Speaker: Viral Shah, post-doc in Jacob Group

Title: "Satellite-based tracking of recent changes in China’s NOx emissions"

Abstract: Nitrogen oxides (NOx) are emitted from the burning of fossil-fuels and in the air they react to form pollutants such as ozone and particulate matter. China’s NOx emissions had been growing steadily for decades, but started to drop in about 2010 when the Chinese government began to aggressively tackle air pollution. I assess the effectiveness of these government actions on NOx emissions using observations from a satellite-based instrument. Interestingly, I find that the NOx emission changes inferred from satellite measurements are larger than the changes estimated from a detailed accounting of all emission sources. It turns out that this mismatch is caused by concurrent changes in the atmospheric chemistry of NOx. In this talk I will discuss how NOx emissions in China have been changing over the past 15 years, how satellite measurements are used to track these changes, and how the nonlinear chemistry of NOx in the air complicates how these measurements can be used to infer changes in NOx emissions. 

GSPD comprises scientific talks up to one hour in length by graduate students and post docs, but all are welcome to attend, including faculty and staff. Lunch will be provided. Please bring reusable plates and cutlery to reduce waste.