Abstract. Black carbon (BC) is a potent pollutant because of its effects on climate
change, ecosystems and human health. Black carbon has a particularly
pronounced impact as a climate forcer in the Arctic because of its effect on
snow albedo and cloud formation. We have estimated BC emissions from diesel
sources in the Murmansk Region and Murmansk City, the largest city in the world
above the Arctic Circle. In this study we developed a detailed inventory of
diesel sources including on-road vehicles, off-road transport (mining,
locomotives, construction and agriculture), ships and diesel generators.
For on-road transport, we conducted several surveys to understand the
vehicle fleet and driving patterns, and, for all sources, we also relied on
publicly available local data sets and analysis. We calculated that BC
emissions in the Murmansk Region were 0.40 Gg in 2012. The mining industry is
the largest source of BC emissions in the region, emitting 69 % of all BC
emissions because of its large diesel consumption and absence of emissions
controls. On-road vehicles are the second largest source, emitting about
13 % of emissions. Old heavy duty trucks are the major source of
emissions. Emission controls on new vehicles limit total emissions from
on-road transportation. Vehicle traffic and fleet surveys show that many of
the older cars on the registry are lightly or never used. We also estimated
that total BC emissions from diesel sources in Russia were 50.8 Gg in 2010,
and on-road transport contributed 49 % of diesel BC emissions.
Agricultural machinery is also a significant source Russia-wide, in part
because of the lack of controls on off-road vehicles.
ROAD TRANSPORTATION CHALLENGES IN THE ARCTIC
