Societal shifts due to COVID-19 reveal large-scale complexities and feedbacks between atmospheric chemistry and climate change.

Autor: Laughner JL; Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125; jlaugh@caltech.edu jessica.l.neu@jpl.nasa.gov david.schimel@jpl.nasa.gov wennberg@gps.caltech.edu., Neu JL; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109; jlaugh@caltech.edu jessica.l.neu@jpl.nasa.gov david.schimel@jpl.nasa.gov wennberg@gps.caltech.edu., Schimel D; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109; jlaugh@caltech.edu jessica.l.neu@jpl.nasa.gov david.schimel@jpl.nasa.gov wennberg@gps.caltech.edu., Wennberg PO; Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125; jlaugh@caltech.edu jessica.l.neu@jpl.nasa.gov david.schimel@jpl.nasa.gov wennberg@gps.caltech.edu.; Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125., Barsanti K; Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521.; Center for Environmental Research and Technology, Riverside, CA 92507., Bowman KW; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109., Chatterjee A; Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research, Universities Space Research Association, Columbia, MD 21046.; Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771., Croes BE; Energy Research and Development Division, California Energy Commission, Sacramento, CA 95814.; Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309., Fitzmaurice HL; Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720., Henze DK; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309., Kim J; Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720., Kort EA; Department of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109., Liu Z; Department of Earth System Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China., Miyazaki K; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109., Turner AJ; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109.; Department of Earth and Planetary Science, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.; Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195., Anenberg S; Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052., Avise J; Modeling and Meteorology Branch, California Air Resources Board, Sacramento, CA 95814., Cao H; Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309., Crisp D; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109., de Gouw J; Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309.; Department of Chemistry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309., Eldering A; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109., Fyfe JC; Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2 Canada., Goldberg DL; Milken Institute School of Public Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052., Gurney KR; School of Informatics, Computing, and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ 86011., Hasheminassab S; Science and Technology Advancement Division, South Coast Air Quality Management District, Diamond Bar, CA, 91765., Hopkins F; Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521., Ivey CE; Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521.; Center for Environmental Research and Technology, Riverside, CA 92507., Jones DBA; Department of Physics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 1A1 Canada., Liu J; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109., Lovenduski NS; Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309.; Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309., Martin RV; McKelvey School of Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130., McKinley GA; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, NY 10964., Ott L; Global Modeling and Assimilation Office, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771., Poulter B; Biospheric Sciences Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771., Ru M; The Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10025.; Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27707., Sander SP; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109., Swart N; Canadian Centre for Climate Modelling and Analysis, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2 Canada., Yung YL; Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125.; Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91109., Zeng ZC; Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A] 2021 Nov 16; Vol. 118 (46).
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2109481118
Abstrakt: The COVID-19 global pandemic and associated government lockdowns dramatically altered human activity, providing a window into how changes in individual behavior, enacted en masse, impact atmospheric composition. The resulting reductions in anthropogenic activity represent an unprecedented event that yields a glimpse into a future where emissions to the atmosphere are reduced. Furthermore, the abrupt reduction in emissions during the lockdown periods led to clearly observable changes in atmospheric composition, which provide direct insight into feedbacks between the Earth system and human activity. While air pollutants and greenhouse gases share many common anthropogenic sources, there is a sharp difference in the response of their atmospheric concentrations to COVID-19 emissions changes, due in large part to their different lifetimes. Here, we discuss several key takeaways from modeling and observational studies. First, despite dramatic declines in mobility and associated vehicular emissions, the atmospheric growth rates of greenhouse gases were not slowed, in part due to decreased ocean uptake of CO 2 and a likely increase in CH 4 lifetime from reduced NO x emissions. Second, the response of O 3 to decreased NO x emissions showed significant spatial and temporal variability, due to differing chemical regimes around the world. Finally, the overall response of atmospheric composition to emissions changes is heavily modulated by factors including carbon-cycle feedbacks to CH 4 and CO 2 , background pollutant levels, the timing and location of emissions changes, and climate feedbacks on air quality, such as wildfires and the ozone climate penalty.
Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interest.
(Copyright © 2021 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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