Publications [#185006] of William L Chameides

Papers Published

  1. Chameides, WL and Li, XS and Tang, XY and Zhou, XJ and Luo, C and Kiang, CS and St John, J and Saylor, R and Liu, SC and Lam, KS and Wang, T, Possible effects of ozone pollution on crop yields in China, in INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON NUCLEAR WAR AND PLANETARY EMERGENCIES - 22ND SESSION - NUCLEAR SUBMARINE DECONTAMINATION, CHEMICAL STOCKPILED WEAPONS, NEW EPIDEMICS, CLONING OF GENES, NEW MILITARY THREATS, GLOBAL PLANETARY CHANGES: OZONE HOLE & CLIMATE IMPACT,, SCIENCE AND CULTURE SERIES: NUCLEAR STRATEGY AND PEACE TECHNOLOGY, edited by Goebel, K (1998), pp. 194-206, ISBN 981-02-3526-7
    (last updated on 2010/12/22)

    Abstract:
    While stratospheric O-3 protects life by absorbing harmful solar UV radiation, ground-level O-3 can harm life by oxidizing living tissue. Anthropogenic emissions of nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, and carbon monoxide increase ground-level O-3 on regional scales and may have caused a factor of 2-3 increase in background O-3 in the northern hemisphere over the past century. One consequence may be a reduction in agricultural crop yields. In this work, we assess whether O-3 pollution is affecting crops in China, the world's most populous and rapidly developing nation. An analysis of O-3 data from China indicates that winter wheat production in the Yangtze Delta region may be significantly reduced by O-3 pollution. Model calculations suggest that rice and corn production in the Yellow River, Pearl River, Sichuan, and northern Yangtze River regions may also be impacted. If these effects grow with increased industrialization, they could offset planned efforts to boost agricultural production in China to meet increasing food demands in the coming decades.

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