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Title: Black carbon emissions from Russian diesel sources. Case study of Murmansk

Journal Article · · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online)
 [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [1];  [2]
  1. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
  2. Murmansk State Technical Univ., Murmansk (Russian Federation)

Black carbon (BC) is a potent pollutant because of its effects on climate change, ecosystems and human health. Black carbon has a particularly pronounced impact as a climate forcer in the Arctic because of its effect on snow albedo and cloud formation. We have estimated BC emissions from diesel sources in the Murmansk Region and Murmansk City, the largest city in the world above the Arctic Circle. In this study we developed a detailed inventory of diesel sources including on-road vehicles, off-road transport (mining, locomotives, construction and agriculture), ships and diesel generators. For on-road transport, we conducted several surveys to understand the vehicle fleet and driving patterns, and, for all sources, we also relied on publicly available local data sets and analysis. We calculated that BC emissions in the Murmansk Region were 0.40 Gg in 2012. The mining industry is the largest source of BC emissions in the region, emitting 69 % of all BC emissions because of its large diesel consumption and absence of emissions controls. On-road vehicles are the second largest source, emitting about 13 % of emissions. Old heavy duty trucks are the major source of emissions. Emission controls on new vehicles limit total emissions from on-road transportation. Vehicle traffic and fleet surveys show that many of the older cars on the registry are lightly or never used. We also estimated that total BC emissions from diesel sources in Russia were 50.8 Gg in 2010, and on-road transport contributed 49 % of diesel BC emissions. Agricultural machinery is also a significant source Russia-wide, in part because of the lack of controls on off-road vehicles.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
X4-83527901; AC05-76RL01831
OSTI ID:
1214433
Journal Information:
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online), Vol. 15, Issue 14; ISSN 1680-7324
Publisher:
European Geosciences UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 15 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (8)

Can Reducing Black Carbon Emissions Counteract Global Warming? journal August 2005
A technology-based global inventory of black and organic carbon emissions from combustion journal January 2004
Bounding the role of black carbon in the climate system: A scientific assessment: BLACK CARBON IN THE CLIMATE SYSTEM journal June 2013
Geolocating Russian sources for Arctic black carbon journal August 2014
Arctic shipping emissions inventories and future scenarios journal January 2010
Multi-year black carbon emissions from cropland burning in the Russian Federation journal December 2012
Black carbon in the Arctic: the underestimated role of gas flaring and residential combustion emissions journal January 2013
On the future of carbonaceous aerosol emissions journal January 2004

Cited By (2)

Local Arctic Air Pollution: A Neglected but Serious Problem journal October 2018
The sources of atmospheric black carbon at a European gateway to the Arctic journal September 2016

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