In:
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Copernicus GmbH, Vol. 21, No. 14 ( 2021-07-27), p. 11201-11224
Abstract:
Abstract. Anthropogenic secondary organic aerosol (ASOA), formed from anthropogenic
emissions of organic compounds, constitutes a substantial fraction of the
mass of submicron aerosol in populated areas around the world and
contributes to poor air quality and premature mortality. However, the
precursor sources of ASOA are poorly understood, and there are large
uncertainties in the health benefits that might accrue from reducing
anthropogenic organic emissions. We show that the production of ASOA in 11
urban areas on three continents is strongly correlated with the reactivity
of specific anthropogenic volatile organic compounds. The differences in
ASOA production across different cities can be explained by differences in
the emissions of aromatics and intermediate- and semi-volatile organic
compounds, indicating the importance of controlling these ASOA precursors.
With an improved model representation of ASOA driven by the observations,
we attribute 340 000 PM2.5-related premature deaths per year to ASOA, which is
over an order of magnitude higher than prior studies. A sensitivity case
with a more recently proposed model for attributing mortality to PM2.5
(the Global Exposure Mortality Model) results in up to 900 000 deaths. A
limitation of this study is the extrapolation from cities with detailed
studies and regions where detailed emission inventories are available to
other regions where uncertainties in emissions are larger. In addition to
further development of institutional air quality management infrastructure,
comprehensive air quality campaigns in the countries in South and Central
America, Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East are needed for further
progress in this area.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
1680-7324
DOI:
10.5194/acp-21-11201-2021
DOI:
10.5194/acp-21-11201-2021-supplement
Language:
English
Publisher:
Copernicus GmbH
Publication Date:
2021
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2092549-9
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2069847-1