Identification of Missing Anthropogenic Emission Sources in Russia: Implication for Modeling Arctic Haze

Kan Huang Huang; Joshua S.  Fu; Elke L.  Hodson; Xinyi  Dong; Joe  Cresko; Vitaly Y.  Prikhodko; John M.  Storey; Meng-Dawn  Cheng

doi:10.4209/aaqr.2014.08.0165

Identification of Missing Anthropogenic Emission Sources in Russia: Implication for Modeling Arctic Haze

Kan Huang Huang¹, Joshua S. Fu ¹, Elke L. Hodson², Xinyi Dong¹, Joe Cresko², Vitaly Y. Prikhodko³, John M. Storey³, Meng-Dawn Cheng³

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¹Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
²U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC, USA
³Energy and Environmental Sciences Directorate, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA

Received: August 12, 2014
Revised: September 30, 2014
Accepted: October 31, 2014
Download Citation: ||https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2014.08.0165

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Cite this article:
Huang, K.H., Fu, J.S., Hodson, E.L., Dong, X., Cresko, J., Prikhodko, V.Y., Storey, J.M. and Cheng, M.D. (2014). Identification of Missing Anthropogenic Emission Sources in Russia: Implication for Modeling Arctic Haze. Aerosol Air Qual. Res. 14: 1799-1811. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2014.08.0165

HIGHLIGHTS

AOD were significantly under-predicted in Russia using the EDGAR emission inventory.
Emissions from power plants and mining in Russia were significantly underestimated.
Gas flaring emissions were completely missing in EDGAR.
Most underestimated emissions were found in the high latitudinal regions.
The impacts from Russian emission on the Arctic haze were overlooked.

ABSTRACT

Any comprehensive simulation of air pollution in the Arctic requires an accurate emission inventory. Using a community global emission inventory EDGARv4.2 (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research), GEOS-Chem modeling underestimated aerosol optical depth by 150–300% when compared to ground-based sites in Russia. Emissions from power plants, gas flaring, and mining were found significantly underestimated or even missing in EDGAR’s Russian emission inventory. Approximately 70% of Russian provinces had lower NO_x and PM₁₀ emission from power plants in EDGAR as compared to a Russian federal emission inventory. Emissions from gas flaring dominated in Russia’s main oil and gas producing regions. However, it is completely missing in EDGAR. In addition, EDGAR underestimated Russia’s mining emissions in most of its remote areas. Overall, we find EDGAR underestimated Russia’s emissions especially at high latitudes and this could overlook the impact of Russian emissions on the Arctic if EDGAR is used as input for models.

Keywords: Russia; EDAGR; Emission underestimation; Arctic