A novel approach to screen and compare emission inventories

A methodology is proposed to support the evaluation and comparison of different types of emission inventories. The strengths and weaknesses of the methodology are presented and discussed based on an example. The approach results in a “diamond” diagram useful to flag out anomalous behaviors in the emission inventories and to get insight in possible explanations. In particular, the “diamond” diagram is shown to provide meaningful information in terms of: discrepancies between the total emissions reported by macrosector and pollutant, contribution of each macro-sector to the total amount of emissions released by pollutant, and the identification and quantification of the different factors causing the discrepancies between total emissions. A practical example in Barcelona is used for testing and to provide relevant information for the analyzed emission datasets. The tests show the capability of the proposed methodology to flag inconsistencies in the existing inventories. The proposed methodology system may be useful for regional and urban inventory developers as an initial evaluation of the consistency of their inventories

The Impact of Recent European Droughts and Heatwaves on Trace Gas Surface Fluxes: Insights from Land Surface Data Assimilation

Heatwave and drought extremes can have significant impacts on vegetation, which can in turn lead to important effects on reactive trace gas fluxes at the land-atmosphere interface that can ultimately alter atmospheric composition. We present results from the EU-funded Sentinel EObased Emission and Deposition Service (SEEDS) project, which aimed at developing upgrades to the existing Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service (CAMS) component on European air quality. In this work, we used land surface modelling (SURFEX – Surface Externalisée) combined with data assimilation (Extended Kalman Filter - EKF) of satellite leaf area index (LAI) to deliver improved estimation of the land surface state. The land surface model is coupled with an online model for dry deposition and an offline model (MEGANv3.1) for biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) to estimate trace gas losses and emissions, respectively. This approach exploits methods at the forefront of land surface modelling (dynamic vegetation simulation and data assimilation) and combines them with the latest algorithms to estimate trace gas fluxes at the surface. We present findings from two extreme events in Europe: the 2018 drought and the 2019 June/July heat waves. SURFEX was forced using ECMWF meteorology at 0.1° × 0.1° resolution that captured both events. Both extreme events provoked strong responses in the models for dry deposition velocity and BVOC emissions. The 2018 drought began in spring and endured through summer, during which dry deposition velocities declined steadily beyond seasonal norms due to increased stomatal resistance forced by the vegetation response to drought. Over continental Europe, BVOCs initially increased in the early phase of the drought, but then sharply declined into July in the worst-affected regions in Germany, Denmark, and Poland. Meanwhile, BVOCs increased in Scandinavia relative to seasonal norms due to the warmer-than-average conditions. The first episode of severe heat in 2019 arrived in late June, which initially caused a large increase in BVOC emissions compared to seasonal norms. Then drought set in during July and despite a second large heat wave BVOC emissions were lower overall compared to seasonal norms. In fact, the European-wide BVOC emissions were higher in June compared to July due to the drought effects that commenced later in the heat wave cycle. This reverses the normal seasonal cycle in BVOC emissions, and drought impacts on vegetation were the primary driver behind this. Dry deposition velocities are reduced during both heat waves, but we see a larger decline in the second heat wave in July when drought conditions are more severe. Our findings suggest that these impacts on trace gas surface fluxes would have a strong effect on atmospheric composition, and on photochemical ozone formation. We, therefore, conclude that these effects likely played a contributory role to the ozone pollution episodes that occurred coincidentally in time with the heat wave events in both 2018 and 2019. The project aim within SEEDS is to eventually test the BVOC emissions and dry deposition velocities within a chemical transport model participating within the CAMS regional ensemble (MOCAGE) and to therefore evaluate the impact on ozone

Phosphorothioate antisense oligonucleotides induce the formation of nuclear bodies

Antisense oligonucleotides are powerful tools for the in vivo regulation of gene expression. We have characterized the intracellular distribution of fluorescently tagged phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides (PS-ONs) at high resolution under conditions in which PS-ONs have the potential to display antisense activity. Under these conditions PS-ONs predominantly localized to the cell nucleus where they accumulated in 20-30 bright spherical foci designated phosphorothioate bodies (PS bodies), which were set against a diffuse nucleoplasmic population excluding nucleoli. PS bodies are nuclear structures that formed in cells after PS-ON delivery by transfection agents or microinjection but were observed irrespectively of antisense activity or sequence. Ultrastructurally, PS bodies corresponded to electron-dense structures of 150-300 nm diameter and resembled nuclear bodies that were found with lower frequency in cells lacking PS-ONs. The environment of a living cell was required for the de novo formation of PS bodies, which occurred within minutes after the introduction of PS-ONs. PS bodies were stable entities that underwent noticeable reorganization only during mitosis. Upon exit from mitosis, PS bodies were assembled de novo from diffuse PS-ON pools in the daughter nuclei. In situ fractionation demonstrated an association of PS-ONs with the nuclear matrix. Taken together, our data provide evidence for the formation of a nuclear body in cells after introduction of phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides

Evolution of NOx emissions in Europe with focus on road transport control measures

European nitrogen oxides emissions have declined more than 30% since 1990, but are now increasing in eastern recovering economies. Road transport is the dominating source of NOx emissions since 1970, and with a 40% share in 2005. This paper presents the effect of NOx abatement on road traffic emissions in Europe and focuses on the causes behind trends since 1880 and up to present. Trends in road traffic NOx emissions are influenced both by policy and technological constrains and socio-economic development. Five trend regimes are identified in Europe. The first regime (1880-1950) is determined by a slow increase in fuel consumption. The second regime from 1950-1980 is characterized by a continued steep upward trend in liquid fuel use, but the changes with respect to the previous period are determined by the introduction of the first regulations on road traffic emissions. Reduction in fuel consumption influences the emission trends in the third regime from 1980 -1990. During this period, road emissions in Eastern Europe decrease due to recessive fuel consumption. Emissions from road traffic continue to grow in Western Europe from 1980 to 1990 despite the general decline and stabilisation in fuel consumption caused by the oil crisis in the 1970s. It is argued here that the reason for this continued Western European NOx emission increase is the introduction of measures to improve combustion and fuel efficiency, and to control HC and CO. The fourth regime (1990-2000) involves a turning point for road traffic emissions, with general decrease of emissions in Europe during that decade. In Eastern Europe, decrease in emissions is linked to decline in fuel consumption in Former Soviet Republics, and to a reduced share of high NOx emitting vehicles in other eastern European countries. At the same time, the efficiency of technological abatement in Western Europe is instrumental to control road traffic emissions in this region despite the increase in fuel consumption. In the last regime, from 2000 to 2005, the economic recovery in Eastern Europe implies new increases in road traffic emissions in this area. However, emissions in Western Europe continue to decrease, despite the increase in fuel consumption, due to the implementation of strict measures to control NOx emissions. The results indicate that even though the effectiveness of European standards is hampered by a slow vehicle turnover, loopholes in the type-approval testing and an increase in diesel consumption, the effect of such technical abatement measures is still traceable in the evolution of European road traffic emissions over the last 15 years

GEIA - The Global Emissions InitiAtive

two new programs are presently being linked within GEIA: ECCAD and CIERA. Their common aim is to facilitate access to emissions information. ECCAD (Emissions of chemical Compounds & Compilation of Ancillary Data, http://ether.ipsl. jussieu.fr/eccad) GEIA's new interactive emissions data portal that provides consistent access to global and regional emissions inventories and ancillary data, along with easy-to-use tools for analysis and visualization. CIERA (Community Initiative for Emissions Research & Applications, http://ciera-air.org/) is a GEIA community effort to develop interoperability in emissions datasets and tools, support evaluations of emissions inventories, and connect the emissions development and user communities. More details about ECCAD and CIERA are presented in the articles immediately following this note

Addressing Science and Policy Needs with Community Emissions Efforts

International audienceWe present community-driven emissions efforts within the Global Emissions InitiAtive (GEIA, http://www.geiacenter.org/), a joint IGAC/iLEAPS/AIMES initiative of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme. Since 1990, GEIA has served as a forum for the exchange of expertise and information on emissions. GEIA's mission is to (1) quantify anthropogenic emissions and natural exchanges of trace gases and aerosols; and (2) facilitate the use of this information by the research, assessment, and policy communities. GEIA supports a worldwide network of over 1200 developers and users in international scientific projects, providing a solid scientific foundation for atmospheric chemistry research. Moving forward, GEIA is broadening its role to serve the scientific, regulatory, and operational emission communities. GEIA intends to demonstrate the potential for improving emission information by promoting the interoperability of datasets and tools and by making use of near-real-time observations. As a first step toward these goals, two new programs are being linked with GEIA: * ECCAD (Emissions of Chemical Compounds & Compilation of Ancillary Data, http://eccad.sedoo.fr/) is GEIA's new interactive emissions data portal, providing consistent access to emission inventories and ancillary data with easy-to-use tools for analysis and visualization. * CIERA (Community Initiative for Emissions Research & Applications, http://ciera-air.org/) is a new GEIA community project to develop interoperability in emissions datasets and tools, support evaluations of inventories, communicate emissions information in innovative ways, and connect the emissions development and user communities. We invite the scientific and policy community to join the GEIA network and build partnerships to improve emissions information

Twenty-five years of continuous sulphur dioxide emission reduction in Europe

During the last twenty-five years European emission data have been compiled and reported under the Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe (EMEP) as part of the work under the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP). This paper presents emission trends of SO2 reported to EMEP and validated within the programme for the period 1980-2004. European sulphur emissions have been steadily decreasing over the last twenty-five years, amounting from about 55 Tg SO2 in 1980 to 15 Tg SO2 in 2004. The relative contribution of the European emissions to total global sulphur emissions has been halved during this period. Based on annual emission reports from European countries, three emission reduction regimes have been identified. The period 1980-1989 is characterized by low annual emission reductions (below 5% reduction per year and 20% for the whole period) and is dominated by emission reductions in Western Europe. The period 1990-1999 is characterised by high annual emission reductions (up to 11% reduction per year and 54% for the whole period), most pronounced in Eastern Europe. The annual emission reductions in the period 2000-2004 are medium to low and reflect the unified Europe, with equally large reductions in both East and West. The sulphur emission reduction has been largest in the Combustion in energy and transformation industries sector, but substantial decreases are also seen in the Non-industrial combustion plants together with Industrial Combustion and – Industrial Production Processes sectors. The majority of European countries have reduced their emissions by more than 60% between 1990 and 2004, and one quarter have already achieved sulphur emission reductions higher than 80%. At European level, the total sulphur target for 2010 set in the Gothenburg Protocol (16 Tg) has apparently already been met by 2004. However, still half of the Parties to the Gothenburg Protocol have to reduce further their sulphur emissions in order to attain their individual country total emission targets for 2010. It is also noteworthy that, contrasting the Gothenburg Protocol requirements, an increasing number of countries have recently been reporting increased sulphur emissions, while others report only minor decreases. The uncertainty in sulphur emission estimates is low, and although they are at the same level as recent reductions, the emission trends presented here are supported by different studies of air concentrations and depositions carried out within and outside the framework of the LTRAP Convention

Modelling surface ozone during the 2003 heat wave in the UK

The EMEP Unified model, normally applied to the European domain at 50 km horizontal resolution, has been applied to the UK at a finer resolution of 5 km. This new application is called EMEP4UK. The EMEP4UK model is driven by meteorology from the Weather Research and Forecast model (WRF) and emissions from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI). The WRF model has been nudged every six hours using NCEP/NCAR GFS reanalysis in order to properly represent the ‘real’ meteorology observed during a particular time period. The present paper focuses on the simulation of surface ozone concentrations during August 2003, when large parts of Europe, including the UK, experienced extremely high temperatures and surface ozone concentrations. The evaluation in this paper focuses on comparison of model results with measurements taken during the TORCH campaign in August 2003, based in Writtle, SE England. EMEP4UK was able to accurately simulate most of the ozone peaks which occurred during 2003 and in particular those during August. Measured maximum hourly means reached 130 pbb, while modelled values reached 120 ppb. We conducted a series of model sensitivity runs, varying individual model parameters (e.g., temperature, isoprene, precursor emissions, and ozone deposition) in order to isolate the sensitivity of ozone concentrations during the heat wave to each of these. The two factors which control surface ozone concentration at Writtle have been found to be ozone dry deposition and NOx emissions