Natural hydrocarbons, urbanization, and urban ozone

Air quality data from Atlanta suggest that urban ozone concentrations are enhanced by increases in ambient temperature. Model calculations suggest that this enhancement is caused by the effect of temperature on the atmospheric chemistry of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), as well as the temperature dependence of natural and anthropogenic hydrocarbon emissions. Numerical simulations using conditions of a typical summertime day in Atlanta suggest that this rise in temperature could have 1) resulted in a significant increase in the net emissions of natural hydrocarbons in the area in spite of the loss of about 20% of the area's forests over the same period, and 2) negated the beneficial effects on summertime ozone concentrations that would have been obtained from a 50% reduction in anthropogenic hydrocarbon emissions. -from Authors

Duke Scholars

Author William Chameides Earth and Climate Sciences