Regional sources of NH₃, SO₂ and CO in the Third Pole

The Third Pole (TP) is a high mountain region in the world, and is well-known for its pristine environment, but recent development activities in the region have degraded its air quality. Here, we investigate the spatial and temporal changes of the air pollutants ammonia (NH₃), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO) in TP, and reveal their sources using satellite measurements and emission inventory. We observe a clear seasonal cycle of NH₃ in TP, with high values in summer and low values in winter. The intense agriculture activities in the southern TP are the cause of high NH₃ (6-8 × 10¹⁶ molec./cm²) there. Similarly, CO shows a distinct seasonal cycle with high values in spring in the southeast TP due to biomass burning. In addition, the eastern boundary of TP in the Sichuan and Qinghai provinces also show high values of CO (about 1.5 × 10¹⁸ mol/cm²), primarily owing to the industrial activities. There is no seasonal cycle found for SO₂ distribution in TP, but relatively high values (8-10 mg/m²) are observed in its eastern boundary. The high-altitude pristine regions of inner TP are also getting polluted because of increased human activities in and around TP, as we estimate positive trends in CO (0.5-1.5 × 10¹⁶ mol/cm²/yr) there. In addition, positive trends are also found in NH₃ (0.025 × 10¹⁶ molec./cm²/yr) during 2008-2020 in most regions of TP and SO₂ (about 0.25-0.75 mg/m²/yr) in the Sichuan and Qinghai region during 2000-2020. As revealed by the emission inventory, there are high anthropogenic emissions of NH₃, SO₂ and CO within TP. There are emissions of pollutants from energy sectors, oil and refinery, agriculture waste burning and manure management within TP. These anthropogenic activities accelerate the ongoing development in TP, but severely erode its environment.