Abstract
One of the most important minor species in the atmosphere is nitrogen dioxide (NO2). The primary objective of the presented research was to propose a method to adjust emission inventories (emission fluxes) using tropospheric NO2 columns observed by OMI and SCIAMACHY instruments. Modified emission fluxes were used in a chemical weather model GEM-AQ. The GEM-AQ model results were compared with the monthly averaged satellite-derived column amount of NO2 over Europe for the 2008–2010 observing period. It was shown that the observed and modelled spatial distribution of high values of the NO2 column is highly correlated with the distribution of major anthropogenic sources in the modelling domain. The presented findings highlight the importance of the anthropogenic sources in the overall budget of NO2 in the polluted troposphere. Regions for which modelling results showed underestimation or overestimation compared with observations were constant for the whole analysis period. Thus, the NO2 column observations could be used for correcting emission estimates. The proposed emission correction method is based on the differences in modelled and satellite-derived NO2 columns. Modelling was done for 2011 using the original and adjusted emission inventories and compared with observed NO2 columns. The analysis was extended to compare modelling results with surface NO2 observations from selected air quality stations in Poland. A significant improvement in modelling results was obtained over regions with large overestimations in the control run for which the original emission fluxes were used.
Highlights
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is one of the most important minor species in the Earth’s atmosphere
To verify the developed emission correction factors, the GEM-AQ model was run for two scenarios in 2011
Emission correction factors were developed from model results and satellite observations over the period 2008–2010
Summary
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is one of the most important minor species in the Earth’s atmosphere. Emissions of NOx (NO2 + NO) are estimated, and concentrations are measured by national environmental agencies. Observations and modelling results allow us to assess the impact of air pollution on the environment, on human health [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. Nitrogen oxides (NO2 and NO) in the atmosphere are oxidised, and their lifetime is several hours [8], resulting in high spatial and temporal variability. High concentrations are mainly limited to the boundary layer, i.e., about 1–2 km, with a rapid decline at higher altitudes. As a result of the decreasing temperature, the decrease is explicit for NO2 due to the declining NO2/NO ratio [9]. 16◦56.52 E 17◦55.98 E 14◦23.82 E 22◦ 04.14 E 21◦07.32 E 15◦16.02 E 19◦33.84 E 16◦25.32 E 19◦13.98 E 22◦59.76 E 20◦52.02 E 17◦08.46 E 20◦30.84 E 23◦20.82 E Longitude
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