TY - JOUR A1 - Weger Coenen, Lindsey A1 - Leitão, Joana A1 - Lawrence, Mark T1 - Expected impacts on greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions due to a possible transition towards a hydrogen economy in German road transport JF - International journal of hydrogen energy : official journal of the International Association for Hydrogen Energy N2 - Transitioning German road transport partially to hydrogen energy is among the possibilities being discussed to help meet national climate targets. This study investigates impacts of a hypothetical, complete transition from conventionally-fueled to hydrogen-powered German transport through representative scenarios. Our results show that German emissions change between -179 and +95 MtCO(2)eq annually, depending on the scenario, with renewable-powered electrolysis leading to the greatest emissions reduction, while electrolysis using the fossilintense current electricity mix leads to the greatest increase. German energy emissions of regulated pollutants decrease significantly, indicating the potential for simultaneous air quality improvements. Vehicular hydrogen demand is 1000 PJ annually, requiring 446-525 TWh for electrolysis, hydrogen transport and storage, which could be supplied by future German renewable generation, supporting the potential for CO2-free hydrogen traffic and increased energy security. Thus hydrogen-powered transport could contribute significantly to climate and air quality goals, warranting further research and political discussion about this possibility. KW - Hydrogen economy KW - German road transport KW - Greenhouse gas mitigation KW - Air KW - pollution KW - Fuel cell electric vehicle KW - Emission scenarios Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.11.014 SN - 0360-3199 SN - 1879-3487 VL - 46 IS - 7 SP - 5875 EP - 5890 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - von Schneidemesser, Erika A1 - Mar, Kathleen A. A1 - Lawrence, Mark T1 - Klimawandel und Luftverschmutzung JF - Klimaschutz: Wissen und Handeln Y1 - 2021 SN - 978-3-7425-0672-6 SP - 119 EP - 133 PB - bpb, Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schneidemesser, Erika von A1 - Sibiya, Bheki A1 - Caseiro, Alexandre A1 - Butler, Tim A1 - Lawrence, Mark A1 - Leitao, Joana A1 - Lupaşcu, Aura A1 - Salvador, Pedro T1 - Learning from the COVID-19 lockdown in Berlin BT - Observations and modelling to support understanding policies to reduce NO2 JF - Atmospheric environment: X N2 - Urban air pollution is a substantial threat to human health. Traffic emissions remain a large contributor to air pollution in urban areas. The mobility restrictions put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic provided a large-scale real-world experiment that allows for the evaluation of changes in traffic emissions and the corresponding changes in air quality. Here we use observational data, as well as modelling, to analyse changes in nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter resulting from the COVID-19 restrictions at the height of the lockdown period in Spring of 2020. Accounting for the influence of meteorology on air quality, we found that reduction of ca. 30-50 % in traffic counts, dominated by changes in passenger cars, corresponded to reductions in median observed nitrogen dioxide concentrations of ca. 40 % (traffic and urban background locations) and a ca. 22 % increase in ozone (urban background locations) during weekdays. Lesser reductions in nitrogen dioxide concentrations were observed at urban background stations at weekends, and no change in ozone was observed. The modelled reductions in median nitrogen dioxide at urban background locations were smaller than the observed reductions and the change was not significant. The model results showed no significant change in ozone on weekdays or weekends. The lack of a simulated weekday/weekend effect is consistent with previous work suggesting that NOx emissions from traffic could be significantly underestimated in European cities by models. These results indicate the potential for improvements in air quality due to policies for reducing traffic, along with the scale of reductions that would be needed to result in meaningful changes in air quality if a transition to sustainable mobility is to be seriously considered. They also confirm once more the highly relevant role of traffic for air quality in urban areas. KW - Urban areas KW - Air pollution KW - Emissions KW - COVID-19 KW - Nitrogen dioxide KW - Ozone KW - Europe Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeaoa.2021.100122 SN - 2590-1621 VL - 12 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ramachandran, Srikanthan A1 - Rupakheti, Maheswar A1 - Lawrence, Mark T1 - Black carbon dominates the aerosol absorption over the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayan foothills JF - Environment international : a journal of science, technology, health, monitoring and policy N2 - This study, based on new and high quality in situ observations, quantifies for the first time, the individual contributions of light-absorbing aerosols (black carbon (BC), brown carbon (BrC) and dust) to aerosol absorption over the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) and the Himalayan foothill region, a relatively poorly studied region with several sensitive ecosystems of global importance, as well as highly vulnerable populations. The annual and seasonal average single scattering albedo (SSA) over Kathmandu is the lowest of all the locations. The SSA over Kathmandu is < 0.89 during all seasons, which confirms the dominance of light-absorbing carbonaceous aerosols from local and regional sources over Kathmandu. It is observed here that the SSA decreases with increasing elevation, confirming the dominance of light absorbing carbonaceous aerosols at higher elevations. In contrast, the SSA over the IGP does not exhibit a pronounced spatial variation. BC dominates (>= 75%) the aerosol absorption over the IGP and the Himalayan foothills throughout the year. Higher BC concentration at elevated locations in the Himalayas leads to lower SSA at elevated locations in the Himalayas. The contribution of dust to aerosol absorption is higher throughout the year over the IGP than over the Himalayan foothills. The aerosol absorption over South Asia is very high, exceeding available observations over East Asia, and also exceeds previous model estimates. This quantification will be valuable as observational constraints to help improve regional simulations of climate change, impacts on the glaciers and the hydrological cycle, and will help to direct the focus towards BC as the main contributor to aerosol-induced warming in the region. KW - atmospheric aerosols KW - characteristics KW - absorption KW - black carbon KW - brown KW - carbon KW - dust KW - Himalayas KW - IGP KW - South Asia Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2020.105814 SN - 0160-4120 SN - 1873-6750 VL - 142 PB - Elsevier CY - Oxford ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ramachandran, Srikanthan A1 - Rupakheti, Maheswar A1 - Lawrence, Mark T1 - Aerosol-induced atmospheric heating rate decreases over South and East Asia as a result of changing content and composition JF - Scientific reports N2 - Aerosol emissions from human activities are extensive and changing rapidly over Asia. Model simulations and satellite observations indicate a dipole pattern in aerosol emissions and loading between South Asia and East Asia, two of the most heavily polluted regions of the world. We examine the previously unexplored diverging trends in the existing dipole pattern of aerosols between East and South Asia using the high quality, two-decade long ground-based time series of observations of aerosol properties from the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), from satellites (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)), and from model simulations (Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications, version 2 (MERRA-2). The data cover the period since 2001 for Kanpur (South Asia) and Beijing (East Asia), two locations taken as being broadly representative of the respective regions. Since 2010 a dipole in aerosol optical depth (AOD) is maintained, but the trend is reversed-the decrease in AOD over Beijing (East Asia) is rapid since 2010, being 17% less in current decade compared to first decade of twenty-first century, while the AOD over South Asia increased by 12% during the same period. Furthermore, we find that the aerosol composition is also changing over time. The single scattering albedo (SSA), a measure of aerosol's absorption capacity and related to aerosol composition, is slightly higher over Beijing than Kanpur, and has increased from 0.91 in 2002 to 0.93 in 2017 over Beijing and from 0.89 to 0.92 during the same period over Kanpur, confirming that aerosols in this region have on an average become more scattering in nature. These changes have led to a notable decrease in aerosol-induced atmospheric heating rate (HR) over both regions between the two decades, decreasing considerably more over East Asia (- 31%) than over South Asia (- 9%). The annual mean HR is lower now, it is still large (>= 0.6 K per day), which has significant climate implications. The seasonal trends in AOD, SSA and HR are more pronounced than their respective annual trends over both regions. The seasonal trends are caused mainly by the increase/decrease in anthropogenic aerosol emissions (sulfate, black carbon and organic carbon) while the natural aerosols (dust and sea salt) did not change significantly over South and East Asia during the last two decades. The MERRA-2 model is able to simulate the observed trends in AODs well but not the magnitude, while it also did not simulate the SSA values or trends well. These robust findings based on observations of key aerosol parameters and previously unrecognized diverging trends over South and East Asia need to be accounted for in current state-of-the-art climate models to ensure accurate quantification of the complex and evolving impact of aerosols on the regional climate over Asia. Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-76936-z SN - 2045-2322 VL - 10 IS - 1 PB - Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature CY - [London] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Ramachandran, Srikanthan A1 - Rupakheti, Maheswar A1 - Cherian, R. A1 - Lawrence, Mark T1 - Climate Benefits of Cleaner Energy Transitions in East and South Asia Through Black Carbon Reduction JF - Frontiers in environmental science N2 - The state of air pollution has historically been tightly linked to how we produce and use energy. Air pollutant emissions over Asia are now changing rapidly due to cleaner energy transitions; however, magnitudes of benefits for climate and air quality remain poorly quantified. The associated risks involve adverse health impacts, reduced agricultural yields, reduced freshwater availability, contributions to climate change, and economic costs. We focus particularly on climate benefits of energy transitions by making first-time use of two decades of high quality observations of atmospheric loading of light-absorbing black carbon (BC) over Kanpur (South Asia) and Beijing (East Asia) and relating these observations to changing energy, emissions, and economic trends in India and China. Our analysis reveals that absorption aerosol optical depth (AAOD) due to BC has decreased substantially, by 40% over Kanpur and 60% over Beijing between 2001 and 2017, and thus became decoupled from regional economic growth. Furthermore, the resultant decrease in BC emissions and BC AAOD over Asia is regionally coherent and occurs primarily due to transitions into cleaner energies (both renewables and fossil fuels) and not due to the decrease in primary energy supply or decrease in use of fossil use and biofuels and waste. Model simulations show that BC aerosols alone contribute about half of the surface temperature change (warming) of the total forcing due to greenhouse gases, natural and internal variability, and aerosols, thus clearly revealing the climate benefits due to a reduction in BC emissions, which would significantly reduce global warming. However, this modeling study excludes responses from natural variability, circulation, and sea ice responses, which cause relatively strong temperature fluctuations that may mask signals from BC aerosols. Our findings show additional benefits for climate (beyond benefits of CO2 reduction) and for several other issues of sustainability over South and East Asia, provide motivation for ongoing cleaner energy production, and consumption transitions, especially when they are associated with reduced emissions of air pollutants. Such an analysis connecting the trends in energy transitions and aerosol absorption loading, unavailable so far, is crucial for simulating the aerosol climate impacts over Asia which is quite uncertain. KW - cleaner energy transitions KW - Asia KW - air pollution KW - black carbon KW - climate benefits Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.842319 SN - 2296-665X VL - 10 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne ER - TY - GEN A1 - Mahata, Khadak Singh A1 - Rupakheti, Maheswar A1 - Panday, Arnico Kumar A1 - Bhardwaj, Piyush A1 - Naja, Manish A1 - Singh, Ashish A1 - Mues, Andrea A1 - Cristofanelli, Paolo A1 - Pudasainee, Deepak A1 - Bonasoni, Paolo A1 - Lawrence, Mark T1 - Observation and analysis of spatio-temporal characteristics of surface ozone and carbon monoxide at multiple sites in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Residents of the Kathmandu Valley experience severe particulate and gaseous air pollution throughout most of the year, even during much of the rainy season. The knowledge base for understanding the air pollution in the Kathmandu Valley was previously very limited, but is improving rapidly due to several field measurement studies conducted in the last few years. Thus far, most analyses of observations in the Kathmandu Valley have been limited to short periods of time at single locations. This study extends on the past studies by examining the spatial and temporal characteristics of two important gaseous air pollutant (CO and O3) based on simultaneous observations over a longer period at five locations within the valley and on its rim, including a supersite (at Bode in the valley center, 1345m above sea level) and four satellite sites (at Paknajol, 1380masl in the Kathmandu city center, at Bhimdhunga (1522masl), a mountain pass on the valley's western rim, at Nagarkot (1901masl), another mountain pass on the eastern rim, and Naikhandi, near the valley's only river outlet). CO and O3 mixing ratios were monitored from January to July 2013, along with other gases and aerosol particles by instruments deployed at the Bode supersite during the international air pollution measurement campaign SusKat-ABC (Sustainable Atmosphere for the Kathmandu Valley – endorsed by the Atmospheric Brown Clouds program of UNEP). The O3 monitoring at Bode, Paknajol and Nagarkot as well as the CO monitoring at Bode were extended beyond July 2013 to investigate their variability over a complete annual cycle. Higher CO mixing ratios were found at Bode than at the outskirt sites (Bhimdhunga, Naikhandi and Nagarkot), and all sites except Nagarkot showed distinct diurnal cycles of CO mixing ratio with morning peaks and daytime lows. Seasonally, CO was higher during the pre-monsoon and winter seasons, especially due to the emissions from brick kiln industries, which only operate during this period, as well as increased domestic heating during winter, and regional forest fires and agro-residue burning. It was lower during the monsoon due to rainfall, which reduces open burning activities within the valley and in the surrounding regions, and thus reduces the sources of CO. The meteorology of the valley also played a key role in determining the CO mixing ratios. Furthermore, there was evidence of some influence of pollution from the greater region around the valley. A top-down estimate of the CO emission flux was made by using the CO mixing ratio and mixing layer height (MLH) measured at Bode. The estimated annual CO flux at Bode was 4.92μgm−2s−1, which is 2–14 times higher than that in widely used emission inventory databases (EDGAR HTAP, REAS and INTEX-B). This difference in CO flux between Bode and other emission databases likely arises from large uncertainties in both the top-down and bottom-up approaches to estimating the emission flux. The O3 mixing ratio was found to be highest during the pre-monsoon season at all sites, while the timing of the seasonal minimum varied across the sites. The daily maximum 8 hour average O3 exceeded the WHO recommended guideline of 50ppb on more days at the hilltop station of Nagarkot (159/357 days) than at the urban valley bottom sites of Paknajol (132/354 days) and Bode (102/353 days), presumably due to the influence of free-tropospheric air at the high-altitude site, as well as to titration of O3 by fresh NOx emissions near the urban sites. More than 78% of the exceedance days were during the pre-monsoon period at all sites. This was due to both favorable meteorological conditions as well as contributions of precursors from regional sources such as forest fires and agro-residue burning. The high O3 mixing ratio observed during the pre-monsoon period is of a high concern for human health and ecosystems, including agroecosystems in the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 848 Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-416626 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 848 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mahata, Khadak Singh A1 - Rupakheti, Maheswar A1 - Panday, Arnico Kumar A1 - Bhardwaj, Piyush A1 - Naja, Manish A1 - Singh, Ashish A1 - Mues, Andrea A1 - Cristofanelli, Paolo A1 - Pudasainee, Deepak A1 - Bonasoni, Paolo A1 - Lawrence, Mark T1 - Observation and analysis of spatiotemporal characteristics of surface ozone and carbon monoxide at multiple sites in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal JF - Atmosheric chemistry and physics N2 - It was lower during the monsoon due to rainfall, which reduces open burning activities within the valley and in the surrounding regions and thus reduces sources of CO. The meteorology of the valley also played a key role in determining the CO mixing ratios. The wind is calm and easterly in the shallow mixing layer, with a mixing layer height (MLH) of about 250 m, during the night and early morning. The MLH slowly increases after sunrise and decreases in the afternoon. As a result, the westerly wind becomes active and reduces the mixing ratio during the daytime. Furthermore, there was evidence of an increase in the O-3 mixing ratios in the Kathmandu Valley as a result of emissions in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) region, particularly from biomass burning including agroresidue burning. A top-down estimate of the CO emission flux was made by using the CO mixing ratio and mixing layer height measured at Bode. The estimated annual CO flux at Bode was 4.9 mu g M-2 s(-1), which is 2-14 times higher than that in widely used emission inventory databases (EDGAR HTAP, REAS and INTEX-B). This difference in CO flux between Bode and other emission databases likely arises from large uncertainties in both the top-down and bottom-up approaches to estimating the emission flux. The O-3 mixing ratio was found to be highest during the premonsoon season at all sites, while the timing of the seasonal minimum varied across the sites. The daily maximum 8 h average O-3 exceeded the WHO recommended guideline of 50 ppb on more days at the hilltop station of Nagarkot (159 out of 357 days) than at the urban valley bottom sites of Paknajol (132 out of 354 days) and Bode (102 out of 353 days), presumably due to the influence of free-tropospheric air at the high-altitude site (as also indicated by Putero et al., 2015, for the Paknajol site in the Kathmandu Valley) as well as to titration of O-3 by fresh NOx emissions near the urban sites. More than 78 % of the exceedance days were during the premonsoon period at all sites. The high O-3 mixing ratio observed during the premonsoon period is of a concern for human health and ecosystems, including agroecosystems in the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions. Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-14113-2018 SN - 1680-7316 SN - 1680-7324 VL - 18 IS - 19 SP - 14113 EP - 14132 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - GEN A1 - Mahata, Khadak Singh A1 - Panday, Arnico Kumar A1 - Rupakheti, Maheswar A1 - Singh, Ashish A1 - Naja, Manish A1 - Lawrence, Mark T1 - Seasonal and diurnal variations in methane and carbon dioxide in the Kathmandu Valley in the foothills of the central Himalayas T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - The SusKat-ABC (Sustainable Atmosphere for the Kathmandu Valley-Atmospheric Brown Clouds) international air pollution measurement campaign was carried out from December 2012 to June 2013 in the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nepal. The Kathmandu Valley is a bowl-shaped basin with a severe air pollution problem. This paper reports measurements of two major greenhouse gases (GHGs), methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), along with the pollutant CO, that began during the campaign and were extended for 1 year at the SusKat-ABC supersite in Bode, a semi-urban location in the Kathmandu Valley. Simultaneous measurements were also made during 2015 in Bode and a nearby rural site (Chanban) similar to 25 km (aerial distance) to the southwest of Bode on the other side of a tall ridge. The ambient mixing ratios of methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapor, and carbon monoxide (CO) were measured with a cavity ring-down spectrometer (G2401; Picarro, USA) along with meteorological parameters for 1 year (March 2013-March 2014). These measurements are the first of their kind in the central Himalayan foothills. At Bode, the annual average mixing ratios of CO2 and CH4 were 419.3 (+/- 6.0) ppm and 2.192 (+/- 0.066) ppm, respectively. These values are higher than the levels observed at background sites such as Mauna Loa, USA (CO2: 396.8 +/- 2.0 ppm, CH4: 1.831 +/- 0.110 ppm) and Waliguan, China (CO2: 397.7 +/- 3.6 ppm, CH4: 1.879 +/- 0.009 ppm) during the same period and at other urban and semi-urban sites in the region, such as Ahmedabad and Shadnagar (India). They varied slightly across the seasons at Bode, with seasonal average CH4 mixing ratios of 2.157 (+/- 0.230) ppm in the pre-monsoon season, 2.199 (+/- 0.241) ppm in the monsoon, 2.210 (+/- 0.200) ppm in the post-monsoon, and 2.214 (+/- 0.209) ppm in the winter season. The average CO2 mixing ratios were 426.2 (+/- 25.5) ppm in the pre-monsoon, 413.5 (+/- 24.2) ppm in the monsoon, 417.3 (+/- 23.1) ppm in the postmonsoon, and 421.9 (+/- 20.3) ppm in the winter season. The maximum seasonal mean mixing ratio of CH4 in winter was only 0.057 ppm or 2.6% higher than the seasonal minimum during the pre-monsoon period, while CO2 was 12.8 ppm or 3.1% higher during the pre-monsoon period (seasonal maximum) than during the monsoon (seasonal minimum). On the other hand, the CO mixing ratio at Bode was 191% higher during the winter than during the monsoon season. The enhancement in CO2 mixing ratios during the pre-monsoon season is associated with additional CO2 emissions from forest fires and agro-residue burning in northern South Asia in addition to local emissions in the Kathmandu Valley. Published CO = CO2 ratios of different emission sources in Nepal and India were compared with the observed CO = CO2 ratios in this study. This comparison suggested that the major sources in the Kathmandu Valley were residential cooking and vehicle exhaust in all seasons except winter. In winter, brick kiln emissions were a major source. Simultaneous measurements in Bode and Chanban (15 July-3 October 2015) revealed that the mixing ratios of CO2, CH4, and CO were 3.8, 12, and 64% higher in Bode than Chanban. The Kathmandu Valley thus has significant emissions from local sources, which can also be attributed to its bowl-shaped geography that is conducive to pollution build-up. At Bode, all three gas species (CO2, CH4, and CO) showed strong diurnal patterns in their mixing ratios with a pronounced morning peak (ca. 08:00), a dip in the afternoon, and a gradual increase again through the night until the next morning. CH4 and CO at Chanban, however, did not show any noticeable diurnal variations. These measurements provide the first insights into the diurnal and seasonal variation in key greenhouse gases and air pollutants and their local and regional sources, which is important information for atmospheric research in the region. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 610 KW - air-pollution transport KW - black carbon KW - trace gases KW - numerical-simulation KW - ozone concentrations KW - late wintertime KW - South-Asia KW - urban site KW - NCOP KW - India Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-416643 IS - 610 SP - 12573 EP - 12596 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Mahata, Khadak Singh A1 - Panday, Arnico Kumar A1 - Rupakheti, Maheswar A1 - Singh, Ashish A1 - Naja, Manish A1 - Lawrence, Mark T1 - Seasonal and diurnal variations in methane and carbon dioxide in the Kathmandu Valley in the foothills of the central Himalayas JF - Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics N2 - The SusKat-ABC (Sustainable Atmosphere for the Kathmandu Valley-Atmospheric Brown Clouds) international air pollution measurement campaign was carried out from December 2012 to June 2013 in the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding regions in Nepal. The Kathmandu Valley is a bowl-shaped basin with a severe air pollution problem. This paper reports measurements of two major greenhouse gases (GHGs), methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2), along with the pollutant CO, that began during the campaign and were extended for 1 year at the SusKat-ABC supersite in Bode, a semi-urban location in the Kathmandu Valley. Simultaneous measurements were also made during 2015 in Bode and a nearby rural site (Chanban) similar to 25 km (aerial distance) to the southwest of Bode on the other side of a tall ridge. The ambient mixing ratios of methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2), water vapor, and carbon monoxide (CO) were measured with a cavity ring-down spectrometer (G2401; Picarro, USA) along with meteorological parameters for 1 year (March 2013-March 2014). These measurements are the first of their kind in the central Himalayan foothills. At Bode, the annual average mixing ratios of CO2 and CH4 were 419.3 (+/- 6.0) ppm and 2.192 (+/- 0.066) ppm, respectively. These values are higher than the levels observed at background sites such as Mauna Loa, USA (CO2: 396.8 +/- 2.0 ppm, CH4: 1.831 +/- 0.110 ppm) and Waliguan, China (CO2: 397.7 +/- 3.6 ppm, CH4: 1.879 +/- 0.009 ppm) during the same period and at other urban and semi-urban sites in the region, such as Ahmedabad and Shadnagar (India). They varied slightly across the seasons at Bode, with seasonal average CH4 mixing ratios of 2.157 (+/- 0.230) ppm in the pre-monsoon season, 2.199 (+/- 0.241) ppm in the monsoon, 2.210 (+/- 0.200) ppm in the post-monsoon, and 2.214 (+/- 0.209) ppm in the winter season. The average CO2 mixing ratios were 426.2 (+/- 25.5) ppm in the pre-monsoon, 413.5 (+/- 24.2) ppm in the monsoon, 417.3 (+/- 23.1) ppm in the postmonsoon, and 421.9 (+/- 20.3) ppm in the winter season. The maximum seasonal mean mixing ratio of CH4 in winter was only 0.057 ppm or 2.6% higher than the seasonal minimum during the pre-monsoon period, while CO2 was 12.8 ppm or 3.1% higher during the pre-monsoon period (seasonal maximum) than during the monsoon (seasonal minimum). On the other hand, the CO mixing ratio at Bode was 191% higher during the winter than during the monsoon season. The enhancement in CO2 mixing ratios during the pre-monsoon season is associated with additional CO2 emissions from forest fires and agro-residue burning in northern South Asia in addition to local emissions in the Kathmandu Valley. Published CO = CO2 ratios of different emission sources in Nepal and India were compared with the observed CO = CO2 ratios in this study. This comparison suggested that the major sources in the Kathmandu Valley were residential cooking and vehicle exhaust in all seasons except winter. In winter, brick kiln emissions were a major source. Simultaneous measurements in Bode and Chanban (15 July-3 October 2015) revealed that the mixing ratios of CO2, CH4, and CO were 3.8, 12, and 64% higher in Bode than Chanban. The Kathmandu Valley thus has significant emissions from local sources, which can also be attributed to its bowl-shaped geography that is conducive to pollution build-up. At Bode, all three gas species (CO2, CH4, and CO) showed strong diurnal patterns in their mixing ratios with a pronounced morning peak (ca. 08:00), a dip in the afternoon, and a gradual increase again through the night until the next morning. CH4 and CO at Chanban, however, did not show any noticeable diurnal variations. These measurements provide the first insights into the diurnal and seasonal variation in key greenhouse gases and air pollutants and their local and regional sources, which is important information for atmospheric research in the region. Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-12573-2017 SN - 1680-7316 SN - 1680-7324 VL - 17 IS - 20 SP - 12573 EP - 12596 PB - Copernicus CY - Göttingen ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lawrence, Mark A1 - Williams, Stephen A1 - Nanz, Patrizia A1 - Renn, Ortwin T1 - Perspective Characteristics, potentials, and challenges of transdisciplinary research JF - One Earth N2 - Resolving the grand challenges and wicked problems of the Anthropocene will require skillfully combining a broad range of knowledge and understandings-both scientific and non-scientific-of Earth systems and human societies. One approach to this is transdisciplinary research, which has gained considerable interest over the last few decades, resulting in an extensive body of literature about transdisciplinarity. However, this has in turn led to the challenge that developing a good understanding of transdisciplinary research can require extensive effort. Here we provide a focused overview and perspective for disciplinary and interdisciplinary researchers who are interested in efficiently obtaining a solid understanding of transdisciplinarity. We describe definitions, characteristics, schools of thought, and an exemplary three-phase model of transdisciplinary research. We also discuss three key challenges that transdisciplinary research faces in the context of addressing the broader challenges of the Anthropocene, and we consider approaches to dealing with these specific challenges, based especially on our experiences with building up transdisciplinary research projects at the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies. Y1 - 2022 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.12.010 SN - 2590-3322 VL - 5 IS - 1 SP - 44 EP - 61 PB - Elsevier CY - Amsterdam ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lawrence, Mark A1 - Schäfer, Stefan A1 - Muri, Helene A1 - Scott, Vivian A1 - Oschlies, Andreas A1 - Vaughan, Naomi E. A1 - Boucher, Olivier A1 - Schmidt, Hauke A1 - Haywood, Jim A1 - Scheffran, Jürgen T1 - Evaluating climate geoengineering proposals in the context of the Paris Agreement temperature goals JF - Nature Communications N2 - Current mitigation efforts and existing future commitments are inadequate to accomplish the Paris Agreement temperature goals. In light of this, research and debate are intensifying on the possibilities of additionally employing proposed climate geoengineering technologies, either through atmospheric carbon dioxide removal or farther-reaching interventions altering the Earth’s radiative energy budget. Although research indicates that several techniques may eventually have the physical potential to contribute to limiting climate change, all are in early stages of development, involve substantial uncertainties and risks, and raise ethical and governance dilemmas. Based on present knowledge, climate geoengineering techniques cannot be relied on to significantly contribute to meeting the Paris Agreement temperature goals. KW - Atmospheric chemistry KW - Atmospheric dynamics KW - Atmospheric science KW - Climate change KW - Environmental impact Y1 - 2018 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05938-3 SN - 2041-1723 VL - 9 PB - Nature Publ. Group CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Lawrence, Mark A1 - Schäfer, Stefan T1 - Promises and perils of the Paris Agreement JF - Science Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw4602 SN - 0036-8075 SN - 1095-9203 VL - 364 IS - 6443 SP - 829 EP - 830 PB - American Association for the Advancement of Science CY - Washington ER -