Top-down estimate of mercury emissions in China using four-dimensional variational data assimilation

Li Pan; Tianfeng Chai; Gregory R Carmichael; Youhua Tang; David Streets; Jung-Hun Woo; Hans R Friedli; Lawrence F Radke

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2006.11.048

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Top-down estimate of mercury emissions in China using four-dimensional variational data assimilation

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Top-down estimate of mercury emissions in China using four-dimensional variational data assimilation

Li Pan, Tianfeng Chai, Gregory R Carmichael, Youhua Tang, David Streets, Jung-Hun Woo, Hans R Friedli and Lawrence F Radke

Atmospheric environment (1994), Vol.41(13), pp.2804-2819

2007

DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2006.11.048

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Abstract

An inverse modeling method using the four-dimensional variational data assimilation approach is developed to provide a top-down estimate of mercury emission inventory in China. The mercury observations on board the C130 aircraft during the Asian Pacific Regional Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-Asia) campaign in April 2001 are assimilated into a regional chemical transport model, STEM. Using a 340 Mg of elemental mercury emitted in 1999, the assimilation results in an increase in Hg 0 emissions for China to 1140 Mg in 2001. This is an upper limit amount of the elemental mercury required in China. The average emission-scaling factor is ∼3.4 in China. The spatial changes in the mercury emissions after the assimilation are also evaluated. The largest changes are estimated on the China north-east coastal areas and the areas of north-center China. The influences of the observation and inventory uncertainties and the initial and boundary conditions on the emission estimates are discussed. Increasing the boundary conditions of Hg from 1.2 to 1.5 ng m −3, results in a top-down estimate of Hg 0 emissions for China of 718 Mg, and leads the average scaling factor from 3.4 to 2.1.

4D-Var

Inventory evaluation

Mercury

China

Data assimilation

Details

Title: Subtitle: Top-down estimate of mercury emissions in China using four-dimensional variational data assimilation
Creators: Li Pan - Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research at University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Tianfeng Chai - Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research at University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Gregory R Carmichael - Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research at University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
Youhua Tang - Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research at University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA
David Streets - Argonne National Laboratory, DIS/900, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, IL 60439, USA
Jung-Hun Woo - NESCAUM, 101 Merrimac. St., 10th Floor, Boston, MA 021114, USA
Hans R Friedli - National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80307, USA
Lawrence F Radke - National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80307, USA
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Atmospheric environment (1994), Vol.41(13), pp.2804-2819
DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2006.11.048
ISSN: 1352-2310
eISSN: 1873-2844
Publisher: Elsevier Ltd
Language: English
Date published: 2007
Academic Unit: Civil and Environmental Engineering; Nursing; Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Record Identifier: 9984003409402771

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