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Title: Source attribution of near-surface ozone trends in the United States during 1995–2019

Journal Article · · Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online)

Emissions of ozone (O3) precursors in the United States have decreased in recent decades, and near-surface O3 concentrations showed a significant decrease in summer but an increase in winter. In this study, an O3 source tagging technique is utilized in a chemistry–climate model to investigate the source contributions to O3 mixing ratios in the US from various emitting sectors and regions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and reactive carbon species during 1995–2019. We show that domestic emission reductions from energy and surface transportation are primarily responsible for the decrease in summertime O3 during 1995–2019. However, in winter, the emission control also weakens the NOx titration process, resulting in considerable increases in O3 levels from natural sources. Additionally, increases in aviation and shipping emissions and transpacific transport of O3 from Asia largely contribute to the winter O3 increase. We also found that changes in large-scale circulation favoring O3 transport from the upper atmosphere and foreign transport from Asia also explain 15 % of the increase in the US near-surface O3 levels in winter.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Key Research and Development Program of China; National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); Jiangsu Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars; Jiangsu Science Fund for Carbon Neutrality
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830; 2020YFA0607803; 42105166; BK20211541; BK20220031
OSTI ID:
1985987
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-179490
Journal Information:
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Online), Vol. 23, Issue 9; ISSN 1680-7324
Publisher:
Copernicus Publications, EGUCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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