资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

By applying an inversion algorithm to NOx satellite observations from Ozone Monitoring Instrument, monthly NOx emissions for a 10year period (2007 to 2016) over Chinese seas are presented for the first time. No effective regulations on NOx emissions have been implemented for ships in China, which is reflected in the trend analysis of maritime emissions. The maritime emissions display a continuous increase rate of about 20% per year until 2012 and slow down to 3% after that. The seasonal cycle of shipping emissions has regional variations, but all regions show lower emissions during winter. Simulations by an atmospheric chemistry transport model show a notable influence of maritime emissions on air pollution over coastal areas, especially in summer. The satellite-derived spatial distribution and the magnitude of maritime emissions over Chinese seas are in good agreement with bottom-up studies based on the Automatic Identification System of ships.

Plain Language Summary This paper presents NOx emissions derived from satellite observations over the Chinese seas for the last 10 years. The maritime emissions have a continuous increase rate of about 20% per year until 2012 and slow down to about 3% afterward. This reflects that almost no effective regulations on NOx emissions have been implemented for ships in China. The impact of maritime emissions on air quality over coastal areas in China is significant as shown by simulations using a chemical transport model.