The Red Sea Deep Water is a potent source of atmospheric ethane and propane

E. Bourtsoukidis (), A. Pozzer, T. Sattler, V. N. Matthaios, L. Ernle, A. Edtbauer, H. Fischer, T. Könemann, S. Osipov, J.-D. Paris, E. Y. Pfannerstill, C. Stönner, I. Tadic, D. Walter, N. Wang, J. Lelieveld and J. Williams
Additional contact information
E. Bourtsoukidis: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
A. Pozzer: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
T. Sattler: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
V. N. Matthaios: University of Birmingham, Edgbaston
L. Ernle: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
A. Edtbauer: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
H. Fischer: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
T. Könemann: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
S. Osipov: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
J.-D. Paris: Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, UMR8212, IPSL
E. Y. Pfannerstill: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
C. Stönner: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
I. Tadic: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
D. Walter: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
N. Wang: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
J. Lelieveld: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
J. Williams: Max Planck Institute for Chemistry

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) such as ethane and propane are significant atmospheric pollutants and precursors of tropospheric ozone, while the Middle East is a global emission hotspot due to extensive oil and gas production. Here we compare in situ hydrocarbon measurements, performed around the Arabian Peninsula, with global model simulations that include current emission inventories (EDGAR) and state-of-the-art atmospheric circulation and chemistry mechanisms (EMAC model). While measurements of high mixing ratios over the Arabian Gulf are adequately simulated, strong underprediction by the model was found over the northern Red Sea. By examining the individual sources in the model and by utilizing air mass back-trajectory investigations and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) analysis, we deduce that Red Sea Deep Water (RSDW) is an unexpected, potent source of atmospheric NMHCs. This overlooked underwater source is comparable with total anthropogenic emissions from entire Middle Eastern countries, and significantly impacts the regional atmospheric chemistry.

Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-14375-0 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-14375-0

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-14375-0

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().