Retrievals of satellite-observed emissions of atmospheric pollutants and greenhouse gases provide essential information and data for understanding the sources of these key atmospheric compositions and for implementing precise emission control measures. Over the past two decades, significant progress has been made in the field of emission inversion, with Chinese researchers playing a substantial role. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Chinese Meteorological Society and Acta Meteorologica Sinica, this paper systematically reviews the advances in satellite-based emission inversion research by Chinese scientists during this period. (1) Several widely used inversion methodologies, including data assimilation, local mass balance, Gaussian models, two-dimensional (2D) models, and machine learning, are briefly summarized. (2) Emission inversion studies focusing on major atmospheric pollutants— such as nitrogen oxides (NO_x), ammonia (NH₃), formaldehyde (HCHO), glyoxal (CHOCHO), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and carbon monoxide (CO)—as well as greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄), are systematically elaborated. (3) Finally, the historical evolution of inversion methods and target species, challenges in current satellite-based emission inversion, and future research directions are discussed to promote more accurate quantification of atmospheric pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions. It is worth noting that contributions from Chinese researchers have provided critical scientific support to environmental protection and carbon neutrality efforts in China.

Land-sea atmosphere interaction (LSAI) is one of the important processes affecting ozone (O₃) pollution in coastal areas. The effects of small-scale LSAIs like sea-land breezes have been widely studied. However, it is not fully clear how and to what extent the large-scale LSAIs affect O₃ pollution. Here we explored an O₃ episode to illuminate the role of large-scale LSAIs in O₃ pollution over the Bohai–Yellow Seas and adjacent areas through observations and model simulations. The results show that the northern Bohai Sea's coastal region, influenced by the Mongolian High, initially experienced a typical unimodal diurnal O₃ variation for three days, when O₃ precursors from Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei, Shandong, and Northeast China were transported to the Bohai–Yellow Seas. Photochemical reactions generated O₃ within marine air masses, causing higher O₃ levels over the seas than coastal regions. As the Mongolian High shifted eastward and expanded, southerly winds on its western edge transported O₃-rich marine air masses toward the coast, prolonging pollution for an additional three days and weakening diurnal variations. Subsequently, emissions from the Korean Peninsula and marine shipping significantly affected O₃ levels in the northern Bohai Sea (10.7% and 13.7%, respectively). Notably, Shandong's emissions played a substantial role in both phases (27.5% and 26.1%, respectively). These findings underscore the substantial impact of large-scale LSAIs driven by the Mongolian High on O₃ formation and pollution duration in coastal cities. This insight helps understand and manage O₃ pollution in northern Bohai Sea cities and broadly applies to temperate coastal cities worldwide.

Sudden mega natural gas leaks of two Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea (Denmark) occurred from late September to early October 2022, releasing large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. We inferred the methane emissions of this event based on surface in situ observations using two inversion methods and two meteorological reanalysis datasets, supplemented with satellite-based observations. We conclude that approximately 220 ± 30 Gg of methane was released from September 26 to October 1, 2022.