Drivers of Global Methane Emissions Embodied in International Beef Trade.

Increasing worldwide demand for beef products promotes international beef trade. Cattle raising and beef products as significant sources of methane (CH4) emissions have received widespread concerns. However, the factors driving CH4 emissions embodied in the global beef trade have not been quantified. Here, we evaluate international beef trade-induced CH4 emissions and assess the contribution of the five driving factors to changes in CH4 emissions embodied in the beef trade from 2000 to 2018. We show that driven by increasing population and meat demands, the global beef trade-induced CH4 emissions increased continuously in the past two decades, with total emissions of 9337.3 Gg in 2018. The drivers that could potentially reduce trade-related emissions are emission intensities in beef exporting countries and beef importing countries' selections of their beef suppliers. Together, these two driving factors reduced CH4 emissions by 923.5 Gg from 2012 to 2018. Results suggest that efforts should be made to reduce the emission intensity via improving cattle feed and feeding practices in beef exporting countries. Beef importing countries could also contribute to CH4 emission reduction by selecting those beef exporting countries with low emission intensities.

Mesoscale cycling of organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs) in the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea biotic and abiotic environment: A WRF-CMAQ modeling.

Rapid urbanization and industrialization in the eastern seaboard region of China enhance the widespread use of organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs). The present study set up a coupled WRF-CMAQ-SMOKE and multi-compartment exchange modeling framework to assess the environmental fate and cycling of OPFRs and their contamination in the Bohai and Yellow Seas' marine food web. The framework predicts meteorological conditions, optimized air emissions, and concentrations of OPFRs in air, seawaters, marine sediment, and the food web. The model was implemented to simulate the temporal and spatial fluctuations of Tris (2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP), the most dominant congener of OPFRs in China, in the Bohai and the Yellow Sea ecosystems on a spatial resolution of 10 km. Results revealed the effects of source proximity, atmospheric transport and deposition, and the changes in meteorology on TCPP's temporal-spatial distribution across different areas of coastal waters. The model also captures TCPP levels in commercial fish species in the Bohai Sea. The detailed temporal-spatial characteristics of TCPP with the mesoscale resolution provide useful information and a new tool for the environmental and health consequences of mariculture, urban and industrial emission mitigation in coastal regions for emerging chemicals, and fishery industry development.