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Cover Story for the October 2021 issue of EM Magazine on “Natural emissions and their impacts on air quality”
Citation:
Kelly, J. AND G. Sarwar. Cover Story for the October 2021 issue of EM Magazine on “Natural emissions and their impacts on air quality”. EM Magazine. Air and Waste Management Association, Pittsburgh, PA, , 1-3, (2021).
Impact/Purpose:
Natural emissions, or emissions of trace gases and particles in the absence of anthropogenic activity, have profound impacts on air quality and the Earth’s atmosphere. Natural emissions can occur through episodic events that dramatically affect the environment. Natural emissions also occur from persistent sources that affect air quality through direct emission and subsequent influence on air pollution chemistry. The bursting of ocean whitecaps is a continuous source of aerosol that contributes to particulate matter levels in both marine and continental regions. Emissions of biogenic gases, including isoprene and monoterpenes, dominate the global budget of non-methane volatile organic compounds. Nitric oxide emissions from soils contribute ~15% of the global nitrogen oxides budget, marine halogen emissions influence oxidation cycles and ozone concentrations in coastal urban regions, and essential fertilization occurs when iron- and phosphorus-containing mineral dust is emitted from the Earth’s deserts and deposits to oceans. Air quality management relies on reliable characterizations of natural emissions and their influence on air pollution formation cycles. Apportioning the natural and anthropogenic contributions to pollution enables air quality managers to focus control programs on the key anthropogenic sources. In this context, atmospheric models that simulate the complex nonlinear and interactive relationships among anthropogenically- and naturally derived species are essential to account for the strong chemical coupling among atmospheric pollutants. This EM issue explores important examples of natural emissions and their impacts on air quality.
Description:
Natural emissions, or emissions of trace gases and particles in the absence of anthropogenic activity, have profound impacts on air quality and the Earth’s atmosphere. Natural emissions can occur through episodic events that dramatically affect the environment. Natural emissions also occur from persistent sources that affect air quality through direct emission and subsequent influence on air pollution chemistry. The bursting of ocean whitecaps is a continuous source of aerosol that contributes to particulate matter levels in both marine and continental regions. Emissions of biogenic gases, including isoprene and monoterpenes, dominate the global budget of non-methane volatile organic compounds. Nitric oxide emissions from soils contribute ~15% of the global nitrogen oxides budget, marine halogen emissions influence oxidation cycles and ozone concentrations in coastal urban regions, and essential fertilization occurs when iron- and phosphorus-containing mineral dust is emitted from the Earth’s deserts and deposits to oceans. Air quality management relies on reliable characterizations of natural emissions and their influence on air pollution formation cycles. Apportioning the natural and anthropogenic contributions to pollution enables air quality managers to focus control programs on the key anthropogenic sources. In this context, atmospheric models that simulate the complex nonlinear and interactive relationships among anthropogenically- and naturally derived species are essential to account for the strong chemical coupling among atmospheric pollutants. This EM issue explores important examples of natural emissions and their impacts on air quality.