New dashboard combines emission sources for the US

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have produced a dashboard which combines information on greenhouse gas and air quality pollutant sources, offering benefits for both climate and public health solutions.

The dashboard is known as GRA²PES (GReenhouse gas And Air Pollutants Emissions System) and is available on the US Greenhouse Gas Center portal. It is intended that the tool will enable city leaders to more easily identify and take steps to address air quality issues while reducing climate-related hazards.

GRA²PES draws from existing datasets to model and map greenhouse gases (Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Oxides) and air pollutants (Sulphur Dioxide, Particulate Matter), offering fine-resolution information about monthly emissions for multiple sectors

Combining greenhouse gasses and air pollution in the same dataset will be extremely helpful, says Columbia University atmospheric scientist Roisin Commane, the lead on a New York City project to improve emissions estimates: ‘My work focuses on emissions from the burning of fossil fuels to fingerprint the sources of greenhouse gases. But, at the moment, we have to use a mish-mash of datasets and we spend way too much time trying to figure out their different ways of representing things.’

The projects draws on the fact that reducing GHGs can also improve air quality while reducing climate impacts. For example, nitrogen oxides – a secondary GHG – and carbon dioxide – the primary GHG caused by humans – are both byproducts of fossil fuel burning and both are hazardous air pollutants. 

Brian McDonald, a scientist with NOAA’s Chemical Sciences Laboratory whose research focuses on modeling atmospheric composition said: ‘Using GRA²PES, we can see that with the electrification of transportation in New York City, carbon dioxide could be reduced by 43%, while nitrogen oxide emissions could be simultaneously reduced by 62%.

‘With GRA²PES we can explore this connection between air quality and greenhouse gas emissions more effectively than in the past.

‘In the future, air quality managers will be greenhouse gas emissions managers too.’

The dashboard can be accessed here.