Lei Duan

Significance Atmospheric ammonia plays important roles in fine particle pollution, acid rain, and nitrogen deposition. China, known as the world’s top emitter of gaseous ammonia, plans to control ammonia emissions to mitigate the haze pollution that has recently emerged. However, the complex side effects are still unclear. By integrating a chemical transport model, nationwide measurements, and a sophisticated ammonia emission model, we find that ammonia emission control would significantly aggravate acid rain pollution, thereby offsetting the benefit from reduced fine particle pollution and nitrogen deposition. Our work suggests that region-specific ammonia-control strategies provide a more rational and effective way to achieve the dual benefits of protecting human and ecosystem health in China.

ADVERTISEMENT RETURN TO ISSUEPREVFEATURENEXTAcid Rain in ChinaThorjorn Larssen, Espen Lydersen, Dagang Tang, Yi He, Jixi Gao, Haiying Liu, Lei Duan, Hans M. Seip, Rolf D. Vogt, Jan Mulder, Min Shao, Yanhui Wang, He Shang, Xiaoshan Zhang, Svein Solberg, Wenche Aas, Tonje Okland, Odd Eilertsen, Valter Angell, Quanru Li, Dawei Zhao, Renjun Xiang, Jinshong Xiao, and Jiahai LuoCite this: Environ. Sci. Technol. 2006, 40, 2, 418–425Publication Date (Web):January 15, 2006Publication History Published online15 January 2006Published inissue 1 January 2006https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es0626133https://doi.org/10.1021/es0626133newsACS Publications. This publication is available under these Terms of Use. Request reuse permissions This publication is free to access through this site. Learn MoreArticle Views43847Altmetric-Citations397LEARN ABOUT THESE METRICSArticle Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated. Share Add toView InAdd Full Text with ReferenceAdd Description ExportRISCitationCitation and abstractCitation and referencesMore Options Share onFacebookTwitterWechatLinked InRedditEmail PDF (329 KB) Get e-Alertsclose Get e-Alerts

China’s past economic growth has substantially relied on fossil fuels, causing serious air pollution issues. Decoupling economic growth and pollution has become the focus in developing ecological civilization in China. We have analyzed the three-decade progress of air pollution controls in China, highlighting a strategic transformation from emission control toward air quality management. Emission control of sulfur dioxide (SO2) resolved the deteriorating acid rain issue in China in 2007. Since 2013, control actions on multiple precursors and sectors have targeted the reduction of the concentration of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), marking a transition to an air-quality-oriented strategy. Increasing ozone (O3) pollution further requires O3 and PM2.5 integrated control strategies with an emphasis on their complex photochemical interactions. Fundamental improvement of air quality in China, as a key indicator for the success of ecological civilization construction, demands the deep de-carbonization of China’s energy system as well as more synergistic pathways to address air pollution and global climate change simultaneously.