Influence of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds emission changes on tropospheric ozone variability, trends and radiative effect

Abstract. Ozone in the troposphere is a prominent pollutant whose production is sensitive to the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Here, we assess the variation of tropospheric ozone levels, trends, ozone photochemical regimes and radiative effects using the ECHAM6–HAMMOZ chemistry–climate model for the period 1998–2019 and satellite measurements. The global mean simulated trend in tropospheric column ozone (TRCO) for the study period (1998–2019) is 0.89 ppb decade−1. During the overlapping period with Ozone Monitoring Instrument/Microwave Limb Sounder (OMI/MLS) observations (2005–2019), the simulated global mean TRCO trends (1.58 ppb decade−1) show fair agreement with OMI/MLS estimates (1.4 ppb decade−1). The simulations for doubling emissions of NOx (DoubNOx), VOCs (DoubVOC), and halving emissions of NOx (HalfNOx) and VOCs (HalfVOC) show nonlinear responses to ozone trends and tropospheric ozone photochemical regimes. The DoubNOx simulations show VOC-limited regimes over the Indo-Gangetic Plain, eastern China, western Europe and the eastern US, while HalfNOx simulations show NOx-limited regimes over North America and Asia. Emissions changes in NOx (DoubNOx/HalfNOx) influence the shift in tropospheric ozone photochemical regimes compared to VOCs (DoubVOC/HalfVOC). The estimated global mean TO3RE during 1998–2019 from the control (CTL) simulations is 1.21 W m−2. The global mean TO3RE shows enhancement by 0.36 W m−2 in DoubNOx simulations compared to CTL. While TO3RE shows a reduction in other simulations compared to CTL (DoubVOC: −0.005 W m−2, HalfNOx: −0.12 W m−2 and HalfVOC: −0.03 W m−2). We show that emission changes in anthropogenic NOx cause more significant changes in TO3RE than anthropogenic VOCs.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Atmospheric chemistry and physics
Published
2025-07-30
DOI
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-8229-2025
Citations
3
Primary Topic
Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.90
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Influence of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds emission changes on tropospheric ozone variability, trends and radiative effect

É. Le Flochmoën, Isabelle De Smedt, J. R. Ziemke, Domenico Taraborrelli et al.
3 citations
Atmospheric chemistry and physics
Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
3.90
article

Influence of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds emission changes on tropospheric ozone variability, trends and radiative effect

É. Le Flochmoën, Isabelle De Smedt, J. R. Ziemke, Domenico Taraborrelli, P. R. Satheesh Chandran, Brice Barret, Yasin Elshorbany, Vijay Kumar Sagar, Juan Cuesta, Catherine Wespes, Isolde Glissenaar, Hervé Petetin, Suvarna Fadnavis, Michel Van Roozendaël, Alexandru Rap, K. F. Boersma, Isidora Anglou, Richard J. Pope
article en
3 citations

Abstract

Abstract. Ozone in the troposphere is a prominent pollutant whose production is sensitive to the emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Here, we assess the variation of tropospheric ozone levels, trends, ozone photochemical regimes and radiative effects using the ECHAM6–HAMMOZ chemistry–climate model for the period 1998–2019 and satellite measurements. The global mean simulated trend in tropospheric column ozone (TRCO) for the study period (1998–2019) is 0.89 ppb decade−1. During the overlapping period with Ozone Monitoring Instrument/Microwave Limb Sounder (OMI/MLS) observations (2005–2019), the simulated global mean TRCO trends (1.58 ppb decade−1) show fair agreement with OMI/MLS estimates (1.4 ppb decade−1). The simulations for doubling emissions of NOx (DoubNOx), VOCs (DoubVOC), and halving emissions of NOx (HalfNOx) and VOCs (HalfVOC) show nonlinear responses to ozone trends and tropospheric ozone photochemical regimes. The DoubNOx simulations show VOC-limited regimes over the Indo-Gangetic Plain, eastern China, western Europe and the eastern US, while HalfNOx simulations show NOx-limited regimes over North America and Asia. Emissions changes in NOx (DoubNOx/HalfNOx) influence the shift in tropospheric ozone photochemical regimes compared to VOCs (DoubVOC/HalfVOC). The estimated global mean TO3RE during 1998–2019 from the control (CTL) simulations is 1.21 W m−2. The global mean TO3RE shows enhancement by 0.36 W m−2 in DoubNOx simulations compared to CTL. While TO3RE shows a reduction in other simulations compared to CTL (DoubVOC: −0.005 W m−2, HalfNOx: −0.12 W m−2 and HalfVOC: −0.03 W m−2). We show that emission changes in anthropogenic NOx cause more significant changes in TO3RE than anthropogenic VOCs.

Atmospheric chemistry and physicsVol. 25(14)
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Goddard Space Flight Center (US), University of Leeds (GB), Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (NL), Université Libre de Bruxelles (BE), Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IN), Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier (FR), Forschungszentrum Jülich (DE), Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées (FR), Université Paris-Est Créteil (FR), Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BE), Université Paris Cité (FR), Barcelona Supercomputing Center (ES), Paris-Est Sup (FR), National Centre for Earth Observation (GB), Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (FR), Laboratoire Techniques, Territoires et Sociétés (FR), University of South Florida St. Petersburg (US), Wageningen University & Research (NL), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (ES)
Openalex Percentile: Top 6%
Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
3.90
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.