Changes in power plant NOx emissions over Northwest Greece using a
data assimilation technique
Skoulidou, I., Koukouli, M., Segers, A., Manders, A., Balis, D.,
Stavrakou, T., van Geffen, J., Eskes, H.: 2021,
Atmosphere 12, 900, 20 pp.
Abstract
In this work, we investigate the ability of a data assimilation technique
and space-borne observations to quantify and monitor changes in nitrogen
oxides (NOx) emissions over Northwestern Greece for the summers of 2018 and
2019. In this region, four lignite-burning power plants are located. The
data assimilation technique, based on the Ensemble Kalman Filter method, is
employed to combine space-borne atmospheric observations from the high
spatial resolution Sentinel-5 Precursor (S5P) Tropospheric Monitoring
Instrument (TROPOMI) and simulations using the LOTOS-EUROS Chemical
Transport model. The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service-Regional
European emissions (CAMS-REG, version 4.2) inventory based on the year 2015
is used as the a priori emissions in the simulations. Surface measurements
of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from air quality stations operating in the region
are compared with the model surface NO2 output using either the a priori
(base run) or the a posteriori (assimilated run) NOx emissions. Relative to
the a priori emissions, the assimilation suggests a strong decrease in
concentrations for the station located near the largest power plant, by 80%
in 2019 and by 67% in 2018. Concerning the estimated annual a posteriori NOx
emissions, it was found that, for the pixels hosting the two largest power
plants, the assimilated run results in emissions decreased by ~40-50% for
2018 compared to 2015, whereas a larger decrease, of ~70% for both power
plants, was found for 2019, after assimilating the space-born observations.
For the same power plants, the European Pollutant Release and Transfer
Register (E-PRTR) reports decreased emissions in 2018 and 2019 compared to
2015 (-35% and -38% in 2018, -62% and -72% in 2019), in good agreement with
the estimated emissions. We further compare the a posteriori emissions to
the reported energy production of the power plants during the summer of 2018
and 2019. Mean decreases of about -35% and -63% in NOx emissions are
estimated for the two larger power plants in summer of 2018 and 2019,
respectively, which are supported by similar decreases in the reported
energy production of the power plants (~-30% and -70%, respectively).
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created: 13 July 2021
last modified: 13 July 2021