Ozone pollution from future ship traffic in the Arctic northern passages

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Read Full Article (file size: 1016547 bytes) Cited by GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 33, L13807, doi:10.1029/2006GL026180, 2006 Ozone pollution from future ship traffic in the Arctic northern passages Claire Granier Service d'Aéronomie/IPSL, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France Ulrike Niemeier Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany Johann H. Jungclaus Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany Louisa Emmons National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA Peter Hess National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA Jean-François Lamarque National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA Stacy Walters National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado, USA Guy P. Brasseur Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany Abstract With sea ice expected to recede in the Arctic during the 21st century as a result of projected climate warming, global shipping patterns will change considerably in the decades ahead. The opening of viable shipping routes through the Northern passages will generate new environmental problems including the degradation of air quality in the Arctic. The release of considerable amounts of carbon monoxide, nitric oxide and other chemical substances by the ship's combustion engines will enhance the level of atmospheric photooxidants and other secondary pollutants in this region. Here we show that, during the summer months, surface ozone concentrations in the Arctic could be enhanced by a factor of 2–3 in the decades ahead as a consequence of ship operations through the northern passages. Projected ozone concentrations of 40–60 ppbv from July to September are comparable to summertime values currently observed in many industrialized regions in the Northern Hemisphere. Received 6 March 2006; accepted 30 May 2006; published 8 July 2006. Index Terms: 0365 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere: composition and chemistry; 0368 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere: constituent transport and chemistry; 0345 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Pollution: urban and regional (0305, 0478, 4251); 3337 Atmospheric Processes: Global climate models (1626, 4928); 9315 Geographic Location: Arctic region (0718, 4207). Read Full Article (file size: 1016547 bytes) Cited by Citation: Granier, C., U. Niemeier, J. H. Jungclaus, L. Emmons, P. Hess, J.-F. Lamarque, S. Walters, and G. P. Brasseur (2006), Ozone pollution from future ship traffic in the Arctic northern passages, Geophys. Res. Lett., 33, L13807, doi:10.1029/2006GL026180. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.

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