hu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 4569–4589, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4569-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4569-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
In this work, we provide an additional constraint on emissions and trends of nitrogen oxides using nitrate wet deposition (NWD) fluxes over the United States and Europe from 1980–2020. We find that NWD measurements constrain total NOx emissions well. We also find evidence of NOx emission overestimates in both domains, but especially over Europe, where NOx emissions are overestimated by a factor of 2. Reducing NOx emissions over Europe improves model representation of ozone at the surface.
Amy Christiansen, Loretta J. Mickley, Junhua Liu, Luke D. Oman, and Lu Hu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14751–14782, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14751-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14751-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding tropospheric ozone trends is crucial for accurate predictions of future air quality and climate, but drivers of trends are not well understood. We analyze global tropospheric ozone trends since 1980 using ozonesonde and surface measurements, and we evaluate two models for their ability to reproduce trends. We find observational evidence of increasing tropospheric ozone, but models underestimate these increases. This hinders our ability to estimate ozone radiative forcing.
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Short summary
To control wintertime fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the agricultural Midwestern United States, it is critical to understand the formation of particulate nitrate, the major inorganic component of PM2.5 during winter. Our study finds that the formation of wintertime particulate nitrate is becoming increasingly driven by nitrogen oxide emissions from 2007 to 2023. Thus, controlling nitrogen oxide emissions in winter is chemically effective for reducing PM2.5 burden.
To control wintertime fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the agricultural Midwestern United...
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