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Recent large reduction in sulfur dioxide emissions from Chinese power plants observed by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument
Author(s) -
Li Can,
Zhang Qiang,
Krotkov Nickolay A.,
Streets David G.,
He Kebin,
Tsay SiChee,
Gleason James F.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2010gl042594
Subject(s) - ozone monitoring instrument , environmental science , sulfur dioxide , ozone , meteorology , atmospheric sciences , troposphere , satellite , flue gas , nitrogen dioxide , waste management , geography , chemistry , engineering , inorganic chemistry , aerospace engineering , geology
The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aboard NASA's Aura satellite observed substantial increases in total column SO 2 and tropospheric column NO 2 from 2005 to 2007, over several areas in northern China where large coal‐fired power plants were built during this period. The OMI‐observed SO 2 /NO 2 ratio is consistent with the SO 2 /NO x emissions estimated from a bottom‐up approach. In 2008 over the same areas, OMI detected little change in NO 2 , suggesting steady electricity output from the power plants. However, dramatic reductions of SO 2 emissions were observed by OMI at the same time. These reductions confirm the effectiveness of the flue‐gas desulfurization (FGD) devices in reducing SO 2 emissions, which likely became operational between 2007 and 2008. This study further demonstrates that the satellite sensors can monitor and characterize anthropogenic emissions from large point sources.