Impact of US SO2 emission reductions between 1970 and 2010 on seasonal sulfate aerosol burden and radiative forcing over the North Atlantic
Rathod, S., Vimont, D. J., Zweifel, J., Mahajan, S., Tilmes, S., et al. (2025). Impact of US SO2 emission reductions between 1970 and 2010 on seasonal sulfate aerosol burden and radiative forcing over the North Atlantic. Geophysical Research Letters, doi:https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL115337
| Title | Impact of US SO2 emission reductions between 1970 and 2010 on seasonal sulfate aerosol burden and radiative forcing over the North Atlantic |
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| Genre | Article |
| Author(s) | S. Rathod, D. J. Vimont, J. Zweifel, S. Mahajan, Simone Tilmes, X. Liu, W. Wang, D. Henderson, T. L'Ecuyer |
| Abstract | Sulfate burden over the North Atlantic Ocean (NATL) exhibits strong seasonality despite no seasonality in anthropogenic sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) emissions. However, the seasonality of sulfate aerosols over NATL has decreased since 1970, likely due to a reduction in the United States (US) SO 2 emissions following the Clean Air Act of 1970. We performed atmospheric chemistry and transport simulations to assess the impact of changing US SO 2 emissions between 1970 and 2010 on NATL sulfate burden and radiative forcing. United States SO 2 emission reductions weakened the seasonality in NATL sulfate burden by ∼17%, primarily due to a decrease in chemical production and transport in summer. These emission reductions caused a summertime radiative forcing (∼2 W m −2 ) twice as large as the wintertime forcing. Our findings highlight the complex, season‐dependent responses of sulfate burden and radiative effects to regional emission changes. |
| Publication Title | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Publication Date | Oct 28, 2025 |
| Publisher's Version of Record | https://doi.org/10.1029/2025GL115337 |
| OpenSky Citable URL | https://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d74f1w74 |
| OpenSky Listing | View on OpenSky |
| ACOM Affiliations | MODELING |