Carbon monoxide budget in the northern hemisphere

Journal Article · Tue Mar 15 04:00:00 EST 1994 · Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1029/94GL00006· OSTI ID:6855995

Bakwin, P S; Tans, P P ^[1]; Novelli, P C ^[2]

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1. Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Lab., Boulder, CO (United States)
2. Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, CO (United States)

To improve urban air quality the major industrialized nations of the West took steps during the 1970s and 1980s to reduce carbon monoxide (CO) emissions from automobiles and other industrial sources. Overall, CO/CO[sub 2] emission ratios from the mix of fossil fuel combustion sources have been reduced by about half during 1976-1990. Also, the tropospheric abundance of hydroxyl radical (OH), which is the main sink for CO, is proposed to have increased globally by about 1.0 [+-] 0.8% yr[sup [minus]1]. The authors use a simple two-box model to examine the impact of shrinking emissions and increasing OH on the global abundance of CO. They find that these factors contribute about equally in reducing CO levels in the Northern Hemisphere troposphere by about 1.8 [+-] 0.8 ppb yr[sup [minus]1] on average. 19 refs., 1 fig.

• OSTI ID: 6855995
• Journal Information: Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States), Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters (American Geophysical Union); (United States) Vol. 21:6; ISSN GPRLAJ; ISSN 0094-8276
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
AIR POLLUTION ABATEMENT
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON CYCLE
CARBON MONOXIDE
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
EARTH PLANET
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
NORTHERN HEMISPHERE
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANETS
POLLUTION ABATEMENT
TIME DEPENDENCE