Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-103
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-103
19 Feb 2024
 | 19 Feb 2024

NOx emissions in France in 2019–2021 as estimated by the high spatial resolution assimilation of TROPOMI NO2 observations

Robin Plauchu, Audrey Fortems-Cheiney, Grégoire Broquet, Isabelle Pison, Antoine Berchet, Elise Potier, Gaëlle Dufour, Adriana Coman, Dilek Savas, Guillaume Siour, and Henk Eskes

Abstract. Since 2018, TROPOMI on-board Sentinel-5P provides unprecedented images of NO2 tropospheric columns at a relatively high spatial resolution with a daily revisit. This study aims at assessing the potential of the TROPOMI-PAL data to estimate the national to urban NOx emissions in France from 2019 to 2021, using the variational mode of the recent Community Inversion Framework coupled to the CHIMERE regional transport model at a spatial resolution of 10×10 km2. The seasonal to inter-annual variations of the NOx French emissions are analyzed. A specific attention is paid to the current capability to quantify strong anomalies in the NOx emissions at intra-annual scales such as the ones due to the COVID-19 pandemic, by using TROPOMI NO2 observations.

The inversions lead to a decrease of the average emissions over 2019–2021 compared to 2016 of -3 % at national scale, which is lower than the decrease of -14 % between these years in the estimates of the French Technical Center for Air Pollution and Climate Change (CITEPA). This may be linked especially to the limited level of constraint brought by the TROPOMI data, due to the observation coverage and the ratio between the current level of errors in the observation and the chemistry-transport model, and the NO2 signal from the French anthropogenic sources.

Focusing on local analysis and selecting the days during which the TROPOMI coverage is good over a specific local source, we compute the reductions in the NOx anthropogenic emission estimates by the inversions from spring 2019 to spring 2020. These reductions are particularly pronounced for the largest French urban areas (e.g., -26 % from April 2019 to April 2020 in the Paris urban area) and along major roadways, consistently with the reduction in the intensity of vehicle traffic reported during the lockdown period.

Publisher's note: Copernicus Publications remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims made in the text, published maps, institutional affiliations, or any other geographical representation in this preprint. The responsibility to include appropriate place names lies with the authors.

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

19 Jul 2024
NOx emissions in France in 2019–2021 as estimated by the high-spatial-resolution assimilation of TROPOMI NO2 observations
Robin Plauchu, Audrey Fortems-Cheiney, Grégoire Broquet, Isabelle Pison, Antoine Berchet, Elise Potier, Gaëlle Dufour, Adriana Coman, Dilek Savas, Guillaume Siour, and Henk Eskes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8139–8163, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8139-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8139-2024, 2024
Short summary
Robin Plauchu, Audrey Fortems-Cheiney, Grégoire Broquet, Isabelle Pison, Antoine Berchet, Elise Potier, Gaëlle Dufour, Adriana Coman, Dilek Savas, Guillaume Siour, and Henk Eskes

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-103', Anonymous Referee #1, 10 Mar 2024
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-103', Anonymous Referee #2, 11 Mar 2024

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-103', Anonymous Referee #1, 10 Mar 2024
  • RC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-103', Anonymous Referee #2, 11 Mar 2024

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
AR by Robin Plauchu on behalf of the Authors (24 May 2024)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Referee Nomination & Report Request started (29 May 2024) by Ilse Aben
RR by Anonymous Referee #1 (05 Jun 2024)
ED: Publish as is (05 Jun 2024) by Ilse Aben
AR by Robin Plauchu on behalf of the Authors (06 Jun 2024)  Author's response   Manuscript 

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

19 Jul 2024
NOx emissions in France in 2019–2021 as estimated by the high-spatial-resolution assimilation of TROPOMI NO2 observations
Robin Plauchu, Audrey Fortems-Cheiney, Grégoire Broquet, Isabelle Pison, Antoine Berchet, Elise Potier, Gaëlle Dufour, Adriana Coman, Dilek Savas, Guillaume Siour, and Henk Eskes
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8139–8163, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8139-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8139-2024, 2024
Short summary
Robin Plauchu, Audrey Fortems-Cheiney, Grégoire Broquet, Isabelle Pison, Antoine Berchet, Elise Potier, Gaëlle Dufour, Adriana Coman, Dilek Savas, Guillaume Siour, and Henk Eskes
Robin Plauchu, Audrey Fortems-Cheiney, Grégoire Broquet, Isabelle Pison, Antoine Berchet, Elise Potier, Gaëlle Dufour, Adriana Coman, Dilek Savas, Guillaume Siour, and Henk Eskes

Viewed

Total article views: 610 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
HTML PDF XML Total BibTeX EndNote
460 121 29 610 22 19
  • HTML: 460
  • PDF: 121
  • XML: 29
  • Total: 610
  • BibTeX: 22
  • EndNote: 19
Views and downloads (calculated since 19 Feb 2024)
Cumulative views and downloads (calculated since 19 Feb 2024)

Viewed (geographical distribution)

Total article views: 618 (including HTML, PDF, and XML) Thereof 618 with geography defined and 0 with unknown origin.
Country # Views %
  • 1
1
 
 
 
 
Latest update: 19 Jul 2024
Download

The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.

Short summary
Over 2019–2021, our study used satellite data to assess NOx emissions in France. National budgets decreased due to effective policies, but COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 didn't uniformly reduce emissions. Focusing on urban areas revealed varied impacts, with challenges like cloud coverage and model errors limiting precision. These findings contribute valuable insights into factors influencing emission assessments, informing future research.