摘要：In this study, we compare the potential influence of inter-continental transport of sulfate
aerosols on the air quality of (different) continental regions. We use a global chemical
transport model, Model of Ozone and Related Tracers, version 2 (MOZART-2),
to quantify the source–receptor relationships of inter-continental transport of
sulfate aerosols among ten regions in 2000. In order to compare the importance of
foreign with domestic emissions and to estimate the effect of future changes in
emissions on human exposure, we define an 'influence potential' (IP). The IP
quantifies the human exposure that occurs in a receptor region as a result of a unit of
SO2 emissions from a source region. We find that due to the non-linear nature of sulfate production, regions
with low SO2 emissions usually have large domestic IP, and vice versa. An exception is East Asia (EA), which has both
high SO2 emissions and relatively large domestic IP, mostly caused by the spatial
coincidence of emissions and population. We find that inter-continental
IPs are usually less than domestic IPs by 1–3 orders of magnitude.
SO2 emissions from the Middle East (ME) and Europe (EU) have the largest potential to influence
populations in surrounding regions. By comparing the IP ratios (IPR) between foreign and domestic
SO2 emissions, we find that the IPR values range from 0.000 01 to 0.16 and
change with season. Therefore, if reducing human exposure to sulfate
aerosols is the objective, all regions should first focus on reducing domestic
SO2 emissions. In addition, we find that relatively high IPR values exist among the EU, ME,
the former Soviet Union (FSU) and African (AF) regions. Therefore, on the basis
of the IP and IPR values, we conclude that a regional agreement among EA
countries, and an inter-regional agreement among EU, ME, FSU and (north) AF
regions to control sulfur emissions could benefit public health in these regions.
