Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot Gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

HTTPS

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Satellite-observed U.S. Power Plant Nox Emission Reductions and Their Impact On Air Quality

Abstract

Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions resulting from fossil fuel combustion lead to unhealthy levels of near-surface ozone (O3). One of the largest U.S. sources, electric power generation, represented about 25% of the U.S. anthropogenic NOx emissions in 1999. Here we show that space-based instruments observed declining regional NOx levels between 1999 and 2005 in response to the recent implementation of pollution controls by utility companies in the eastern U.S. Satellite-retrieved summertime nitrogen dioxide (NO2) columns and bottom-up emission estimates show larger decreases in the Ohio River Valley, where power plants dominate NOx emissions, than in the northeast U.S. urban corridor. Model simulations predict lower O3 across much of the eastern U.S. in response to these emission reductions.

Article / Publication Data
Active/Online
YES
ISSN
0094-8276
Volume
33
Available Metadata
Accepted On
October 16, 2006
DOI ↗
Fiscal Year
Publication Name
Geophysical Research Letters
Published On
November 01, 2006
Publisher Name
American Geophysical Union
Print Volume
33
Print Number
0
Submitted On
August 16, 2006

Institutions

Not available

Author

Authors who have authored or contributed to this publication.