Global impact of fossil fuel combustion on atmospheric NOx
Fossil fuel combustion is the largest global source of NOx to the troposphere. This source is concentrated in polluted continental boundary layers, and the extent to which it impacts tropospheric chemistry on a global scale is uncertain. We use a global three-dimensional model of tropospheric chemis...
Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres |
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Online Access: | http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:14121768 https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JD900205 |
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ftharvardudash:oai:dash.harvard.edu:1/14121768 2023-05-15T17:35:09+02:00 Global impact of fossil fuel combustion on atmospheric NOx Horowitz, Larry W. Jacob, Daniel James 1999 application/pdf http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:14121768 https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JD900205 en_US eng Wiley-Blackwell doi:10.1029/1999JD900205 J. Geophys. Res. Horowitz, Larry W., and Daniel J. Jacob. 1999. “Global Impact of Fossil Fuel Combustion on Atmospheric NOx.” Journal of Geophysical Research 104 (D19): 23823. doi:10.1029/1999jd900205. 0148-0227 http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:14121768 Journal Article 1999 ftharvardudash https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JD900205 https://doi.org/10.1029/1999jd900205 2022-04-05T06:46:44Z Fossil fuel combustion is the largest global source of NOx to the troposphere. This source is concentrated in polluted continental boundary layers, and the extent to which it impacts tropospheric chemistry on a global scale is uncertain. We use a global three-dimensional model of tropospheric chemistry and transport to study the impact of fossil fuel combustion on the global distribution of NOx during nothern hemisphere summer. In the model, we tag fossil fuel NOx and its reservoir NOy species in order to determine the relative contribution of fossil fuel combustion to NOx concentrations in different regions of the world. Our model includes a detailed representation of NOx-O3-nonmethane hydrocarbon (NMHC) chemistry, which is necessary to properly simulate the export of reactive nitrogen, including organic nitrates such as peroxyacyl nitrates (PANs), from the continental boundary layer. We find that fossil fuel combustion accounts for over 40% of NOx. concentrations in the lower and middle troposphere throughout the extratropical northern hemisphere. PANs are shown to provide an important mechanism for transporting NOx from source regions to the remote troposphere, accounting for over 80% of the fossil fuel NOx in the lower troposphere over most of the ocean. Sources in the United States are found to contribute about half of the fossil fuel NOx over the North Atlantic Ocean. Emissions from China, which are expected to increase rapidly in the coming decades, currently account for about half of the fossil fuel NOx over the western North Pacific Ocean; the influence of these emissions extends into the tropics. Because of this tropical influence, emissions from China have more potential than emissions in the United States to perturb the global oxidizing power of the atmosphere. Engineering and Applied Sciences Version of Record Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Harvard University: DASH - Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard Pacific Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 104 D19 23823 23840 |
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Open Polar |
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Harvard University: DASH - Digital Access to Scholarship at Harvard |
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ftharvardudash |
language |
English |
description |
Fossil fuel combustion is the largest global source of NOx to the troposphere. This source is concentrated in polluted continental boundary layers, and the extent to which it impacts tropospheric chemistry on a global scale is uncertain. We use a global three-dimensional model of tropospheric chemistry and transport to study the impact of fossil fuel combustion on the global distribution of NOx during nothern hemisphere summer. In the model, we tag fossil fuel NOx and its reservoir NOy species in order to determine the relative contribution of fossil fuel combustion to NOx concentrations in different regions of the world. Our model includes a detailed representation of NOx-O3-nonmethane hydrocarbon (NMHC) chemistry, which is necessary to properly simulate the export of reactive nitrogen, including organic nitrates such as peroxyacyl nitrates (PANs), from the continental boundary layer. We find that fossil fuel combustion accounts for over 40% of NOx. concentrations in the lower and middle troposphere throughout the extratropical northern hemisphere. PANs are shown to provide an important mechanism for transporting NOx from source regions to the remote troposphere, accounting for over 80% of the fossil fuel NOx in the lower troposphere over most of the ocean. Sources in the United States are found to contribute about half of the fossil fuel NOx over the North Atlantic Ocean. Emissions from China, which are expected to increase rapidly in the coming decades, currently account for about half of the fossil fuel NOx over the western North Pacific Ocean; the influence of these emissions extends into the tropics. Because of this tropical influence, emissions from China have more potential than emissions in the United States to perturb the global oxidizing power of the atmosphere. Engineering and Applied Sciences Version of Record |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Horowitz, Larry W. Jacob, Daniel James |
spellingShingle |
Horowitz, Larry W. Jacob, Daniel James Global impact of fossil fuel combustion on atmospheric NOx |
author_facet |
Horowitz, Larry W. Jacob, Daniel James |
author_sort |
Horowitz, Larry W. |
title |
Global impact of fossil fuel combustion on atmospheric NOx |
title_short |
Global impact of fossil fuel combustion on atmospheric NOx |
title_full |
Global impact of fossil fuel combustion on atmospheric NOx |
title_fullStr |
Global impact of fossil fuel combustion on atmospheric NOx |
title_full_unstemmed |
Global impact of fossil fuel combustion on atmospheric NOx |
title_sort |
global impact of fossil fuel combustion on atmospheric nox |
publisher |
Wiley-Blackwell |
publishDate |
1999 |
url |
http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:14121768 https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JD900205 |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_relation |
doi:10.1029/1999JD900205 J. Geophys. Res. Horowitz, Larry W., and Daniel J. Jacob. 1999. “Global Impact of Fossil Fuel Combustion on Atmospheric NOx.” Journal of Geophysical Research 104 (D19): 23823. doi:10.1029/1999jd900205. 0148-0227 http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:14121768 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/1999JD900205 https://doi.org/10.1029/1999jd900205 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres |
container_volume |
104 |
container_issue |
D19 |
container_start_page |
23823 |
op_container_end_page |
23840 |
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1766134220891095040 |