Impact of transatlantic transport episodes on summertime ozone in Europe

This paper reports on the transport of ozone ${O}_{3}$ and related species over the North Atlantic ocean and its impact on Europe. Measurements of nitrogen dioxide ( ${NO}_{2}$ )and carbon monoxide (CO) columns from the GOME and MOPITT satellite instruments, respectively, are used in conjunction with the GEOS-CHEM global model of transport and tropospheric chemistry to identify the major events of long range transport that reach Europe over the course of summer 2000. Sensitivity model simulations are used to analyse observed ${O}_{3}$ distributions with respect to the impact of long range transport events. For that purpose, we used in-situ ${O}_{3}$ observations taken at the mountain site of Jungfraujoch as well as O3 vertical profiles taken in the vicinity of central European cities. Over the course of summer 2000, we identified 9 major episodes of transatlantic pollution transport; 7 events are associated with transient cyclones while 2 events occur through zonal transport (e.g. by advection in the strong low-level westerly winds established in summer between the Azores anticyclone and transient cyclones). We find that on average three episodes occur per month with the strongest ones being in June. The number and frequency of long range transport events that reach Europe are driven by the position and strength of the Azores anticyclone. Model sensitivity simulations indicate that the summer mean North American ${O}_{3}$ contribution ranges from 3 to 5 ppb (7–11%) in the planetary boundary layer and 10 to 13 ppb (18–23%) in the middle and upper troposphere. During particular episodes, North American sources can result in ${O}_{3}$ enhancements up to 25–28 ppb in the layer between 800–600 hPa and 10–12 ppb in the boundary layer. The impact of the zonal transport events on ${O}_{3}$ distribution over Europe is more clearly seen below 700 hPa as they tend to transport pollution at lower levels while the events associated with transient cyclones are more likely to have an impact on the middle and upper troposphere (i.e. above 600 hPa). The air mass origins found in the GEOS-CHEM model are clearly confirmed by back trajectory analyses. During most of the 9 events, a strong contribution in North American ${O}_{3}$ is in general associated with only little European ${O}_{3}$ and viceversa (in particular at the Jungfraujoch). A substantial North American contribution (e.g., 30% or higher) to ${O}_{3}$ over Europe does not always result in pronounced ${O}_{3}$ enhancements in the observations during our period of study.

Long-range transport of pollution to Europe

Marion Auvray

Ozone (O3) and aerosols are harmful to human health. Long-range transport sources contribute to the background levels upon which local pollution builds. The goal of this thesis is to describe and quantify the respective contribution of local and long-range transported sources to the O3 and aerosol budget in the framework of European air quality management. This issue is examined using a global model of chemistry and transport, the GEOS-Chem model, constrained by several experimental datasets (e.g. trace gases and aerosol distributions, aerosol optical depth, particulate matter concentrations) taken from field experiments, ground-based sites and satellite. The capabilities of the model to reproduce O3 and aerosol patterns is first examined. The model reproduces well in general the distribution of O3 and related species over the North Atlantic/Europe area. The simulation of particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) and aerosol optical depth (AOD) over Europe is also satisfying in general, but this may reflect some compensating errors between individual components (e.g. underestimate of organic matter, and overestimate of sulphate and dust). Intercomparison between the GEOS-Chem and another global model (MOZECH) also reveals possible problems in the water vapour distribution associated with the processes which drive the vertical lifting of pollutant over continental boundary layers. Despite these (relative) deficiencies, the model provides anyway insights about the contribution of long-range transport on the O3 and aerosol loads over Europe. The impact of continental outflow on the O3 chemical tendencies over oceanic regions is quantified. Net O3 photochemical production in polluted air masses travelling over oceanic areas under the influence of continental outflow is enhanced all-year round compared to the background marine environment by 2 to 6 ppbv/day in the boundary layer and by 1 to 3 ppbv/day in the upper troposphere. The origin of O3 long-range sources and their impact on the European O3 budget, as well as the role of changing emissions on this budget over the pasts decades is further investigated. Import of North American O3 into Europe is mainly controlled by meteorological patterns and by photochemical production over the North Atlantic and thus reaches a maximum in summer. In addition, Asia contributes to long-range transported O3 pollution by the Indian summer monsoon easterly winds during summer. During the monsoon period, convection is strong and associated NOx lightning emissions also contribute to high O3 levels, especially in the Mediterranean basin. North American and Asian anthropogenic pollution contribute substantially to the annual O3 burden (integrated over the whole tropospheric column) over Europe, accounting for 11% and 8%, respectively while the European contribution only accounts for 9%. The increase in Asian emissions from 1980 to 1997 have compensated the local reduction of O3 precursors, especially in the free troposphere. Finally, the aerosol load over Europe and the contribution of long and medium-range sources including anthropogenic and biomass burning pollution from North America and mineral dust from North Africa is examined. The model was used to interpret MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) AOD and observations provided by the International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation (ICARTT) campaign over the North Atlantic and European area. Trans-Atlantic transport of aerosol is controlled by meteorological patterns and scavenging processes and reaches a maximum in spring. North American uxes of aerosols reach Europe at flower altitudes than that of O3 because a larger fraction of aerosols are scavenged in the venting from the boundary layer by frontal passages and deep convection. During high vegetation fire events in the boreal forest of Alaska and Canada, biomass burning pollution could also reach Europe at high altitudes, because a fraction of fire emissions are emitted directly in the free troposphere. Finally, the Saharan region also contributes significantly to the aerosol load over Europe. European sources contribute by 58% and 48% to the surface PM2.5 and column AOD over Europe. The second main sources are the mineral dust which represent in average 20% of the surface PM2.5 and AOD. In summer, North American anthropogenic and biomass burning emissions represent between 2 to 5% of the surface PM2.5 and AOD. The PM2.5 daily standard levels of the World Health organization (WHO) (10 μg/m3) and of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (65 μg/m3) are often exceeded during dust outbreaks, especially in southern Europe. Long-range transport of anthropogenic and natural pollution is thus an important issue which should be considered in the definition of air quality standards and regulation treaties.

EPFL2006

Long-Range Transport to Europe : Seasonal Variations and Implications for the European Ozone Budget

Marion Auvray, Isabelle Bey

We use a chemical transport model (GEOS-CHEM) to quantify the contribution of long-range transported pollution to the European ozone ({O}{3}) budget for the year 1997. The model reproduces the main features observed over Europe for {O}{3}, carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxides, as well as two events of enhanced {O}{3} of North American origin over the eastern North Atlantic and over Europe. North American {O}{3} fluxes into Europe experience a maximum in spring and summer, reflecting the seasonal variation in photochemical activity and in export pathways. In summer, North American {O}_{3} enters Europe at higher altitudes and lower latitudes because of deep convection, and because the flow over the North Atlantic is mostly zonal in that season. The low-level inflow is only important in spring, when loss rates in the boundary layer over the North Atlantic are weaker. Asian O3 arrives mainly via the westerlies, and usually at higher altitudes than North American O3 because of stronger deep convection over Asia. In addition, Asian O3 fluxes are at a maximum in summer during the monsoon period because of enhanced convection over Asia, increased nitrogen oxides sources from lightning and direct transport towards Europe via the monsoon easterlies. Over Europe, total background accounts for 30 ppbv at the surface. North American and Asian O3 contribute substantially to the annual O3 budget over Europe, accounting for 10.9% and 7.7%, respectively,while the European contribution only accounts for 9.4%. We find that in summer, at the surface, O3 decreases over Europe from 1980 to 1997, reflecting the reduction of European O3 precursor emissions. In the free troposphere, this decrease is compensated by the increase in O3 due to increasing Asian emissions. This may explain the lack of trends observed over most of the European region, especially at mountain sites.

2005

Interannual variability in tropospheric ozone and its precursors

Symeon Koumoutsaris

Tropospheric ozone (O3) is a harmful pollutant and an increasingly important green-house gas. Tropospheric O3 distributions are determined by complex and non-linear interactions between photochemistry and transport processes. The first objective of this thesis is to examine the factors that contribute to the interannual variation (IAV) of tropospheric O3 and related compounds, such as carbon monoxide (CO), for a period of 19 years (1987-2005), with a focus over the northern mid-latitudes. A series of long-term measurements, including ozonesondes, groud-based sites and satellites, are interpreted with a global chemical-transport model (GEOS-Chem) and a number of sensitivity simulations are performed to quantitatively assess the relative contribution of individual processes to the IAV of O3 and CO. We first assess the capability of the model to reproduce O3 and CO IAV. We find that the model is able to reproduce reasonably well many of the observed features of the O3 and CO IAV. The model however, fails to reproduce the observed variation in O3 in the northern mid-latitudes during the first half of the 1990s (negative anomaly in 1991-1993 followed by an upward trend in 1993-1996) which is likely due to an inadequate representation of stratospheric dynamics and stratospheric O3 concentrations in the model. This study has demonstrated that the principal drivers of O3 and CO IAV are meteorology and emissions. We examine in particular the 1998-1999 period. A large anomaly in O3 was observed at several sites over Europe and is fairly well reproduced by the model. Different processes are found to contribute to this long-lasting anomaly. The first period (spring 1998) was largely influenced by the strong preceding El Niño episode of 1997. El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) affects the stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE) and the Asian pollution export, through a change in convective activity and a strengthening of the subtropical jet. North American pollution export was also enhanced through an increase in temperature and in photochemical activity. During the second period (summer-fall 1998), the O3 budget over Europe was influenced by both boreal wildfires and Asian pollution. Finally, the O3 anomaly during the third period (spring 1999) was affected by enhanced biomass burning emissions in Southeast Asia. We further noticed that a significant correlation exists between the Southern Oscillation Index (SO1) in fall and the European tropospheric O3 column in the following spring (R= -0.65, N=19), throughout the period from 1987 to 2005. In other words, increasing tropospheric O3 column is seen over Europe the following spring of an El Niño year. In the second part of this thesis, we used inversion methods to derive monthly NOx, emissions from GOME and SCIAMACHY space-based retrievals of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) columns for a period of 10 years (1996-2005). We calculated emission trends over the highly industrialized regions and large cities around the globe. Decreasing emissions were found in the U.S. and Europe. However, negligible or even positive trends were seen in urban areas in northeastern U.S. (e.g. Boston) and southern Europe (e.g. Lisbon, Istanbul) which are most probably due to increasing motor vehicle NOx, emissions. Furthermore, a slowdown in the decreasing trend in NOx, combustion fuel emissions over North Europe has been noticed after 2000 and especially in 2003-2004. This is probably related to a slowdown in the decrease in road transport emissions. Increasing trends, on the other hand, have been found in the combustion fuel NOx, emissions over east China (8.3% year-1), due to the fast industrial and economical development of China. In addition, we found an upward trend in soil NOx, emissions which may be related to the increasing use of fertilizers in the northeastern part of the country. Finally, we examined the influence of using two different retrievals of NO2 columns on the resulting a posteriori inventories. The inversion was carried out twice for the year 2000, using two different retrievals, one from Dalhouse/SAO and one from BIRA/KNMI. The two resulting inventories were found to correspond well globally, but show important differences (more than 60%) at specific times and regions.

EPFL2008