Global assessment of shipping emissions in 2015 on a high spatial and temporal resolution

• Published in: Atmospheric environment (1994) Vol. 167; pp. 403 - 415
• Main Authors: Johansson, Lasse, Jalkanen, Jukka-Pekka, Kukkonen, Jaakko
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.10.2017
• Subjects: air quality; AIS; atmospheric chemistry; carbon dioxide; CO2; data collection; emissions; energy; energy use and consumption; geometry; Global shipping emissions; greenhouse gases; inventories; nitrogen oxides; particulates; satellites; ships; Shortest path networks; STEAM; sulfur dioxide; traffic; STEAM; AIS; Global shipping emissions; Shortest path networks; CO2
• ISSN: 1352-2310; 1873-2844; 1873-2844
• DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2017.08.042

We present a comprehensive global shipping emission inventory and the global activities of ships for the year 2015. The emissions were evaluated using the Ship Traffic Emission Assessment Model (STEAM3), which uses Automatic Identification System data to describe the traffic activities of ships. We have improved the model regarding (i) the evaluation of the missing technical specifications of ships, and (ii) the treatment of shipping activities in case of sparse satellite AIS-data. We have developed a model for the collection and processing of available information on the technical specifications, using data assimilation techniques. We have also developed a path regeneration model that constructs, whenever necessary, the detailed geometry of the ship routes. The presented results for fuel consumption were qualitatively in agreement both with those in the 3rd Greenhouse Gas Study of the International Maritime Organisation and those reported by the International Energy Agency. We have also presented high-resolution global spatial distributions of the shipping emissions of NOx, CO2, SO2 and PM2.5. The emissions were also analysed in terms of selected sea areas, ship categories, the sizes of ships and flag states. The emission datasets provided by this study are available upon request; the datasets produced by the model can be utilized as input data for air quality modelling on a global scale, including the full temporal and spatial variation of shipping emissions for the first time. Dispersion modelling using this inventory as input can be used to assess the impacts of various emission abatement scenarios. The emission computation methods presented in this paper could also be used, e.g., to provide annual updates of the global ship emissions. •A model (STEAM3) for the assessment of global shipping emissions is presented.•The modelling is based on ship activities given by AIS, for more than 300,000 ships.•A route generation algorithm is used to handle large gaps in the AIS-data.•Data-assimilation is used to assign physically realistic properties for each ship.•Results for global shipping emissions have been analysed and presented for 2015.