Impact of US SO <sub>2</sub> Emission Reductions Between 1970 and 2010 on Seasonal Sulfate Aerosol Burden and Radiative Forcing Over the North Atlantic

Abstract Sulfate burden over the North Atlantic Ocean (NATL) exhibits strong seasonality despite no seasonality in anthropogenic sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) emissions. However, the seasonality of sulfate aerosols over NATL has decreased since 1970, likely due to a reduction in the United States (US) SO 2 emissions following the Clean Air Act of 1970. We performed atmospheric chemistry and transport simulations to assess the impact of changing US SO 2 emissions between 1970 and 2010 on NATL sulfate burden and radiative forcing. United States SO 2 emission reductions weakened the seasonality in NATL sulfate burden by ∼17%, primarily due to a decrease in chemical production and transport in summer. These emission reductions caused a summertime radiative forcing (∼2 W m −2 ) twice as large as the wintertime forcing. Our findings highlight the complex, season‐dependent responses of sulfate burden and radiative effects to regional emission changes.

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Publication Details

Journal
Geophysical Research Letters
Published
2025-10-13
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025gl115337
Primary Topic
Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Impact of US SO 2 Emission Reductions Between 1970 and 2010 on Seasonal Sulfate Aerosol Burden and Radiative Forcing Over the North Atlantic

Salil Mahajan, David S. Henderson, Sagar Rathod, Simone Tilmes et al.
Geophysical Research Letters
Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
article

Impact of US SO 2 Emission Reductions Between 1970 and 2010 on Seasonal Sulfate Aerosol Burden and Radiative Forcing Over the North Atlantic

Salil Mahajan, David S. Henderson, Sagar Rathod, Simone Tilmes, Tristan L’Ecuyer, Daniel James Vimont, Xiaohong Liu, Weiyi Wang, Jack Zweifel
article en

Abstract

Abstract Sulfate burden over the North Atlantic Ocean (NATL) exhibits strong seasonality despite no seasonality in anthropogenic sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) emissions. However, the seasonality of sulfate aerosols over NATL has decreased since 1970, likely due to a reduction in the United States (US) SO 2 emissions following the Clean Air Act of 1970. We performed atmospheric chemistry and transport simulations to assess the impact of changing US SO 2 emissions between 1970 and 2010 on NATL sulfate burden and radiative forcing. United States SO 2 emission reductions weakened the seasonality in NATL sulfate burden by ∼17%, primarily due to a decrease in chemical production and transport in summer. These emission reductions caused a summertime radiative forcing (∼2 W m −2 ) twice as large as the wintertime forcing. Our findings highlight the complex, season‐dependent responses of sulfate burden and radiative effects to regional emission changes.

Geophysical Research LettersVol. 52(20)
NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (US), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (US), University of Wisconsin–Madison (US), Texas A&M University (US)
U.S. Department of Energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 66%
Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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Impact of US SO <sub>2</sub> Emission Reductions Between 1970 and 2010 on Seasonal Sulfate Aerosol Burden and Radiative Forcing Over the North Atlantic — Salil Mahajan, David S. Henderson, et al. · Geophysical Research Letters (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS