A detailed comparison of the Dutch emission inventory with satellite-derived NOx emissions

Abstract

Nitrogen oxides are one of the most important air pollutants with a large impact on human health. Their emissions are monitored by national emission inventories that are the basis for emission related policies. Because of their large impact on policies these emission data should ideally be verified against independent data, such as emission estimates derived from atmospheric observations. Here, we present a detailed comparison of NOx emissions from the Dutch national emission inventory with completely independent emission data derived with the DECSO algorithm from satellite observations by TROPOMI on board of sentinel 5-P. This is enabled by the introduction of a new high-resolution DECSO version DECSO-HR 6.5. We find good agreement in overall emission levels, the spatial emission pattern, the 5-year emission trend, and regional emissions, with deviations in the yearly variation of emissions and at large point sources. Our results demonstrate the robustness of the national inventory and the satellite-derived emissions. This approach might serve as a use-case for the adoption of similar methods in other countries.