Impact of U.S. Oil and Natural Gas Emission Increases on Surface Ozone Is Most Pronounced in the Central United States

Pozzer, Andrea; Helmig, Detlev; Schultz, Martin G.

doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b06983

Journal Article

FZJ-2020-03139

Impact of U.S. Oil and Natural Gas Emission Increases on Surface Ozone Is Most Pronounced in the Central United States

Pozzer, A. (Corresponding author) ; Schultz, M. G.FZJ* ; Helmig, D.

2020
American Chemical Society Columbus, Ohio

Environmental science & technology 54(19), 12423–12433 (2020) [10.1021/acs.est.9b06983]

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Please use a persistent id in citations: http://hdl.handle.net/2128/25860 doi:10.1021/acs.est.9b06983

Abstract: Observations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from a surface sampling network and simulation results from the EMAC (ECHAM5/MESSy for Atmospheric Chemistry) model were analyzed to assess the impact of increased emissions of VOCs and nitrogen oxides from U.S. oil and natural gas (O&NG) sources on air quality. In the first step, the VOC observations were used to optimize the magnitude and distribution of atmospheric ethane and higher-alkane VOC emissions in the model inventory for the base year 2009. Observation-based increases of the emissions of VOCs and NOx stemming from U.S. oil and natural gas (O&NG) sources during 2009–2014 were then added to the model, and a set of sensitivity runs was conducted for assessing the influence of the increased emissions on summer surface ozone levels. For the year 2014, the added O&NG emissions are predicted to affect surface ozone across a large geographical scale in the United States. These emissions are responsible for an increased number of days when the averaged 8-h ozone values exceed 70 ppb, with the highest sensitivity being in the central and midwestern United States, where most of the O&NG growth has occurred. These findings demonstrate that O&NG emissions significantly affect the air quality across most of the United States, can regionally offset reductions of ozone precursor emissions made in other sectors, and can have a determining influence on a region’s ability to meet National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) obligations for ozone.

Classification:

ddc:333.7

Contributing Institute(s):

Jülich Supercomputing Center (JSC)

Research Program(s):

Appears in the scientific report 2020

Database coverage:
Medline

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