scholarly journals Responses of surface ozone air quality to anthropogenic nitrogen deposition in the Northern Hemisphere

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (16) ◽  
pp. 9781-9796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanhong Zhao ◽  
Lin Zhang ◽  
Amos P. K. Tai ◽  
Youfan Chen ◽  
Yuepeng Pan
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Nitrogen Deposition ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Dry Deposition ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Nox Emissions ◽  
Anthropogenic Nitrogen ◽  
Anthropogenic Nitrogen Deposition

Abstract. Human activities have substantially increased atmospheric deposition of reactive nitrogen to the Earth's surface, inducing unintentional effects on ecosystems with complex environmental and climate consequences. One consequence remaining unexplored is how surface air quality might respond to the enhanced nitrogen deposition through surface–atmosphere exchange. Here we combine a chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) and a global land model (Community Land Model, CLM) to address this issue with a focus on ozone pollution in the Northern Hemisphere. We consider three processes that are important for surface ozone and can be perturbed by the addition of atmospheric deposited nitrogen – namely, emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ozone dry deposition, and soil nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. We find that present-day anthropogenic nitrogen deposition (65 Tg N a−1 to the land), through enhancing plant growth (represented as increases in vegetation leaf area index, LAI, in the model), could increase surface ozone from increased biogenic VOC emissions (e.g., a 6.6 Tg increase in isoprene emission), but it could also decrease ozone due to higher ozone dry deposition velocities (up to 0.02–0.04 cm s−1 increases). Meanwhile, deposited anthropogenic nitrogen to soil enhances soil NOx emissions. The overall effect on summer mean surface ozone concentrations shows general increases over the globe (up to 1.5–2.3 ppbv over the western US and South Asia), except for some regions with high anthropogenic NOx emissions (0.5–1.0 ppbv decreases over the eastern US, western Europe, and North China). We compare the surface ozone changes with those driven by the past 20-year climate and historical land use changes. We find that the impacts from anthropogenic nitrogen deposition can be comparable to the climate- and land-use-driven surface ozone changes at regional scales and partly offset the surface ozone reductions due to land use changes reported in previous studies. Our study emphasizes the complexity of biosphere–atmosphere interactions, which can have important implications for future air quality prediction.

scholarly journals Responses of surface ozone air quality to anthropogenic nitrogen deposition in the Northern Hemisphere

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuanhong Zhao ◽  
Lin Zhang ◽  
Amos P. K. Tai ◽  
Youfan Chen ◽  
Yuepeng Pan
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Nitrogen Deposition ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Dry Deposition ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Nox Emissions ◽  
Anthropogenic Nitrogen ◽  
Anthropogenic Nitrogen Deposition

Abstract. Human activities have substantially increased atmospheric deposition of reactive nitrogen to the Earth’s surface, inducing unintentional effects on ecosystems with complex environmental and climate consequences. One consequence remaining unexplored is how surface air quality might respond to the enhanced nitrogen deposition through surface-atmosphere exchange. Here we combine a chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) and a global land model (Community Land Model) to address this issue with a focus on ozone pollution in the Northern Hemisphere. We consider three processes that are important for surface ozone and can be perturbed by addition of atmospheric deposited nitrogen, namely, emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs), ozone dry deposition, and soil nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions. We find that present-day anthropogenic nitrogen deposition (65 Tg N a−1 to the land), through enhancing plant growth (represented as increases in vegetation leaf area index (LAI) in the model), could increase surface ozone from increased biogenic VOC emissions (e.g., a 6.6 Tg increase in isoprene emission), but could also decrease ozone due to higher ozone dry deposition velocities (up to 0.02–0.04 cm s−1 increases). Meanwhile, deposited anthropogenic nitrogen to soil enhances soil NOx emissions. The overall effect on summer mean surface ozone concentrations show general increases over the globe (up to 1.5–2.3 ppbv over the western US and South Asia), except for some regions with high anthropogenic NOx emissions (0.5–1.0 ppbv decreases over the eastern US, Western Europe, and North China). We compare the surface ozone changes with those driven by the past 20-year climate and historical land use changes. We find that the impacts from anthropogenic nitrogen deposition can be comparable to the climate and land use driven surface ozone changes at regional scales, and partly offset the surface ozone reductions due to land use changes reported in previous studies. Our study emphasizes the complexity of biosphere-atmosphere interactions, which can have important implications for future air quality prediction.

scholarly journals Impacts of future land use and land cover change on mid-21<sup>st</sup>-century surface ozone air quality: Distinguishing between the biogeophysical and biogeochemical effects

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lang Wang ◽  
Amos P. K. Tai ◽  
Chi-Yung Tam ◽  
Mehliyar Sadiq ◽  
Peng Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Dry Deposition ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Ozone Pollution ◽  
Lulc Change ◽  
Lulc Changes ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Surface ozone (O3) is an important air pollutant and greenhouse gas. Land use and land cover (LULC) is one of the critical factors influencing ozone, in addition to anthropogenic emissions and climate. LULC change can on the one hand affect ozone biogeochemically, i.e., via dry deposition and biogenic emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). LULC change can on the other hand alter regional- to large-scale climate through modifying albedo and evapotranspiration, which can lead to changes in surface temperature, hydrometeorology and atmospheric circulation that can ultimately impact ozone biogeophysically over local and remote areas. Such biogeophysical effects of LULC on ozone are largely understudied. This study investigates the individual and combined biogeophysical and biogeochemical effects of LULC on ozone, and explicitly examines the critical pathway for how LULC change impacts ozone pollution. A global coupled atmosphere–chemistry–land model is driven by projected LULC changes from the present day (2000) to future (2050) under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios, focusing on the boreal summer. Results reveal that when considering biogeochemical effects only, surface ozone is predicted to have slight changes by up to 2 ppbv maximum in some areas due to LULC changes. It is primarily driven by changes in isoprene emission and dry deposition counteracting each other in shaping ozone. In contrast, when considering the integrated effect of LULC, ozone is more substantially altered by up to 6 ppbv over several regions, reflecting the importance of biogeophysical effects on ozone changes. Furthermore, large areas of these ozone changes are found over the regions without LULC changes where the biogeophysical effect is the only pathway for such changes. The mechanism is likely that LULC change induces a regional circulation response, in particular the formation of anomalous stationary high-pressure systems, shifting of moisture transport, and near-surface warming over the middle-to-high northern latitudes in boreal summer, owing to associated changes in albedo and surface energy budget. Such temperature changes then alter ozone substantially. We conclude that the biogeophysical effect of LULC is an important pathway for the influence of LULC change on ozone air quality over both local and remote regions, even in locations without significant LULC changes. Overlooking the impact of biogeophysical effect may cause evident underestimation of the impacts of LULC change on ozone pollution.

scholarly journals Chemical footprints of anthropogenic nitrogen deposition on recent soil C : N ratios in Europe

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 4315-4330 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Mulder ◽  
J.-P. Hettelingh ◽  
L. Montanarella ◽  
M. R. Pasimeni ◽  
M. Posch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Atmospheric Deposition ◽  
Nitrogen Deposition ◽  
Industrial Revolution ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Soil C ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
Anthropogenic Nitrogen ◽  
Anthropogenic Nitrogen Deposition

Abstract. Long-term human interactions with landscape and nature produced a plethora of trends and patterns of environmental disturbances in time and space. Nitrogen deposition, closely tracking energy and land use, is known to be among the main pollution drivers, affecting both freshwater as terrestrial ecosystems. We investigated the geographical distribution of nitrogen deposition and the impacts of accumulation on recent soil carbon to nitrogen ratios over Europe. After the Second Industrial Revolution (1880–2010), large landscape stretches characterized by different atmospheric deposition caused either by industrialized areas or by intensive agriculture emerged. Nitrogen deposition affects in a still recognizable way recent soil C : N ratios despite the emission abatement of oxidized and reduced nitrogen during the last two decades. Given the seemingly disparate land-use history, we focused on ~ 10 000 unmanaged ecosystems, providing evidence for a rapid response of nature to chronic nitrogen supply by atmospheric deposition.

A Coherent Signature of Anthropogenic Nitrogen Deposition to Remote Watersheds of the Northern Hemisphere

Science ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 334 (6062) ◽  
pp. 1545-1548 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. W. Holtgrieve ◽  
D. E. Schindler ◽  
W. O. Hobbs ◽  
P. R. Leavitt ◽  
E. J. Ward ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nitrogen Deposition ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Anthropogenic Nitrogen ◽  
Anthropogenic Nitrogen Deposition

scholarly journals Impacts of future land use and land cover change on mid-21st-century surface ozone air quality: distinguishing between the biogeophysical and biogeochemical effects

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (19) ◽  
pp. 11349-11369
Author(s):  
Lang Wang ◽  
Amos P. K. Tai ◽  
Chi-Yung Tam ◽  
Mehliyar Sadiq ◽  
Peng Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Land Cover Change ◽  
Dry Deposition ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Ozone Pollution

Abstract. Surface ozone (O3) is an important air pollutant and greenhouse gas. Land use and land cover is one of the critical factors influencing ozone, in addition to anthropogenic emissions and climate. Land use and land cover change (LULCC) can on the one hand affect ozone “biogeochemically”, i.e., via dry deposition and biogenic emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). LULCC can on the other hand alter regional- to large-scale climate through modifying albedo and evapotranspiration, which can lead to changes in surface temperature, hydrometeorology, and atmospheric circulation that can ultimately impact ozone “biogeophysically”. Such biogeophysical effects of LULCC on ozone are largely understudied. This study investigates the individual and combined biogeophysical and biogeochemical effects of LULCC on ozone and explicitly examines the critical pathway for how LULCC impacts ozone pollution. A global coupled atmosphere–chemistry–land model is driven by projected LULCC from the present day (2000) to the future (2050) under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 scenarios, focusing on the boreal summer. Results reveal that when considering biogeochemical effects only, surface ozone is predicted to have slight changes by up to 2 ppbv maximum in some areas due to LULCC. It is primarily driven by changes in isoprene emission and dry deposition counteracting each other in shaping ozone. In contrast, when considering the combined effect of LULCC, ozone is more substantially altered by up to 5 ppbv over several regions in North America and Europe under RCP4.5, reflecting the importance of biogeophysical effects on ozone changes. In boreal and temperate mixed forests with intensive reforestation, enhanced net radiation and sensible heat induce a cascade of hydrometeorological feedbacks that generate warmer and drier conditions favorable for higher ozone levels. In contrast, reforestation in subtropical broadleaf forests has minimal impacts on boundary-layer meteorology and ozone air quality. Furthermore, significant ozone changes are also found in regions with only modest LULCC, which can only be explained by “remote” biogeophysical effects. A likely mechanism is that reforestation induces a circulation response, leading to reduced moisture transport and ultimately warmer and drier conditions in the surrounding regions with limited LULCC. We conclude that the biogeophysical effects of LULCC are important pathways through which LULCC influences ozone air quality both locally and in remote regions even without significant LULCC. Overlooking the effects of hydrometeorological changes on ozone air quality may cause underestimation of the impacts of LULCC on ozone pollution.

scholarly journals Intercontinental trans-boundary contributions to ozone-induced crop yield losses in the Northern Hemisphere

2011 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 8645-8691 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Hollaway ◽  
S. R. Arnold ◽  
A. J. Challinor ◽  
L. D. Emberson
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Northern Hemisphere ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Yield Loss ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ozone Exposure ◽  
Nox Emissions ◽  
Yield Losses ◽  
Ozone Concentrations

Abstract. Enhanced surface ozone concentrations are known to be harmful to vegetation, reducing crop growth and yields. Tropospheric ozone concentrations have increased steadily since pre-industrial times, driven by in-situ production from anthropogenic emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), CO and volatile organic compounds. Transport of ozone and its precursors between continents has been shown to contribute to surface ozone air quality exceedences in many regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Using a global atmospheric chemistry model, we have quantified for the first time, intercontinental contributions to crop ozone exposure and yield reduction in the Northern Hemisphere. We apply three metrics (AOT40/M7/M12) to assess the impacts of NOx emissions from each of the Northern Hemispheres three major industrialised regions (North (N) America, South East (SE) Asia and Europe) on global and regional exposure of 6 major agricultural crop types to harmful ozone concentrations, and the resultant yield losses during the 2000 growing season. Using these metrics, model calculations show that for wheat, rice, cotton and potato, 100 % reductions in SE Asian anthropogenic NOx emissions tend to produce the greatest global reduction in crop yield losses (48.8 to 94.7 %) with the same cuts to N American emissions resulting in the greatest global impact on crop yield reductions for maize and soybean (57.5 to 81.7 %). N American NOx emissions produce the largest transboundary impact, resulting in European yield loss reductions of between 12.4 % and 55.6 %, when a 100 % cut is applied to NOx emissions from the N American region. European NOx emissions tend to produce a smaller transboundary impact, due to inefficiency of transport from the European domain. The threshold nature of the AOT40 ozone-exposure metric, results in a strong dependence of the diagnosed impact from trans-boundary emissions on local ozone concentration. In addition, we find that in parts of the United States, biomass burning emissions may make important contributions to ozone-induced crop yield reductions. Our results demonstrate that local air quality and emission control strategies have the potential to partly alleviate ozone-induced crop yield loss in continents downstream, in addition to effectively mitigating local ozone-induced yield losses.

scholarly journals Impacts of changes in land use and land cover on atmospheric chemistry and air quality over the 21st century

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 15469-15495 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Wu ◽  
L. J. Mickley ◽  
J. O. Kaplan ◽  
D. J. Jacob
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Secondary Organic Aerosols ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Organic Aerosols ◽  
Ozone Concentrations ◽  
Anthropogenic Land Use

Abstract. The effects of future land use and land cover change on the chemical composition of the atmosphere and air quality are largely unknown. To investigate the potential effects associated with future changes in vegetation driven by atmospheric CO2 concentrations, climate, and anthropogenic land use over the 21st century, we performed a series of model experiments combining a general circulation model with a dynamic global vegetation model and an atmospheric chemical-transport model. Our results indicate that climate- and CO2-induced changes in vegetation composition and density could lead to decreases in summer afternoon surface ozone of up to 10 ppb over large areas of the northern mid-latitudes. This is largely driven by the substantial increases in ozone dry deposition associated with changes in the composition of temperate and boreal forests where conifer forests are replaced by those dominated by broadleaf tree types, as well as a CO2-driven increase in vegetation density. Climate-driven vegetation changes over the period 2000–2100 lead to general increases in isoprene emissions, globally by 15 % in 2050 and 36 % in 2100. These increases in isoprene emissions result in decreases in surface ozone concentrations where the NOx levels are low, such as in remote tropical rainforests. However, over polluted regions, such as the northeastern United States, ozone concentrations are calculated to increase with higher isoprene emissions in the future. Increases in biogenic emissions also lead to higher concentrations of secondary organic aerosols, which increase globally by 10 % in 2050 and 20 % in 2100. Surface concentrations of secondary organic aerosols are calculated to increase by up to 1 μg m−3 for large areas in Eurasia. When we use a scenario of future anthropogenic land use change, we find less increase in global isoprene emissions due to replacement of higher-emitting forests by lower-emitting cropland. The global atmospheric burden of secondary organic aerosols changes little by 2100 when we account for future land use change, but both secondary organic aerosols and ozone show large regional changes at the surface.

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