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| Open AccessDNA nano-pocket for ultra-selective uranyl extraction from seawater
The extraction of metals from seawater is an area of great potential; especially for the extraction of uranium. Here, the authors report on the synthesis of a DNA based uranium adsorbent with high selectivity and demonstrate the potential for the DNA based extraction of high-value soluble minerals from seawater.
- Yihui Yuan
- , Tingting Liu
- & Ning Wang
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Article
| Open AccessA circumpolar dust conveyor in the glacial Southern Ocean
Dust deposition brings iron that fuels ocean productivity, a connection impacting climate over geological time. Here the authors use sediment cores to show that in contrast to dynamics today, during the last glacial maximum westerly winds shuttled dust from Australia and South America around Antarctica and into the South Pacific.
- Torben Struve
- , Katharina Pahnke
- & Gisela Winckler
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Article
| Open AccessRole of export industries on ozone pollution and its precursors in China
The global supply chain and demand for export goods can lead to relocated emissions. Goods produced in China for foreign markets have lead to an increase of domestic non-methane volatile organic compounds emissions by 3.5 million tons in 2013 resulting in potentially an estimated 16,889 premature deaths annually.
- Jiamin Ou
- , Zhijiong Huang
- & Dabo Guan
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Perspective
| Open AccessTowards a global-scale soil climate mitigation strategy
Reducing soil degradation and improving soil management could make an important contribute to climate change mitigation. Here the authors discuss opportunities and challenges towards implementing a global climate mitigation strategy focused on carbon sequestration in agricultural soils, and propose a framework for guiding region- and soil-specific management options.
- W. Amelung
- , D. Bossio
- & A. Chabbi
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Article
| Open AccessNeglecting uncertainties biases house-elevation decisions to manage riverine flood risks
This study investigates the effects of uncertainties on the decision of how high to elevate a house in flood-prone areas. Accounting for several uncertainties suggests avenues on how to improve guidelines from FEMA.
- Mahkameh Zarekarizi
- , Vivek Srikrishnan
- & Klaus Keller
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Perspective
| Open AccessMicroplastic regulation should be more precise to incentivize both innovation and environmental safety
Plastic pollution is recognized as a global threat, but policy hurdles and a lack of effective plastic substitutes contribute to the problem. In this Perspective, the authors argue that an effective and sustainable path forward must rely on key restrictions and regulations optimized for impact and efficacy.
- Denise M. Mitrano
- & Wendel Wohlleben
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Article
| Open AccessPearl millet genomic vulnerability to climate change in West Africa highlights the need for regional collaboration
Replacement of local crops with alternative varieties adapted to future conditions may improve food security under climate change. Here the authors apply landscape genomics and ensemble climate modelling to pearl millet in West Africa, supporting the potential of transfrontier assisted seed exchange.
- Bénédicte Rhoné
- , Dimitri Defrance
- & Yves Vigouroux
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Article
| Open AccessNear-real-time monitoring of global CO2 emissions reveals the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has stopped many human activities, which has had significant impact on emissions of greenhouse gases. Here, the authors present daily estimates of country-level CO2 emissions for different economic sectors and show that there has been a 8.8% decrease in global CO2 emissions in the first half of 2020.
- Zhu Liu
- , Philippe Ciais
- & Hans Joachim Schellnhuber
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Article
| Open AccessUnconventional oil and gas development and ambient particle radioactivity
Unconventional oil and gas production has increased drastically in the US, but its environmental impacts are not well known. Here, the authors show that these wells can be associated with elevated levels of airborne particle radioactivity in downwind locations.
- Longxiang Li
- , Annelise J. Blomberg
- & Petros Koutrakis
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Article
| Open AccessOverestimation of the effect of climatic warming on spring phenology due to misrepresentation of chilling
Climate warming is advancing spring leaf unfolding, but it is also reducing the cold periods that many trees require to break winter dormancy. Here, the authors show that 7 of 12 current chilling models fail to account for the correct relationship between chilling accumulation and heat requirement, leading to substantial overestimates of the advance of spring phenology under climate change.
- Huanjiong Wang
- , Chaoyang Wu
- & Quansheng Ge
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Article
| Open AccessCoastal flooding will disproportionately impact people on river deltas
Coastal river delta regions are particularly impacted by the effects of climate change, yet though these regions are densely inhabited, robust estimates of population are lacking. Here the authors use global datasets to predict the number of people and regions most threatened by flooding and extreme weather.
- Douglas A. Edmonds
- , Rebecca L. Caldwell
- & Sacha M. O. Siani
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Article
| Open AccessHalf of resources in threatened species conservation plans are allocated to research and monitoring
How to best allocate limited resources for conserving imperilled species is a difficult challenge. Here the authors analyse data on over 2000 threatened species from USA, Australia, and New Zealand, finding that on average half of the budget is allocated to research and monitoring. Species with higher budget allocation to research and monitoring tend to have poorer recovery outcomes.
- Rachel T. Buxton
- , Stephanie Avery-Gomm
- & Joseph R. Bennett
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Article
| Open AccessCompounding impact of severe weather events fuels marine heatwave in the coastal ocean
Exposure to extreme events is a major concern in coastal regions where human populations and stressed ecosystems are at risk to such phenomena. Here the authors show a marine heatwave on the continental shelf resulted from a novel set of compounding effects due to a tropical storm followed by an atmospheric heatwave.
- B. Dzwonkowski
- , J. Coogan
- & T. Lee
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Article
| Open AccessOver 90 endangered fish and invertebrates are caught in industrial fisheries
Due to legislative shortfalls, species of global conservation concern can still be captured in commercial fisheries. Here the authors show that 91 threatened species are reported in catch/landing databases, 13 of which are traded internationally despite their conservation concern.
- Leslie A. Roberson
- , Reg A. Watson
- & Carissa J. Klein
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Article
| Open AccessEstimating retention benchmarks for salvage logging to protect biodiversity
Salvage logging has become a common practice to gain economic returns from naturally disturbed forests, but it could have considerable negative effects on biodiversity. Here the authors use a recently developed statistical method to estimate that ca. 75% of the naturally disturbed forest should be left unlogged to maintain 90% of the species unique to the area.
- Simon Thorn
- , Anne Chao
- & Alexandro B. Leverkus
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Article
| Open AccessCold spells in the Nordic Seas during the early Eocene Greenhouse
The early Eocene was characterized by exceptionally high global temperatures and no polar ice. Here, clumped isotope paleothermometry of glendonite calcite from the Danish Basin shows that these were formed in waters below 5 °C, indicating that regionalised cool episodes punctuated the background warmth of the early Eocene.
- Madeleine L. Vickers
- , Sabine K. Lengger
- & Christoph Korte
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Article
| Open AccessPotential impacts of mercury released from thawing permafrost
Permafrost locks away the largest reservoir of mercury on the planet, but climate warming threatens to thaw these systems. Here the authors use models to show that unconstrained fossil fuel burning will dramatically increase the amount of mercury released into future ecosystems.
- Kevin Schaefer
- , Yasin Elshorbany
- & Elsie M. Sunderland
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Article
| Open AccessSpatial validation reveals poor predictive performance of large-scale ecological mapping models
Mapping ecological variables using machine-learning algorithms based on remote-sensing data has become a widespread practice in ecology. Here, the authors use forest biomass mapping as a study case to show that the most common model validation approach, which ignores data spatial structure, leads to overoptimistic assessment of model predictive power.
- Pierre Ploton
- , Frédéric Mortier
- & Raphaël Pélissier
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Article
| Open AccessEcosystem-based fisheries management forestalls climate-driven collapse
Ecosystem Based Management measures developed to prevent overfishing could be particularly important under climate change. Here the authors combine climate and fish stock modelling to show that EBM cap implementation reduces climate-driven fishery declines under RCP 4.5 and 8.5 before midcentury. However, there are thermal tipping points beyond which potential collapses are predicted.
- K. K. Holsman
- , A. C. Haynie
- & A. E. Punt
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Article
| Open AccessMethane emissions from natural gas vehicles in China
The methane emissions from natural gas vehicles (NGVs) are unclear. Here the authors report high methane emissions from heavy-duty NGVs, and by using a scenario analysis show that strictly implementing the upcoming China VI standard could reduce GHG emissions by 509 Mt CO2eq for 2020-2030.
- Da Pan
- , Lei Tao
- & Mark A. Zondlo
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Article
| Open AccessA gas-to-particle conversion mechanism helps to explain atmospheric particle formation through clustering of iodine oxides
“How iodine-bearing molecules contribute to atmospheric aerosol formation is not well understood. Here, the authors provide a new gas-to-particle conversion mechanism and show that clustering of iodine oxides is an essential component of this process while previously proposed iodic acid does not play a large role.”
- Juan Carlos Gómez Martín
- , Thomas R. Lewis
- & Alfonso Saiz-Lopez
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Article
| Open AccessCropland expansion in the United States produces marginal yields at high costs to wildlife
Conversion of natural ecosystems to cropland is a threat to most native wildlife. Here the authors quantify the impact of recent cropland expansion on the habitat of representative pollinator, bird, plant species across the conterminous United States, showing diminished crop yield returns at the cost of important habitat losses.
- Tyler J. Lark
- , Seth A. Spawn
- & Holly K. Gibbs
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| Open AccessRenewable energy production will exacerbate mining threats to biodiversity
Renewable energy production is necessary to mitigate climate change, however, generating the required technologies and infrastructure will demand huge production increases of many metals. Here, the authors map mining areas and assess spatial coincidence with biodiversity conservation sites, and show that new mining threats to biodiversity may surpass those averted by climate change mitigation.
- Laura J. Sonter
- , Marie C. Dade
- & Rick K. Valenta
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Article
| Open AccessAdsorption of rare earth elements in regolith-hosted clay deposits
Global resources of heavy Rare Earth Elements (REE) are dominantly sourced from Chinese regolith-hosted ion-adsorption deposits, yet the adsorption mechanisms remain unclear. Here, the authors find that heavy REE are adsorbed as easily leachable 8-coordinated outer-sphere hydrated complexes, dominantly onto kaolinite, in clays from both China and Madagascar.
- Anouk M. Borst
- , Martin P. Smith
- & Kalotina Geraki
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Article
| Open AccessSocietal benefits of halving agricultural ammonia emissions in China far exceed the abatement costs
Global largest agricultural ammonia (NH3) emissions in China have caused severe damage to both ecosystem and human health, yet no policy is formulated to reduce NH3 emissions. Here, the authors show that halving agricultural NH3 emissions with feasible technical mitigation options in China generates far more societal benefits than abatement costs.
- Xiuming Zhang
- , Baojing Gu
- & Deli Chen
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Article
| Open AccessInsights into projected changes in marine heatwaves from a high-resolution ocean circulation model
Marine heatwaves are likely to intensify in a warmer world, but prediction of these events is hampered by course-scale modeling. Here the authors develop a fine scale, global model which shows that marine heatwaves will amplify with greater spatial variability, particularly at western boundary regions.
- Hakase Hayashida
- , Richard J. Matear
- & Xuebin Zhang
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Comment
| Open AccessMisconceptions about weather and seasonality must not misguide COVID-19 response
Weather may marginally affect COVID-19 dynamics, but misconceptions about the way that climate and weather drive exposure and transmission have adversely shaped risk perceptions for both policymakers and citizens. Future scientific work on this politically-fraught topic needs a more careful approach.
- Colin J. Carlson
- , Ana C. R. Gomez
- & Sadie J. Ryan
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Comment
| Open AccessUnfinished business after five decades of ozone-layer science and policy
The Montreal Protocol has begun to heal the Antarctic ozone hole and avoided more global warming than any other treaty. Still, recent research shows that new unexpected emissions of several chlorofluorocarbons, carbon tetrachloride, and hydrofluorocarbons, are undermining the Protocol’s success. It is time for policymakers to plug the holes in the ozone hole treaty.
- Susan Solomon
- , Joseph Alcamo
- & A. R. Ravishankara
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| Open AccessQuantifying net loss of global mangrove carbon stocks from 20 years of land cover change
Mangroves and the carbon they store are threatened by deforestation, but the efficacy of policies to protect them is unknown. Here the authors assess changes in mangrove carbon stocks between 1996 and 2016 and show less loss than previous methods estimated, indicating conservation has had a positive effect.
- Daniel R. Richards
- , Benjamin S. Thompson
- & Lahiru Wijedasa
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Article
| Open AccessHigh concentrations of plastic hidden beneath the surface of the Atlantic Ocean
The risks posed by plastic contamination of the ocean cannot be assessed as their amount and location remain largely unknown. Here the authors show that large quantities of microplastics exist below the ocean surface over the entire Atlantic in quantities greater than previously estimated.
- Katsiaryna Pabortsava
- & Richard S. Lampitt
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Article
| Open AccessNanoscale mechanism of UO2 formation through uranium reduction by magnetite
In anoxic environments, soluble hexavalent uranium is reduced and immobilized, however, the underlying molecular-scale reduction mechanism remains unknown. Here, the authors find that U reduction can occur on the surface of magnetite via transient U nanowire structures which collapse into ordered UO2 nanoclusters, which may have implications for understanding nuclear waste evolution and remediation of uranium contamination.
- Zezhen Pan
- , Barbora Bártová
- & Rizlan Bernier-Latmani
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Article
| Open AccessA nature-inspired hydrogen-bonded supramolecular complex for selective copper ion removal from water
Heavy metals and metalloids pose major threats to health and environmental ecosystems, thus systems for low-cost remediation are needed. Here the authors report the scalable design of a hydrogen-bonded organic–inorganic framework for selective removal of trace heavy metal ions from water.
- Ngoc T. Bui
- , Hyungmook Kang
- & Jeffrey J. Urban
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Article
| Open AccessGas hydrate dissociation linked to contemporary ocean warming in the southern hemisphere
Ocean warming could enable the release of methane related to hydrate dissociation from the ocean floor, a process thought to have triggered abrupt climate changes in Earth history. Here the authors detect this process in action, observing a massive release of methane from a site in the South Atlantic Ocean.
- Marcelo Ketzer
- , Daniel Praeg
- & José A. Cupertino
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Article
| Open AccessAsteroid shower on the Earth-Moon system immediately before the Cryogenian period revealed by KAGUYA
Ancient impact events on Earth are not well characterized due to continuous re-surfacing of Earth. Here, the authors study impact craters on the Moon with ages up to 800 million years ago and present a cross correlation to Earth, linking up to mass extinction events throughout Earth’s history.
- Kentaro Terada
- , Tomokatsu Morota
- & Mami Kato
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Article
| Open AccessAnthropogenic stressors impact fish sensory development and survival via thyroid disruption
Anthropogenic stressors affect many aspects of marine organismal health. Here, the authors expose surgeonfish to temperature and pesticide stressors and show that the stressors, separately and in combination, have adverse effects on thyroid signaling, which disrupts several sensory systems and important predation defenses.
- Marc Besson
- , William E. Feeney
- & David Lecchini
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Article
| Open AccessA scalable method for preparing Cu electrocatalysts that convert CO2 into C2+ products
Selective reduction of carbon dioxide to high-value products is key for advancing carbon capture and utilization technologies. Here the authors prepare a copper catalyst for electrocatalytic conversion of carbon dioxide to C2+ products with enhanced selectivity that is attributed to a high density of surface defects.
- Taehee Kim
- & G. Tayhas R. Palmore
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Article
| Open AccessIon sieving by a two-dimensional Ti3C2Tx alginate lamellar membrane with stable interlayer spacing
Two dimensional lamellar membranes are attractive for anomalous water and ion transfer, but performance is hindered by swelling. Here, the authors stabilize a MXene membrane laminar architecture with fixed nanochannels, achieving highly selective acid recovery from iron-based wastewater.
- Jin Wang
- , Zhijie Zhang
- & Lei Wang
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Article
| Open AccessAtmospheric transport is a major pathway of microplastics to remote regions
Plastic pollution is a critical concern across diverse ecosystems, yet most research has focused on terrestrial and aquatic transport, neglecting other mechanisms. Here the authors show that atmospheric transport is a major pathway for road plastic pollution over remote regions.
- N. Evangeliou
- , H. Grythe
- & A. Stohl
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Article
| Open AccessMethylmercury produced in upper oceans accumulates in deep Mariana Trench fauna
Monomethylmercury is a toxin that humans can be exposed to after consumption of seafood in which it has bioaccumulated. Here the authors show that amphipods in the deepest point of the global ocean contain monomethylmercury with surface origins, suggesting rapid sinking of this toxin on particles.
- Ruoyu Sun
- , Jingjing Yuan
- & Congqiang Liu
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Article
| Open AccessContactless probing of polycrystalline methane hydrate at pore scale suggests weaker tensile properties than thought
The authors here report tensile properties of polycrystalline methane hydrate at the micron scale by applying a contactless, thermos-induced stress to a tenuous shell of hydrate grown in a thin glass capillary. The results suggest that the cohesive strength of methane hydrate in marine settings may be an order of magnitude less than currently thought.
- Dyhia Atig
- , Daniel Broseta
- & Ross Brown
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Article
| Open AccessCoastal sedimentation across North America doubled in the 20th century despite river dams
The proliferation of dams since 1950 has promoted sediment deposition in reservoirs, which is thought to be starving the coast of sediment and decreasing resistance to storms and sea-level rise. Here, the authors show that century-long records of sediment mass accumulation rates and sediment accumulation rates more than doubled after 1950 in coastal depocenters around North America.
- A. B. Rodriguez
- , B. A. McKee
- & A. N. Atencio
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Article
| Open AccessRapid glacier retreat and downwasting throughout the European Alps in the early 21st century
Glaciers in the European Alps are strongly affected by global warming, yet there is no methodologically consistent alpine-wide analysis on glacier changes. Here the authors show significant glacier retreat and an ice mass loss of 1.3 ± 0.2 Gt a−1, derived from contemporaneous measurements of glacier areas and elevations.
- Christian Sommer
- , Philipp Malz
- & Matthias H. Braun
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Perspective
| Open AccessScientists’ warning on affluence
Current environmental impact mitigation neglects over-consumption from affluent citizens as a primary driver. The authors highlight the role of bottom-up movements to overcome structural economic growth imperatives spurring consumption by changing structures and culture towards safe and just systems.
- Thomas Wiedmann
- , Manfred Lenzen
- & Julia K. Steinberger
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| Open AccessAssessing the effectiveness of a national protected area network for carnivore conservation
Assessing the effectiveness of protected areas for wildlife conservation is challenging. Here, Terraube et al. combine statistical matching and hurdle mixed-effects models to show that PAs have limited impact on population densities of large carnivores across Finland.
- J. Terraube
- , J. Van doninck
- & M. Cabeza
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Article
| Open AccessNon-natural ruthenium isotope ratios of the undeclared 2017 atmospheric release consistent with civilian nuclear activities
A cloud of enhanced ruthenium concentrations has been observed over Europe in 2017, but no country has acknowledged responsibility for this nuclear release. Here, the authors show that the stable isotopic composition of ruthenium emitted from nuclear fuel reprocessing during the 2017 event is consistent with the isotopic signature of civilian Russian nuclear reactor fuel.
- Timo Hopp
- , Dorian Zok
- & Georg Steinhauser
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Article
| Open AccessQuantifying the drivers and predictability of seasonal changes in African fire
Fire is an important component of many African ecosystems, but prediction of fire activity is challenging. Here, the authors use a statistical framework to assess the seasonal environmental drivers of African fire, which allow for a better prediction of fire activity.
- Yan Yu
- , Jiafu Mao
- & Yaoping Wang
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Article
| Open AccessFast sulfate formation from oxidation of SO2 by NO2 and HONO observed in Beijing haze
How sulfur dioxide emitted through coal combustion is oxidized to sulfate particles during winter haze pollution events has been the subject of debate. Here, the authors show that rapid oxidation takes place by nitrogen dioxide and nitrous acid, producing nitrous oxide together with sulfate.
- Junfeng Wang
- , Jingyi Li
- & Daniel J. Jacob
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| Open AccessFires prime terrestrial organic carbon for riverine export to the global oceans
Black carbon is a recalcitrant and unique form of organic carbon formed from incomplete combustion. Here the authors use global sampling to reduce uncertainty in the flux of terrestrial black carbon to the oceans, predicting that 34% of black carbon produced by fires has an oceanic fate.
- Matthew W. Jones
- , Alysha I. Coppola
- & Timothy A. Quine
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Article
| Open AccessA big data approach to improving the vehicle emission inventory in China
There lacks a method to measure the rapid changes of vehicle emissions. Here the authors proposed a big data approach ‘TrackATruck’, and their estimates using the new approach show that the heavy-duty trucks (HDT) emissions of primary cargo routes/terminals were underestimated by 2–10 times in proxy-based emission inventories.
- Fanyuan Deng
- , Zhaofeng Lv
- & Huan Liu