Inconsistencies in sulfur dioxide emissions from the Canadian oil sands and potential implications

Bibliographic Data

ID15547775
AuthorsC A McLinden (0000-0001-5054-1380, Environment and Climate Change Canada, corresponding author), C Adams (0009-0004-1439-2663, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas), Cristen L F Adams, Vitali Fioletov (0000-0002-2731-5956, Environment and Climate Change Canada), Debora Griffin (0000-0002-4849-9125, Environment and Climate Change Canada), Paul A Makar (Environment and Climate Change Canada), Xiaoyi Zhao (0000-0003-4784-4502, Environment and Climate Change Canada), Andrew Kovachik (0009-0007-4575-2096, Environment and Climate Change Canada), N Dickson (0000-0002-6865-2369, University of Waterloo), Cassandra Brown, C T Brown (Alberta Environment and Protected Areas), N A Krotkov (0000-0001-6170-6750, Goddard Space Flight Center), Nicolay Krotkov, Can Li (0000-0001-8438-1549, Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, corresponding author), Nicolas Theys (0000-0002-3931-2429, Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy), Pascal Hedelt (0000-0002-1752-0040, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)), Diego Loyola (0000-0002-8547-9350, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR)), Diego G Loyola
Year2020
Volume16
Issue1
Pages014012-014012
Publication date2020-11-18
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnvironmental Research Letters (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326
PublisherIOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1088/1748-9326/abcbbb
OpenAlexW3102016469
LanguageEN
References cited33

Satellite-derived and reported sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) emissions from the Canadian oil sands are shown to have been consistent up to 2013. Post-2013, these sources of emissions data diverged, with reported emissions dropping by a factor of two, while satellite-derived emissions for the region remained relatively constant, with the discrepancy (satellite-derived emissions minus reported emissions) peaking at 50 kt(SO 2 ) yr -1 around 2016. The 2013-2014 period corresponds to when new flue-gas desulfurization units came on-line. Previous work has established a high level of consistency between at-stack SO 2 emissions observations and satellite estimates, and surface monitoring network SO 2 concentrations over the same multi-year period show similar trends as the satellite data, with a slight increase in concentrations post-2013. No clear explanation for this discrepancy currently exists. The implications of the discrepancy towards estimated total sulfur deposition to downwind ecosystems were estimated relative to 2013 emissions levels, with the satellite-derived values leaving the area of regional critical load exceedances of aquatic ecosystems largely unchanged from 2013 values, 335 000 km 2 , and reported values potentially decreasing this area to 185 000 km 2

Atmospheric sciences · Climatology · Deposition (geology · Ecosystem · Geography · Meteorology · Satellite · Structural basin · Sulfur dioxide · Atmospheric and Environmental Gas Dynamics · Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols · Atmospheric Ozone and Climate · Chemistry · Environmental Science · Geology