Linking ozone pollution and climate change: The case for controlling methane

Fiore, Arlene M.; Jacob, Daniel; Field, Brendan D.; Streets, D. G.; Fernandes, Suneeta D.; Jang, Carey

doi:10.1029/2002gl015601

Cited by 252 publications

(253 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

226

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Fiore et al (10) previously used the GEOS-CHEM global three-dimensional model of tropospheric chemistry to estimate that reducing 50% of global anthropogenic methane emissions would decrease average summer afternoon surface ozone concentrations by 3 ppb over the United States. Additional results from these simulations are presented here.…”

Section: Response Of Ozone To Methane Emission Reductionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Methane has little effect on the ozone formed daily in an urban plume, because it reacts very slowly (with a lifetime of 8-9 yr). Methane, however, is well-mixed throughout the troposphere and is more abundant than all NMVOCs combined; anthropogenic methane is estimated to contribute roughly 7 times that of anthropogenic NMVOCs to the total tropospheric ozone burden (10).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Management of Tropospheric Ozone by Reducing Methane Emissions

West

Fiore

2005

Environ. Sci. Technol.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background concentrations of tropospheric ozone are increasing and are sensitive to methane emissions, yet methane mitigation is currently considered only for climate change. Methane control is shown here to be viable for ozone management. Identified global abatement measures can reduce ∼10% of anthropogenic methane emissions at a cost-savings, decreasing surface ozone by 0.4-0.7 ppb. Methane controls produce ozone reductions that are widespread globally and are realized gradually (∼12 yr). In contrast, controls on nitrogen oxides (NO X ) and nonmethane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) target high-ozone episodes in polluted regions and affect ozone rapidly but have a smaller climate benefit. A coarse estimate of the monetized global benefits of ozone reductions for agriculture, forestry, and human health (neglecting ozone mortality) justifies reducing ∼17% of global anthropogenic methane emissions. If implemented, these controls would decrease ozone by ∼1 ppb and radiative forcing by ∼0.12 W m -2 . We also find that climate-motivated methane reductions have air quality-related ancillary benefits comparable to those for CO 2 . Air quality planning should consider reducing methane emissions alongside NO X and NMVOCs, and because the benefits of methane controls are shared internationally, industrialized nations should consider emphasizing methane in the further development of climate change or ozone policies.

show abstract

Section: Response Of Ozone To Methane Emission Reductionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Management of Tropospheric Ozone by Reducing Methane Emissions

West

Fiore

2005

Environ. Sci. Technol.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This background is likely to increase in the future because of global increase in methane and NO x emissions (Fiore et al, 2002). Climate change may provide some relief, at least in summer.…”

Section: Implications For Air Quality Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Wu et al (2008b) project that climate change will fully offset the effect of rising global anthropogenic emissions on the PRB in the eastern U.S. in summer, though there will still be a 2-5 ppb increase in the PRB in the west. Seasons outside summer will experience less benefit from climate change in terms of decreasing the ozone background, while experiencing stronger intercontinental transport of pollution (Fiore et al, 2002).…”

Section: Implications For Air Quality Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of climate change on air quality

Jacob

Winner

2009

Atmospheric Environment

Self Cite

1,585

1,232

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tAir quality is strongly dependent on weather and is therefore sensitive to climate change. Recent studies have provided estimates of this climate effect through correlations of air quality with meteorological variables, perturbation analyses in chemical transport models (CTMs), and CTM simulations driven by general circulation model (GCM) simulations of 21st-century climate change. We review these different approaches and their results. The future climate is expected to be more stagnant, due to a weaker global circulation and a decreasing frequency of mid-latitude cyclones. The observed correlation between surface ozone and temperature in polluted regions points to a detrimental effect of warming. Coupled GCM-CTM studies find that climate change alone will increase summertime surface ozone in polluted regions by 1-10 ppb over the coming decades, with the largest effects in urban areas and during pollution episodes. This climate penalty means that stronger emission controls will be needed to meet a given air quality standard. Higher water vapor in the future climate is expected to decrease the ozone background, so that pollution and background ozone have opposite sensitivities to climate change. The effect of climate change on particulate matter (PM) is more complicated and uncertain than for ozone. Precipitation frequency and mixing depth are important driving factors but projections for these variables are often unreliable. GCM-CTM studies find that climate change will affect PM concentrations in polluted environments by AE0.1-1 mg m À3 over the coming decades. Wildfires fueled by climate change could become an increasingly important PM source. Major issues that should be addressed in future research include the ability of GCMs to simulate regional air pollution meteorology and its sensitivity to climate change, the response of natural emissions to climate change, and the atmospheric chemistry of isoprene. Research needs to be undertaken on the effect of climate change on mercury, particularly in view of the potential for a large increase in mercury soil emissions driven by increased respiration in boreal ecosystems.

show abstract

“…natural gas distribution | greenhouse gas emissions | cities | methane A tmospheric methane (CH 4 ) is an important greenhouse gas (1) and major contributor to elevated surface ozone concentrations worldwide (2). Current atmospheric CH 4 concentrations are 2.5 times greater than preindustrial levels due to anthropogenic emissions from both biological and fossil fuel sources.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Methane emissions from natural gas infrastructure and use in the urban region of Boston, Massachusetts

McKain

Down

Raciti

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

259

323

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Methane emissions from natural gas delivery and end use must be quantified to evaluate the environmental impacts of natural gas and to develop and assess the efficacy of emission reduction strategies. We report natural gas emission rates for 1 y in the urban region of Boston, using a comprehensive atmospheric measurement and modeling framework. Continuous methane observations from four stations are combined with a high-resolution transport model to quantify the regional average emission flux, 18.5 ± 3.7 (95% confidence interval) g CH 4 ·m −2 ·y −1 . Simultaneous observations of atmospheric ethane, compared with the ethane-to-methane ratio in the pipeline gas delivered to the region, demonstrate that natural gas accounted for ∼60-100% of methane emissions, depending on season. Using government statistics and geospatial data on natural gas use, we find the average fractional loss rate to the atmosphere from all downstream components of the natural gas system, including transmission, distribution, and end use, was 2.7 ± 0.6% in the Boston urban region, with little seasonal variability. This fraction is notably higher than the 1.1% implied by the most closely comparable emission inventory.natural gas distribution | greenhouse gas emissions | cities | methane A tmospheric methane (CH 4 ) is an important greenhouse gas (1) and major contributor to elevated surface ozone concentrations worldwide (2). Current atmospheric CH 4 concentrations are 2.5 times greater than preindustrial levels due to anthropogenic emissions from both biological and fossil fuel sources. The growth rate of CH 4 in the atmosphere slowed beginning in the mid-1980s and plateaued in the mid-2000s, but growth has resumed since 2007. The factors responsible for the observed global increase and interannual trends, and the spatiotemporal distribution of sources, remain uncertain (3).Losses of natural gas (NG) to the atmosphere are a significant component of anthropogenic CH 4 emissions (3), with important implications for resource use efficiency, worker and public safety, air pollution, and human health (4), and for the climate impact of NG as a large and growing source of energy. A major focus area of the US Climate Action Plan is reduction of CH 4 emissions (5), but implementation requires identification of dominant source types, locations, and magnitudes. A recent review and synthesis of CH 4 emission measurements in North America, spanning scales of individual components to the continent, found that inventory methods consistently underestimate CH 4 emissions, that fossil fuels are likely responsible for a large portion of the underestimate, and that significant fugitive emissions may be occurring from all segments of the NG system (6).The present study quantifies CH 4 fluxes from NG in the urbanized region centered on Boston. Elevated CH 4 concentrations in urban environments have been documented around the world for decades (7) (SI Appendix, Table S1) and attributed to a variety of anthropogenic source types. Recent studies of urbanized regions in...

show abstract

Linking ozone pollution and climate change: The case for controlling methane

Abstract: [1] Methane (CH 4 ) emission controls are found to be a powerful lever for reducing both global warming and air pollution via decreases in background tropospheric ozone (O 3

Cited by 252 publications

References 18 publications

Management of Tropospheric Ozone by Reducing Methane Emissions

Management of Tropospheric Ozone by Reducing Methane Emissions

Effect of climate change on air quality

Methane emissions from natural gas infrastructure and use in the urban region of Boston, Massachusetts

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About