Publication Date:
2014-01-10
Description:
[1] Nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) columns observed from space have been useful in detecting the increase of nitrogen oxides (NO x ) emissions in East Asia, particularly China, coinciding with rapid economic growth during the past several decades. NO 2 columns retrieved above a particular location reflect a combination of local NO x emissions and transported NO X from upwind sources. In this study, we demonstrate the transport of NO x emitted in East Asia using satellite and surface in-situ measurements and Lagrangian particle dispersion model simulations. Enhanced satellite NO 2 columns in the Yellow Sea (between China and South Korea) and the East Sea (between South Korea and Japan), and different seasonal variations of NO 2 in China, North and South Korea, and Japan, suggest the importance of NO x transport in understanding the local NO x budget. Lagrangian transport model simulations with tracers of different chemical lifetimes identify source-receptor relationships that explain high NO 2 over the oceans and springtime peaks in Korea and Japan, with China being the most likely source region. Our results have important implications for studies using satellite NO 2 retrievals to derive NO x emissions at local scales in regions adjacent to large sources, such as in East Asia, Europe, and the Eastern U.S.
Print ISSN:
0148-0227
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Physics
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