Intercontinental transport of air pollution

There is an increasing interest on the intercontinental transport of air pollution among the three main emission regions at northern mid-latitudes: North America, Europe, and East Asia. Air pollutants with sufficient long lifetime can be transported from one continent to another. Observations from ground sites, aircraft and satellites have demonstrated this intercontinental-scale transport of air pollutants in the free troposphere. Numerical models have been applied to understand the pathways of the transport and the impact of intercontinental pollution transport. This paper reviews current observational evidence and modeling studies of intercontinental transport of ozone and its precursors, and the resulting impacts on air quality.