Impact of Hurricane Ida on Nitrogen Oxide Emissions in Southwestern Louisiana Detected from Space

Abstract

Hurricane Ida made landfall on August 29, 2021, in southwestern Louisiana and devastated the region’s industrial landscape. Its disruptions to atmospheric composition were detected by the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI). This study quantifies NO2 spatial changes and estimates top-down NO x emissions for two cities impacted by Hurricane Ida, New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Considering the difference in NO2 lifetime pre- and post-Ida, top-down derived NO x emissions for each impacted city saw decreases in NO x emissions of ∼40% and ∼80% for New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. However, a significant increase in the TROPOMI NO2 level was seen during the posthurricane period, occurring only on September 2, 2021, where potential causes of such deviation are attributed to hurricane recovery actions. When this date is excluded from post-Ida averages, the NO x emission estimates are further decreased by ∼80% and ∼92% for New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. Short-lived extreme weather events and their accompanying preparatory and recovery actions are unique drivers of change in NO x emissions. This study demonstrates the use of satellite products to provide a quick emission analysis of areas affected by such events and illustrates the necessity of understanding their influence on atmospheric pollutants.

CLASP: CLustering of Atmospheric Satellite Products and Its Applications in Feature Detection of Atmospheric Trace Gases

“…Specifically, the relative cumulative frequency of the magnitude is used to assess the region and reveal where high magnitude values encompassing a pollutant hotspot are found. Following (Lee et al., 2022; Matschullat et al., 2000) the relative cumulative frequency of the magnitude is used to determine the threshold below which data is excluded and the main pollutant burden is revealed. The relative cumulative frequency curve is fitted with a piecewise linear function which produces “turning points” to be used as threshold values.…”

Estimating Hourly Nitrogen Oxide Emissions over East Asia from Geostationary Satellite Measurements

“…Mass-balance or curve-fitting methods can directly invert NO x emissions using satellite NO 2 measurements, without the aid of chemical model simulations. − The Exponential Modified Gaussian (EMG) model, which accounts for the highly nonlinear small-scale chemistry and horizontal dispersion of the NO 2 plume, can effectively quantify NO x emissions from isolated point sources, such as large industrial facilities and power plants. , Comparing the observed variation in NO 2 patterns under windy and calm conditions can effectively mitigate the effects of nearby interfering sources and achieve greater precision in determining NO 2 lifetimes and NO x emissions . In addition, Beirle et al introduced a flux divergence method according to the steady-state continuity equation to retrieve NO x emissions for Riyadh with full coverage and high spatial resolution.…”

Observing Downwind Structures of Urban HCHO Plumes From Space: Implications to Non‐Methane Volatile Organic Compound Emissions

“…For gases (mainly NO 2 and SO 2 ) emitted from point sources (e.g., megacities or power plants), the combined analysis of satellite observations and wind fields reveals the downwind decay of plumes and has been further used to estimate their lifetimes and emissions (Beirle et al., 2011; de Foy et al., 2015; Fioletov et al., 2016; Goldberg et al., 2019; Lee et al., 2022; Lu et al., 2015). However, similar observation‐based approaches have long been recognized as missing for NMVOCs, which are equally important for urban air pollution (von Schneidemesser et al., 2023).…”