Publication Abstracts

Gomez et al. 2023

Gomez, J., R.J. Allen, S.T. Turnock, L.W. Horowitz, K. Tsigaridis, S.E. Bauer, D. Olivié, E.S. Thomson, and P. Ginoux, 2023: The projected future degradation in air quality is caused by more abundant natural aerosols in a warmer world. Commun. Earth Environ., 4, no. 1, 22, doi:10.1038/s43247-023-00688-7.

Previous studies suggest that greenhouse gas-induced warming can lead to increased fine particulate matter concentrations and degraded air quality. However, significant uncertainties remain regarding the sign and magnitude of the response to warming and the underlying mechanisms. Here, we show that thirteen models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 all project an increase in global average concentrations of fine particulate matter in response to rising carbon dioxide concentrations, but the range of increase across models is wide. The two main contributors to this increase are increased abundance of dust and secondary organic aerosols via intensified West African monsoon and enhanced emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds, respectively. Much of the inter-model spread is related to different treatment of biogenic volatile organic compounds. Our results highlight the importance of natural aerosols in degrading air quality under current warming, while also emphasizing that improved understanding of biogenic volatile organic compounds emissions due to climate change is essential for numerically assessing future air quality.

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BibTeX Citation

@article{go09600r,
  author={Gomez, J. and Allen, R. J. and Turnock, S. T. and Horowitz, L. W. and Tsigaridis, K. and Bauer, S. E. and Olivié, D. and Thomson, E. S. and Ginoux, P.},
  title={The projected future degradation in air quality is caused by more abundant natural aerosols in a warmer world},
  year={2023},
  journal={Communications Earth and Environment},
  volume={4},
  number={1},
  pages={22},
  doi={10.1038/s43247-023-00688-7},
}

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RIS Citation

TY  - JOUR
ID  - go09600r
AU  - Gomez, J.
AU  - Allen, R. J.
AU  - Turnock, S. T.
AU  - Horowitz, L. W.
AU  - Tsigaridis, K.
AU  - Bauer, S. E.
AU  - Olivié, D.
AU  - Thomson, E. S.
AU  - Ginoux, P.
PY  - 2023
TI  - The projected future degradation in air quality is caused by more abundant natural aerosols in a warmer world
JA  - Commun. Earth Environ.
JO  - Communications Earth and Environment
VL  - 4
IS  - 1
SP  - 22
DO  - 10.1038/s43247-023-00688-7
ER  -

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