A23N-04
A Space-Based, High-Resolution View of Notable Changes in Urban and Regional NOx Pollution around the World (2005-2014)
Tuesday, 15 December 2015: 14:22
3014 (Moscone West)
Bryan N Duncan1, Lok N Lamsal2, Anne M Thompson1, Yasuko Yoshida1, Zifeng Lu3, David G Streets3, Margaret Hurwitz4 and Kenneth E Pickering1, (1)NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, United States, (2)Universities Space Research Association Columbia, Columbia, MD, United States, (3)Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, United States, (4)NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC, United States
Abstract:
Nitrogen oxides (NOx=NO+NO2) are produced during combustion processes. We use high-resolution NO2 data from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) to identify energy sources and to monitor how NO2 levels, and subsequently, energy usage, evolved from 2005 to 2014. We find complex heterogeneity in trends on both urban and regional scales around the world. Trends for the majority of cities were determined by several factors. First, environmental regulations resulted in strong negative trends over many industrialized countries. The only strong positive trend over the U.S. occurred over the Williston Basin, an area of intense energy extraction activities. Second, strong economic growth elevated NO2 levels over many tropical megacities and China. Two of the highest trends occurred over the recently expanded Jamnagar Refining and Petrochemical Complex (India), the world’s largest oil refinery, and the Incheon Free Trade Zone (Korea). Third, increasing pollution transport from China diminished the effectiveness of emission controls in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. Over China, there were three areas of strong negative trends associated with emission control efforts of Beijing, Shanghai, and cities in the Pearl River Delta. Fourth, the impact of civil unrest is seen over Libya, Iraq, and Syria. Fifth, spatial heterogeneity of trends within several megacities reflects mixed success in coping with air quality degradation. We demonstrate the value of high-resolution data for quantifying emissions from individual sources in complex source regions, using the Johannesburg megacity with its intensive thermal power generation and industry as a case study. Looking ahead, intensive monitoring, composed of satellite and surface instruments, is needed for the world’s tropical and subtropical megacities, where a dramatic increase in population, energy use, and emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases are expected in the coming decades.
