A model investigation of the impact of increases in anthropogenic NOx emissions between 1967 and 1980 on tropospheric ozone

The impact of anthropogenic NOx emission on tropospheric ozone has been investigated. Two statistical models were used for estimating annual global emissions of NOx and for driving the trend in the emission for the years 1966-1980. Both models show a steady increase in the NOx emission, except for two brief periods of leveling off: after 1973 and after 1978. The impact was estimated by calculating the rates of emissions as functions of latitude, longitude, and year, with a one-dimensional (latitudinal) model, which included coupled tropospheric photochemistry and diffusive meridional transport. Steady-state photochemical calculations with prescribed NOx emissions appropriate for 1966 and 1980 indicate an ozone increase of 8-11 percent in the Northern Hemisphere, a result compatible with the rise in ozone suggested by the observations.