NH3 emissions over Europe during COVID-19 were modulated by changes in atmospheric chemistry.

Tichý, Ondřej; Otervik, Marit Svendby; Eckhardt, Sabine; Balkanski, Yves; Hauglustaine, Didier; Evangeliou, Nikolaos

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-1930069/v1

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…For April 2020, the Chinese emission inventory (29) reported that the primary aerosol emission reductions relative to April 2019 recovered to 10%. Globally, NH 3 emission reductions remain uncertain, while European NH 3 emissions were estimated to be reduced by 13% during the COVID-19 lockdown according to the CrIS satellite measurement (59). To confirm the potential impacts of these reductions, additional CTM simulations by changing primary aerosols' and NH 3 emissions (CTM_SN2020+PA and CTM_SN2020+A-, respectively) were conducted.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The worldwide COVID-19 lockdown impacts on global secondary inorganic aerosols and radiative budget

et al. 2023

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Global lockdown measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) led to air pollutant emission reductions. While the COVID-19 lockdown impacts on both trace gas and total particulate pollutants have been widely investigated, secondary aerosol formation from trace gases remains unclear. To that end, we quantify the COVID-19 lockdown impacts on NO x and SO 2 emissions and sulfate-nitrate-ammonium aerosols using multiconstituent satellite data assimilation and model simulations. We find that anthropogenic emissions over major polluted regions were reduced by 19 to 25% for NO x and 14 to 20% for SO 2 during April 2020. These emission reductions led to 8 to 21% decreases in sulfate and nitrate aerosols over highly polluted areas, corresponding to >34% of the observed aerosol optical depth declines and a global aerosol radiative forcing of +0.14 watts per square meter relative to business-as-usual scenario. These results point to the critical importance of secondary aerosol pollutants in quantifying climate impacts of future mitigation measures.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The worldwide COVID-19 lockdown impacts on global secondary inorganic aerosols and radiative budget

et al. 2023

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Decreasing trends of ammonia emissions over Europe seen from remote sensing and inverse modelling

Tichý,

Eckhardt,

Balkanski

et al. 2023

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. Ammonia (NH3), a significant precursor of particulate matter, affects not only biodiversity, ecosystems, and soil acidification but also climate and human health. In addition, its concentrations are constantly rising due to increasing feeding needs and the large use of fertilization and animal farming. Despite the significance of ammonia, its emissions are associated with large uncertainties, while its atmospheric abundance is difficult to measure. Nowadays, satellite products can effectively measure ammonia with low uncertainty and a global coverage. Here, we use satellite observations of column ammonia in combination with an inversion algorithm to derive ammonia emissions with a high resolution over Europe for the period 2013–2020. Ammonia emissions peak in northern Europe due to agricultural application and livestock management, in western Europe (industrial activity), and over Spain (pig farming). Emissions have decreased by −26 % since 2013 (from 5431 Gg in 2013 to 3994 Gg in 2020), showing that the abatement strategies adopted by the European Union have been very efficient. The slight increase (+4.4 %) in 2015 is also reproduced here and is attributed to some European countries exceeding annual emission targets. Ammonia emissions are low in winter (286 Gg) and peak in summer (563 Gg) and are dominated by the temperature-dependent volatilization of ammonia from the soil. The largest emission decreases were observed in central and eastern Europe (−38 %) and in western Europe (−37 %), while smaller decreases were recorded in northern (−17 %) and southern Europe (−7.6 %). When complemented with ground observations, modelled concentrations using the posterior emissions showed improved statistics, also following the observed seasonal trends. The posterior emissions presented here also agree well with respective estimates reported in the literature and inferred from bottom-up and top-down methodologies. These results indicate that satellite measurements combined with inverse algorithms constitute a robust tool for emission estimates and can infer the evolution of ammonia emissions over large timescales.

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NH3 emissions over Europe during COVID-19 were modulated by changes in atmospheric chemistry.

Cited by 2 publications

References 77 publications

The worldwide COVID-19 lockdown impacts on global secondary inorganic aerosols and radiative budget

The worldwide COVID-19 lockdown impacts on global secondary inorganic aerosols and radiative budget

Decreasing trends of ammonia emissions over Europe seen from remote sensing and inverse modelling

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