Mapping Urban Air: Detecting, Reporting and Managing Trends in Urban CO2, and Air Quality Emissions

Mapping Urban Air: Detecting, Reporting and Managing Trends in Urban CO2, and Air Quality Emissions

Ronald C. Cohen, PhD
Distinguished Professor
Departments of Chemistry and Earth & Planetary Science
University of California, Berkeley

Nov. 19 @ 3 P.M.
Hybrid, Shaffer Room 3

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Abstract: Most people on earth live in cities and they are responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions. Cities are also where exposure to poor air quality is most frequent and most variable. Understanding and managing the path to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, improved public health and lower public health inequities requires a view into the emissions and atmospheric chemistry of cities with the fine grained detail that allows evaluation of specific processes and variations from one neighborhood to another. In this talk, I’ll describe the development of the Berkeley Environment, Air Quality and CO2 Network (BEACO2N ), a dense network for mapping urban CO2 , NOx , CO, O3 and aerosol. Integration of the BEACO2N maps with sophisticated Bayesian inversions employing high resolution weather models  and other approaches to analysis provides unique observational constraints on spatial and temporal patterns of CO2 and other emissions. Examples of analyses including a 5-yr trend associated with electric vehicle adoption in the SF Bay Area, a small fire and inferences of emission factors for  home heating and transportation will be described.