Reconstruction of Northern Hemisphere 1950–2010 atmospheric non-methane hydrocarbons

Helmig, Detlev; Petrenko, V. V.; Martinerie, Patricia; Witrant, Emmanuel; Röckmann, Thomas; Zuiderweg, A.; Holzinger, Rupert; Hueber, Jacques; Stephens, C. R.; White, James W. C.; Sturges, William T.; Baker, A. K.; Blunier, Thomas; Etheridge, D. M.; Rubino, Mauro; Tans, Pieter P.

doi:10.5194/acpd-13-12991-2013

Cited by 7 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 72 publications

(109 reference statements)

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“…Globally, the fossil fuel C 2 H 6 emissions in 2010 decrease by 0.8 Tg compared to 2001. This difference is consistent with the long‐term global decline over this period ending in 2009 [ Franco et al , ; Helmig et al , ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…The recent literature is summarized in Figure . Briefly, measurements in firn air from Greenland and Antarctica show rising concentrations of C 2 H 6 starting in the 1900s and peaking in the 1970s, followed by a decrease that lasted until the late 2000s [ Aydin et al , ; Helmig et al , ]. The decrease in C 2 H 6 between 1970 and 2006 observed by Aydin et al [] was attributed to a reduction in fugitive emissions from the fossil fuel sector.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is evidence that the long‐term decline in C 2 H 6 in the Northern Hemisphere recently reversed [ Franco et al , ; Helmig et al , ]. The change is postulated to be due to increased emissions tied to the recent growth of shale gas exploration and development in the U.S. [ Franco et al , ; Helmig et al , ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Revisiting global fossil fuel and biofuel emissions of ethane

et al. 2017

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Recent measurements over the Northern Hemisphere indicate that the long‐term decline in the atmospheric burden of ethane (C2H6) has ended and the abundance increased dramatically between 2010 and 2014. The rise in C2H6 atmospheric abundances has been attributed to oil and natural gas extraction in North America. Existing global C2H6 emission inventories are based on outdated activity maps that do not account for current oil and natural gas exploitation regions. We present an updated global C2H6 emission inventory based on 2010 satellite‐derived CH4 fluxes with adjusted C2H6 emissions over the U.S. from the National Emission Inventory (NEI 2011). We contrast our global 2010 C2H6 emission inventory with one developed for 2001. The C2H6 difference between global anthropogenic emissions is subtle (7.9 versus 7.2 Tg yr−1), but the spatial distribution of the emissions is distinct. In the 2010 C2H6 inventory, fossil fuel sources in the Northern Hemisphere represent half of global C2H6 emissions and 95% of global fossil fuel emissions. Over the U.S., unadjusted NEI 2011 C2H6 emissions produce mixing ratios that are 14–50% of those observed by aircraft observations (2008–2014). When the NEI 2011 C2H6 emission totals are scaled by a factor of 1.4, the Goddard Earth Observing System Chem model largely reproduces a regional suite of observations, with the exception of the central U.S., where it continues to underpredict observed mixing ratios in the lower troposphere. We estimate monthly mean contributions of fossil fuel C2H6 emissions to ozone and peroxyacetyl nitrate surface mixing ratios over North America of ~1% and ~8%, respectively.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Revisiting global fossil fuel and biofuel emissions of ethane

et al. 2017

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“…Tzompa‐Sosa et al () showed that ethane distributions simulated using these emissions capture the seasonal and spatial distributions seen in surface and aircraft observations from around the world. RONO 2 sensitivity to recent changes in ethane emissions driven by oil and gas extraction (Dalsøren et al, ; Helmig et al, ; Helmig et al, ) is discussed in section .…”

Section: Model Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methyl, Ethyl, and Propyl Nitrates: Global Distribution and Impacts on Reactive Nitrogen in Remote Marine Environments

et al. 2018

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Alkyl nitrates (RONO 2 ) are important components of tropospheric reactive nitrogen that serve as reservoirs for nitrogen oxides (NO x ≡ NO + NO 2 ). Here we implement a new simulation of atmospheric methyl, ethyl, and propyl nitrate chemistry in a global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem). We show that the model can reproduce the spatial and seasonal variability seen in a 20-year ensemble of airborne observations. Methyl nitrate accounts for 17 Gg N globally, with maxima over the tropical Pacific and Southern Ocean. Propyl nitrate is enhanced in continental boundary layers, but its global impact (6 Gg N) is limited by a short lifetime (8 days vs. 26 days for methyl nitrate and 14 days for ethyl nitrate) that inhibits long-range transport. Ethyl nitrate has the smallest impact of the three species (4 Gg N). We find that methyl nitrate is the dominant form of reactive nitrogen (NO y ) in the Southern Ocean marine boundary layer, where its addition to the model corrects a large NO y underestimate in austral winter relative to recent aircraft data. RONO 2 serve as a small net NO x source to the marine troposphere, except in the northern midlatitudes where the continental outflow is enriched in precursors that promote NO x loss via RONO 2 formation. Recent growth in NO x emissions from East Asia has enhanced the role of RONO 2 as a source of NO x to the remote free troposphere. This relationship implies projected future NO x emissions growth across the southern hemisphere may further enhance the importance of RONO 2 as a NO x reservoir.Plain Language Summary Nitrogen in the atmosphere has many impacts on atmospheric chemistry, including affecting how polluted the air is. Many nitrogen-containing gases are released over polluted areas and are quickly broken down-staying far away from remote areas like the ocean. In this paper, we investigate a group of nitrogen gases (called alkyl nitrates) that break down more slowly and so stay in the atmosphere long enough to be transported to the otherwise pollution-free remote Pacific Ocean. These gases are also created naturally in the ocean and then make their way into the atmosphere, changing the atmospheric chemistry over the ocean. We use 20 years of measurements collected from aircraft, combined with a computer model, to determine the abundance and impacts of alkyl nitrates. We find that the smallest alkyl nitrates are particularly important over the Southern Ocean, where there are few other sources of nitrogen. We show that alkyl nitrates are playing an increasingly important role over the remote oceans because of recent growth in East Asian air pollution. This relationship implies that these gases may have a stronger influence on atmospheric chemistry over remote ocean areas in future if anticipated pollution growth in Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia is realised.

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“…C 2 -C 3 alkanes are primarily released through natural gas extraction, distribution, and end use, whereas longer chain NMHC are more associated with production and evaporation of liquid fuels. Several recent studies have provided evidence for a reversal in Northern Hemisphere emission trends of NMHC, showing that C 2 -C 5 NMHC increased steadily during 1950 -1970, reached their atmospheric maxima in 1970-1980 and have since declined appreciably to 42-68% of their historic maxima in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) background atmosphere (Simpson et al, 2012;Worton et al, 2012;Helmig et al, 2014a). This decline has been primarily attributed to improved containment technologies in the hydrocarbon fuel production and more stringent emissions regulations associated with the distribution and combustion of petroleum fuels, notably catalytic converters for gasoline road vehicles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatology and atmospheric chemistry of the non-methane hydrocarbons ethane and propane over the North Atlantic

Helmig

Muñoz

Hueber

et al. 2015

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene

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A record spanning ten years of non-methane hydrocarbon (NMHC) data from the Pico Mountain Observatory (PMO), Pico Island, Azores, Portugal, was analyzed for seasonal NMHC behavior, atmospheric processing, and trends, focusing on ethane and propane. The location of this site in the central North Atlantic, at an elevation of 2225 m asl, allows these data to be used to investigate the background conditions and pollution transport events occurring in the lower free North Atlantic troposphere. The quantity ln([propane]/[ethane]) was used as an indicator of both photochemical processing and a marker for the occurrence of pollution transport events detected at the station. The Pico data were compared with three other continuous NMHC data sets from sites bordering the North Atlantic, i.e. the Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) stations at Summit, Greenland, Hohenpeisssenberg, Germany, and Cape Verde, using ln([propane]/[ethane]) results as an indicator for the degree of photochemical processing ('aging') seen in the data. Comparisons of these three data sets showed some significant differences in the seasonal background and range of observed values. The statistical distribution of binned monthly data was determined, and individual sample events were then scaled to the monthly median observed value. Back trajectories, determined by the HYSPLIT model were used to investigate the geographic origin of the observed trace gases as a function of the degree of photochemical processing.Results show that PMO samples have been subjected to a diversity of air transport and aging, from highly processed air to freshly emitted air throughout the year, and in particular during summer months. The predominant air transport is from North America, with only occasional influence from continental areas located east and southeast (Europe and Africa). The available record was found to be too variable and still too short to allow deciphering NMHC trends from the data.Ethane and propane measurements at the PMO were compared with the MOZART-4 atmospheric chemistry and transport model at the appropriate time and location. The model was found to yield good agreement in the description of the lower range of atmospheric mole fractions observed, of the seasonal cycle, and the regional oxidation chemistry. However, ethane and propane enhancements in transport events were underestimated, indicating that after the ≥ 3 days of synoptic transport to PMO the spatial extent of plumes frequently is smaller than the 2.8° × 2.8° (∼300 km) model grid resolution.

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Reconstruction of Northern Hemisphere 1950–2010 atmospheric non-methane hydrocarbons

Cited by 7 publications

References 72 publications

Revisiting global fossil fuel and biofuel emissions of ethane

Revisiting global fossil fuel and biofuel emissions of ethane

Methyl, Ethyl, and Propyl Nitrates: Global Distribution and Impacts on Reactive Nitrogen in Remote Marine Environments

Climatology and atmospheric chemistry of the non-methane hydrocarbons ethane and propane over the North Atlantic

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