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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6036
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6036
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Preprints
05 Dec 2025
 | 05 Dec 2025
Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).

A detailed comparison of the Dutch emission inventory with satellite-derived NOx emissions

Hannes Witt, Ronald J. van der A, Jieying Ding, Jeroen Kuenen, and Margreet C. van Zanten

Abstract. Nitrogen oxides are one of the most important air pollutants with a large impact on human health. Their emissions are monitored by national emission inventories that are the basis for emission related policies. Because of their large impact on policies these emission data should ideally be verified against independent data, such as emission estimates derived from atmospheric observations. However, this is not yet a widely established practice. Here, we present a detailed comparison of NOx emissions from the Dutch national emission inventory with completely independent emission data derived with the DECSO algorithm from satellite observations by TROPOMI on board of sentinel 5-P. This is enabled by the introduction of a new high-resolution DECSO version DECSO-HR 6.5. We find good agreement in overall emission levels, the spatial emission pattern, the 5-year emission trend, and regional emissions, with deviations in the yearly variation of emissions and at large point sources. Our results demonstrate the robustness of the national inventory and the satellite-derived emissions. This approach might serve as a use-case for the adoption of similar methods in other countries. 

How to cite. Witt, H., van der A, R. J., Ding, J., Kuenen, J., and van Zanten, M. C.: A detailed comparison of the Dutch emission inventory with satellite-derived NOx emissions, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6036, 2025.
Received: 03 Dec 2025 – Discussion started: 05 Dec 2025
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Hannes Witt, Ronald J. van der A, Jieying Ding, Jeroen Kuenen, and Margreet C. van Zanten

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Hannes Witt, Ronald J. van der A, Jieying Ding, Jeroen Kuenen, and Margreet C. van Zanten
Hannes Witt, Ronald J. van der A, Jieying Ding, Jeroen Kuenen, and Margreet C. van Zanten
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We present a detailed comparison of NOx emissions from the Dutch national emission inventory with completely independent emission data derived from satellite observations with the DECSO algorithm. We find good agreement in overall emission levels, regional emissions, and the 5-year emission trend. Our results demonstrate the robustness of the national inventory and the satellite-derived emissions and might serve as a use-case for the adoption of similar methods in other countries.
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