scholarly journals The observed response of Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) NO2 columns to NOx emission controls on power plants in the United States: 2005–2011

2013 ◽  
Vol 81 ◽  
pp. 102-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan N. Duncan ◽  
Yasuko Yoshida ◽  
Benjamin de Foy ◽  
Lok N. Lamsal ◽  
David G. Streets ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nox Emission ◽  
Ozone Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Emission Controls ◽  
Ozone Monitoring

scholarly journals Impact of lightning-NO on Eastern United States photochemistry during the summer of 2006 as determined using the CMAQ model

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 17699-17757 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Allen ◽  
K. E. Pickering ◽  
R. W. Pinder ◽  
B. H. Henderson ◽  
K. W. Appel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Wet Deposition ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Convective Precipitation ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
Ozone Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Ozone Monitoring ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. A lightning-nitrogen oxide (NO) algorithm is developed for the regional Community Multiscale Air Quality Model (CMAQ) and used to evaluate the impact of lightning-NO emissions (LNOx) on tropospheric photochemistry over the Eastern United States during the summer of 2006. The scheme assumes flash rates are proportional to the model convective precipitation rate but then adjusts the flash rates locally to match monthly average observations. Over the Eastern United States, LNOx is responsible for 20–25 % of the tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) column. This additional NO2 reduces the low-bias of simulated NO2 columns with respect to satellite-retrieved Dutch Ozone Monitoring Instrument NO2 (DOMINO) columns from 41 to 14 %. It also adds 10–20 ppbv to upper tropospheric ozone and 1.5–4.5 ppbv to 8-h maximum surface layer ozone, although, on average, the contribution of LNOx to surface ozone is 1–2 ppbv less on poor air quality days. Biases between modeled and satellite-retrieved tropospheric NO2 columns vary greatly between urban and rural locations. In general, CMAQ overestimates columns at urban locations and underestimates columns at rural locations. These biases are consistent with in situ measurements that also indicate that CMAQ has too much NO2 in urban regions and not enough in rural regions. However, closer analysis suggests that most of the differences between modeled and satellite-retrieved urban to rural ratios are likely a consequence of the horizontal and vertical smoothing inherent in columns retrieved by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). Within CMAQ, LNOx increases wet deposition of nitrate by 50 % and total deposition of nitrogen by 11 %. This additional deposition reduces the magnitude of the CMAQ low-bias in nitrate wet deposition with respect to National Atmospheric Deposition monitors to near zero. In order to obtain an upper bound on the contribution of uncertainties in chemistry to upper tropospheric NOx low biases, sensitivity calculations with updated chemistry were run for the time period of the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment (INTEX-A) field campaign (summer 2004). After adjusting for possible interferences in NO2 measurements and averaging over the entire campaign, these updates reduced 7–9 km biases from 32 to 17 % and 9–12 km biases from 57 to 46 %. While these changes lead to better agreement, a considerable NO2 low-bias remains in the uppermost troposphere.

scholarly journals Emissions of nitrogen oxides from US urban areas: estimation from Ozone Monitoring Instrument retrievals for 2005–2014

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (18) ◽  
pp. 10367-10383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Lu ◽  
D. G. Streets ◽  
B. de Foy ◽  
L. N. Lamsal ◽  
B. N. Duncan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Oxides ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Nox Emission ◽  
Nox Emissions ◽  
Strong Wind ◽  
Ozone Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Ozone Monitoring ◽  
Weak Wind

Abstract. Satellite remote sensing of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) can provide valuable information for estimating surface nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions. Using an exponentially modified Gaussian (EMG) method and taking into account the effect of wind on observed NO2 distributions, we estimate 3-year moving-average emissions of summertime NOx from 35 US (United States) urban areas directly from NO2 retrievals of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) during 2005–2014. Following conclusions of previous studies that the EMG method provides robust and accurate emission estimates under strong-wind conditions, we derive top-down NOx emissions from each urban area by applying the EMG method to OMI data with wind speeds greater than 3–5 m s−1. Meanwhile, we find that OMI NO2 observations under weak-wind conditions (i.e., < 3 m s−1) are qualitatively better correlated to the surface NOx source strength in comparison to all-wind OMI maps; therefore, we use them to calculate the satellite-observed NO2 burdens of urban areas and compare with NOx emission estimates. The EMG results show that OMI-derived NOx emissions are highly correlated (R > 0.93) with weak-wind OMI NO2 burdens as well as with bottom-up NOx emission estimates over 35 urban areas, implying a linear response of the OMI observations to surface emissions under weak-wind conditions. The simultaneous EMG-obtained effective NO2 lifetimes (~ 3.5 ± 1.3 h), however, are biased low in comparison to the summertime NO2 chemical lifetimes. In general, isolated urban areas with NOx emission intensities greater than ~ 2 Mg h−1 produce statistically significant weak-wind signals in 3-year average OMI data. From 2005 to 2014, we estimate that total OMI-derived NOx emissions over all selected US urban areas decreased by 49 %, consistent with reductions of 43, 47, 49, and 44 % in the total bottom-up NOx emissions, the sum of weak-wind OMI NO2 columns, the total weak-wind OMI NO2 burdens, and the averaged NO2 concentrations, respectively, reflecting the success of NOx control programs for both mobile sources and power plants. The decrease rates of these NOx-related quantities are found to be faster (i.e., −6.8 to −9.3 % yr−1) before 2010 and slower (i.e., −3.4 to −4.9 % yr−1) after 2010. For individual urban areas, we calculate the R values of pair-wise trends among the OMI-derived and bottom-up NOx emissions, the weak-wind OMI NO2 burdens, and ground-based NO2 measurements, and high correlations are found for all urban areas (median R= 0.8), particularly large ones (R up to 0.97). The results of the current work indicate that using the EMG method and considering the wind effect, the OMI data allow for the estimation of NOx emissions from urban areas and the direct constraint of emission trends with reasonable accuracy.

scholarly journals A global catalogue of large SO<sub>2</sub> sources and emissions derived from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitali E. Fioletov ◽  
Chris A. McLinden ◽  
Nickolay Krotkov ◽  
Can Li ◽  
Joanna Joiner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Ozone Monitoring Instrument ◽  
So2 Emissions ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Ozone Monitoring

Abstract. Sulphur dioxide (SO2) measurements from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite sensor processed with the new Principal Component Analysis (PCA) algorithm were used to detect large point emission sources or clusters of sources. The total of 491 continuously emitting point sources releasing from about 30 kt yr−1 to more than 4000 kt yr−1 of SO2 per year have been identified and grouped by country and by primary source origin: volcanoes (76 sources); power plants (297); smelters (53); and sources related to the oil and gas industry (65). The sources were identified using different methods, including through OMI measurements themselves applied to a new emissions detection algorithm, and their evolution during the 2005–2014 period was traced by estimating annual emissions from each source. For volcanic sources, the study focused on continuous degassing, and emissions from explosive eruptions were excluded. Emissions from degassing volcanic sources were measured, many for the first time, and collectively they account for about 30 % of total SO2 emissions estimated from OMI measurements, but that fraction has increased in recent years given that cumulative global emissions from power plants and smelters are declining while emissions from oil and gas industry remained nearly constant. Anthropogenic emissions from the USA declined by 80 % over the 2005–2014 period as did emissions from western and central Europe, whereas emissions from India nearly doubled, and emissions from other large SO2-emitting regions (South Africa, Russia, Mexico, and the Middle East) remained fairly constant. In total, OMI-based estimates account for about a half of total reported anthropogenic SO2 emissions; the remaining half is likely related to sources emitting less than 30 kt yr−1 and not detected by OMI.

scholarly journals A global catalogue of large SO<sub>2</sub> sources and emissions derived from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (18) ◽  
pp. 11497-11519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vitali E. Fioletov ◽  
Chris A. McLinden ◽  
Nickolay Krotkov ◽  
Can Li ◽  
Joanna Joiner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Power Plants ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Ozone Monitoring Instrument ◽  
So2 Emissions ◽  
Gas Industry ◽  
Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Ozone Monitoring

Abstract. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) measurements from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite sensor processed with the new principal component analysis (PCA) algorithm were used to detect large point emission sources or clusters of sources. The total of 491 continuously emitting point sources releasing from about 30 kt yr−1 to more than 4000 kt yr−1 of SO2 per year have been identified and grouped by country and by primary source origin: volcanoes (76 sources); power plants (297); smelters (53); and sources related to the oil and gas industry (65). The sources were identified using different methods, including through OMI measurements themselves applied to a new emission detection algorithm, and their evolution during the 2005–2014 period was traced by estimating annual emissions from each source. For volcanic sources, the study focused on continuous degassing, and emissions from explosive eruptions were excluded. Emissions from degassing volcanic sources were measured, many for the first time, and collectively they account for about 30 % of total SO2 emissions estimated from OMI measurements, but that fraction has increased in recent years given that cumulative global emissions from power plants and smelters are declining while emissions from oil and gas industry remained nearly constant. Anthropogenic emissions from the USA declined by 80 % over the 2005–2014 period as did emissions from western and central Europe, whereas emissions from India nearly doubled, and emissions from other large SO2-emitting regions (South Africa, Russia, Mexico, and the Middle East) remained fairly constant. In total, OMI-based estimates account for about a half of total reported anthropogenic SO2 emissions; the remaining half is likely related to sources emitting less than 30 kt yr−1 and not detected by OMI.

scholarly journals Emissions of nitrogen oxides from US urban areas: estimation from Ozone Monitoring Instrument retrievals for 2005–2014

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 14961-15003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Lu ◽  
D. G. Streets ◽  
B. de Foy ◽  
L. N. Lamsal ◽  
B. N. Duncan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Oxides ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Nox Emission ◽  
Nox Emissions ◽  
Strong Wind ◽  
Ozone Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Ozone Monitoring ◽  
Weak Wind

Abstract. Satellite remote sensing of tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) can provide valuable information for estimating surface nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions. Using an exponentially-modified Gaussian (EMG) method and taking into account the effect of wind on observed NO2 distributions, we estimate three-year moving-average emissions of summertime NOx from 35 US urban areas directly from NO2 retrievals of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) during 2005–2014. Following the conclusions of previous studies that the EMG method provides robust and accurate emission estimates under strong-wind conditions, we derive top-down NOx emissions from each urban area by applying the EMG method to OMI data with wind speeds greater than 3–5 m s−1. Meanwhile, we find that OMI NO2 observations under weak-wind conditions (i.e., < 3 m s−1) are qualitatively better correlated with the surface NOx source strength in comparison to all-wind OMI maps; and therefore we use them to calculate the satellite-observed NO2 burdens of urban areas and compare with NOx emission estimates. The EMG results show that OMI-derived NOx emissions are highly correlated (R > 0.93) with weak-wind OMI NO2 burdens as well as bottom-up NOx emission estimates over 35 urban areas, implying a linear response of the OMI observations to surface emissions under weak-wind conditions. The simultaneous, EMG-obtained, effective NO2 lifetimes (~3.5 ± 1.3 h), however, are biased low in comparison to the summertime NO2 chemical lifetimes. In general, isolated urban areas with NOx emission intensities greater than ~ 2 Mg h−1 produce statistically significant weak-wind signals in three-year average OMI data. From 2005 to 2014, we estimate that total OMI-derived NOx emissions over all selected US urban areas decreased by 49%, consistent with reductions of 43, 47, 49, and 44% in the total bottom-up NOx emissions, the sum of weak-wind OMI NO2 columns, the total weak-wind OMI NO2 burdens, and the averaged NO2 concentrations, respectively, reflecting the success of NOx control programs for both mobile sources and power plants. The decrease rates of these NOx-related quantities are found to be faster (i.e., −6.8 to −9.3% yr−1) before 2010 and slower (i.e., −3.4 to −4.9% yr−1) after 2010. For individual urban areas, we calculate the R values of pair-wise trends among the OMI-derived and bottom-up NOx emissions, the weak-wind OMI NO2 burdens, and ground-based NO2 measurements; and high correlations are found for all urban areas (median R = 0.8), particularly large ones (R up to 0.97). The results of the current work indicate that using the EMG method and considering the wind effect, the OMI data allow for the estimation of NOx emissions from urban areas and the direct constraint of emission trends with reasonable accuracy.

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