Atmosphere

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of 24 h Surface Ozone Forecast for Poland: CAMS Models vs Simple Statistical Models with Limited Number of Input Parameters

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Aleksander Pietruczuk

Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 670; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040670 (registering DOI) - 31 Mar 2023

Abstract

Surface ozone is usually measured in national networks, including the monitoring of gaseous components important for determining air quality and the short-term forecast of surface ozone. Here we consider the option of forecasting surface ozone based on measurements of only surface ozone and [...] Read more.

Surface ozone is usually measured in national networks, including the monitoring of gaseous components important for determining air quality and the short-term forecast of surface ozone. Here we consider the option of forecasting surface ozone based on measurements of only surface ozone and several weather parameters. This low-cost configuration can increase the number of locations that provide short-term surface ozone forecast important to local communities. 24 h prediction of the 1-h averaged concentration of surface ozone were presented for rural (Belsk, 20.79° E, 51.84° N) and suburban site (Racibórz, 18.19° E, 50.08° N) in Poland for the period 2018–2021 via simple statistical models dealing with a limited number of predictors. Multiple linear regression (MLR) and artificial neural network (ANN) models were examined separately for each season of the year using temperature, relative humidity, an hour of the day, and 1-day lagged surface ozone values. The performance of ANN (with R² = 0.81 in Racibórz versus R² = 0.75 at Belsk) was slightly better than the MLR model (with R² = 0.78 in Racibórz versus R² = 0.71 at Belsk). These statistical models were compared with advanced chemical–transport models provided by the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service. Despite the simplicity of the statistical models, they showed better performance in all seasons, with the exception of winter. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Aerosol Pollution in Central Europe)

Open AccessArticle

Assessing Urban Flood Hazard Vulnerability Using Multi-Criteria Decision Making and Geospatial Techniques in Nabadwip Municipality, West Bengal in India

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Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 669; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040669 (registering DOI) - 31 Mar 2023

Abstract

The flood hazard risks and vulnerability in the urban areas alongside major rivers of India have been gradually increasing due to extreme climatic events. The present study is intended to assess flood hazard vulnerability and potential risk areas and aims to ascertain the [...] Read more.

The flood hazard risks and vulnerability in the urban areas alongside major rivers of India have been gradually increasing due to extreme climatic events. The present study is intended to assess flood hazard vulnerability and potential risk areas and aims to ascertain the management strategies in Nabadwip Municipality, a statutory urban area of West Bengal. The multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) of selected criteria and geospatial techniques have been employed to determine the urban flood vulnerability in the study area. The study has been conducted using secondary datasets including relevant remotely sensed data and participant observation. The potential flood-affected zones have been determined using the normalized difference flood index (NDFI) and flood vulnerability index (FVI). The analysis of the standardized precipitation index (SPI) of 20 years of monthly precipitation shows the variability of seasonal rainfall distribution in the study area. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of the composite Ibrahim index of socio-economic development accents that the urban development of the study area was uneven. The municipal wards situated in the central and northeastern portions of Nabadwip Municipality were extremely vulnerable, whereas the western and southwestern wards were less vulnerable. It is also revealed from the strengths–weaknesses–opportunities–challenges (SWOC) of the principal management strategies of the flood situation analysis that the unplanned sewerage system is one of the most effective weaknesses in the area. All-embracing and integrative flood management strategies need to be implemented in the study area considering the intra-regional vulnerability and development for the resilient and sustainable development of the study area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Meteorology)

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation on the Forecast Skills of Precipitation and Its Influencing Factors in the Flood Season in Liaoning Province of China

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Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 668; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040668 - 31 Mar 2023

Abstract

To clarify the precipitation forecast skills of climate forecast operations in the flood season in Liaoning Province of China, this study examines the forecast accuracies of China’s national and provincial operational climate prediction products and the self-developed objective prediction methods and climate model [...] Read more.

To clarify the precipitation forecast skills of climate forecast operations in the flood season in Liaoning Province of China, this study examines the forecast accuracies of China’s national and provincial operational climate prediction products and the self-developed objective prediction methods and climate model products by Shenyang Regional Climate Center (SRCC) in the flood season in Liaoning. Furthermore, the forecast accuracies of the main influencing factors on the precipitation in the flood season of Liaoning are assessed. The results show that the SRCC objective methods have a relatively high accuracy. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) sub-seasonal forecast initialized at the sub-nearest time has the best performance in June. The National Climate Center (NCC) Climate System Model sub-seasonal forecast initialized at the sub-nearest time, and the ECMWF seasonal and sub-seasonal forecasts initialized at the nearest time, perform the best in July. The NCC sub-seasonal forecast initialized at the sub-nearest time has the best performance in August. For the accuracy of the SRCC objective method, the more significant the equatorial Middle East Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly is, the higher the evaluation score of the dynamic–analogue correction method is. The more significant the North Atlantic SST tripole is, the higher the score of the hybrid downscaling method is. For the forecast accuracy of the main influencing factors of precipitation, the tropical Atlantic SST and the north–south anti-phase SST in the northwest Pacific can well predict the locations of the southern vortex and the northern vortex in early summer, respectively. The warm (clod) SST in China offshore has a good forecast performance on the weak (strong) southerly wind in midsummer in Northeast China. The accuracy of using the SST in the Nino 1+2 areas to predict the north–south location of the western Pacific subtropical high is better than that of using Kuroshio SST. The accuracy of predicting northward-moving typhoons from July to September by using the SST in the west-wind-drift area is better than using the SST in the Nino 3 area. The above conclusions are of great significance for improving the short-term climate prediction in Liaoning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change on Ocean Dynamics)

Open AccessArticle

Characteristics, Ozone Formation Potential and Sources of VOCs in Shandong Province, Eastern China

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Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 667; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040667 - 31 Mar 2023

Abstract

Between 9 July and 19 August 2016, the air concentrations of 57 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured in Shandong Province, eastern China. Seven sampling sites representing urban, coastal and background sites were selected for sampling. The measured data were employed to investigate [...] Read more.

Between 9 July and 19 August 2016, the air concentrations of 57 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured in Shandong Province, eastern China. Seven sampling sites representing urban, coastal and background sites were selected for sampling. The measured data were employed to investigate the VOCs’ characteristics, ozone formation potential, and main sources. During the sampling period, the concentrations of the VOCs ranged between 15.3 and 883 ppbv, with a mean of 139 ppbv. The most severely polluted city was Zibo (833 ppbv), followed by Jinan (33.5 ppbv) and Qingdao (32.8 ppbv). Propane was the most abundant species in all of the sampling sites, with a concentration range of 1.05–9.86 ppbv. Ethene, i-butane, 1-butene, cis-2-butene, n-butane, i-pentane, n-pentane, benzene and toluene were the predominant species in both the urban and coastal sites. Propylene equivalent concentrations (Pro-Equiv) and maximum incremental reactivity (MIR) were employed to assess the reactivity and contribution of each species to the photochemical ozone formation. The results showed that alkenes and aromatics were the most active species performing a key function in the ozone formation, accounting for 43.9–90.7% of the Pro-Equiv and 41.0–93% of the ozone formation potential (OFP). The ratios of ethylbenzene and m/p-xylene were calculated, and the results showed that local emissions were the main sources. Gasoline exhaust/fuel evaporation, industry process/solvent usage, diesel exhaust/petrochemical emission and coal burning were the dominant sources of VOCs in Shandong Province. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Industrial Air Pollution: Emission, Management and Policy)

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Open AccessArticle

Study of the Freeze–Thaw Weathering’s Influence on Thermal Properties of Stone Artifacts

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Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 666; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040666 (registering DOI) - 31 Mar 2023

Abstract

A study of the weathering process of three types of stones, sandstone, marble, and granite, which are commonly found in artifacts worldwide, is presented. Freeze–thaw cycles are used to accelerate changes in the stone’s physical properties, such as the surface morphology, mass, and [...] Read more.

A study of the weathering process of three types of stones, sandstone, marble, and granite, which are commonly found in artifacts worldwide, is presented. Freeze–thaw cycles are used to accelerate changes in the stone’s physical properties, such as the surface morphology, mass, and porosity. Pulsed infrared thermography, as an in situ non-destructive testing method, is adopted to measure the stone’s thermal properties, such as the diffusivity, effusivity, and conductivity. These thermal parameters influence the natural weathering process, and in turn can change with the decay of the stone materials. Preliminary experimental results show that all three types of stone experience a process of mass loss and porosity increase after the freeze–thaw cycles, and their thermal properties change differently depending on their types. Since the thermal effusivity can be obtained non-destructively by reflectance thermography, we propose for the first time the use of thermal effusivity to characterize the influence of the weathering process and as an indicator of the aging degree of stone artifacts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Preservation Environment for Protection of Cultural Heritage Artefacts)

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Open AccessArticle

Soil Water Content at Planting Affects Determining Agricultural Drought for Rainfed Spring Wheat

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Kai Zhang

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Funian Zhao

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Bo Zhang

Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 665; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040665 (registering DOI) - 31 Mar 2023

Abstract

Agricultural drought often refers to water deficit in soil caused by a shortage of precipitation during a specific period in crop growing season, thus leading to final crop production failure. However, soil water content during planting may be related to the final yield [...] Read more.

Agricultural drought often refers to water deficit in soil caused by a shortage of precipitation during a specific period in crop growing season, thus leading to final crop production failure. However, soil water content during planting may be related to the final yield of crop. Therefore, the soil water content at planting could have a great impact on determining whether agricultural drought occurs during crop growth and development. In the current study, we used soil water content at planting at 0–50 cm depth, the spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield from 1987 to 2011, and precipitation from 1971 to 2011 at Dingxi, Gansu Province, China, intending to quantify the influence of soil water content at planting on determining agricultural drought for rainfed spring wheat. The response of spring wheat yield to growing season precipitation comprised two different linear relationships defined by whether the soil water content at planting was greater or less than 100 mm. With the identical amount of soil water content at planting and precipitation during main growth period, a higher soil water content at planting resulted in a greater spring wheat yield. Soil water content at planting was more effective than growing season precipitation for increasing spring wheat yield. According to the probability distributions of soil water content during planting and growing season precipitation, we concluded that 28.6% of the years studued involved agricultural drought for rainfed spring wheat in the Dingxi of Gansu province, China. This analysis, which quantified the relative importance of soil water content at planting (29.97 kg ha⁻¹ per mm) and during growing season precipitation (12.21 kg ha⁻¹ per mm) to determine yield and agricultural drought occurrence for spring wheat, suggests that improving the amount of soil water storage before crop planting is an important way to deal with agricultural drought. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agrometeorology, Agricultural Water Management and Impacts of Extreme Events)

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Open AccessArticle

Design and Simulation of Aerosol Inlet System for Particulate Matter with a Wide Size Range

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Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 664; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040664 (registering DOI) - 31 Mar 2023

Abstract

A novel aerodynamic lens-based inlet system was developed for a wide particle size range, and it could extend the size range of transmitted particulate matter (PM) to 50 nm–10 μm. The lens system adopted a seven-stage aerodynamic focusing orifice to extend the range [...] Read more.

A novel aerodynamic lens-based inlet system was developed for a wide particle size range, and it could extend the size range of transmitted particulate matter (PM) to 50 nm–10 μm. The lens system adopted a seven-stage aerodynamic focusing orifice to extend the range of transmitted PM, and a relaxation system with a virtual impact function was introduced at the front of the aerodynamic lens. Through the innovative design, the system could concentrate the input samples as well as effectively enhance the focusing effect on large PM. Furthermore, an additional aerodynamic pre-focusing inlet system was innovatively added to the front of the sampling orifice of the traditional aerodynamic lens, and it could pre-focus large PM into the axis region before it entered the small orifice and then solve the previous problem with loss of large PM. Fluid simulations indicated that the inlet system could achieve 100% effective transmission and focusing for PM in the range of 0.18–10 μm. The characterization and verification results obtained from the improved single-particle aerosol mass spectrometer (SPAMS) were remarkably consistent with the theoretical values. The practical tests indicated that bioaerosol particles up to 10 μm could be detected. Compared with the observation for the same type of lens, the focusing performance of this novel lens system has better advantages in particle size range and transmission efficiency and therefore, it has broad application prospects in bioaerosol research, single-cell analysis, etc. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Atmospheric Techniques, Instruments, and Modeling)

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Open AccessArticle

Analysis of the Outdoor Microclimate and the Effects on Greek Cultural Heritage Using the Heritage Microclimate Risk (HMR) and Predicted Risk of Damage (PRD) Indices: Present and Future Simulations

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Efstathia Tringa

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Konstantia Tolika

Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 663; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040663 (registering DOI) - 31 Mar 2023

Abstract

This study aims to assess the impacts of climate change on the cultural heritage of two Greek areas for both the present time and the future. As the climate is constantly evolving, cultural heritage is continuously exposed to the risk of damage and [...] Read more.

This study aims to assess the impacts of climate change on the cultural heritage of two Greek areas for both the present time and the future. As the climate is constantly evolving, cultural heritage is continuously exposed to the risk of damage and deterioration. Therefore, museum directors and boards as well as the national ministries must be informed so that measures and practices are adapted to the new climatic conditions. Greece is a country with immense cultural wealth, both tangible and intangible, which stretches back four and a half thousand years. As a homeland of important historical and cultural resources, Greece is vulnerable to climate change. Two up-to-date indices were applied to two Greek areas with high cultural value: Thessaloniki and Delphi. In order to evaluate the suitability of the microclimate and to assess the damage risk, the Heritage Microclimate Risk (HMR) index and the Predicted Risk of Damage (PRD) index were used for two variables: temperature and relative humidity. The study was carried out for three different time periods, the period 1980–2000 (hereafter, the reference period) and the future periods 2039–2059 and 2079–2099. For the reference period, data from three different sources were incorporated in the study (observed, reanalysis, and model data). The simulated data were derived from the Regional Climate Model RegCM4 with a fine spatial resolution of 10 × 10 km. In addition, the emission scenario RCP4.5 was used for the model’s future simulations. The present and future ideal outdoor climate conditions for the monuments were also estimated and are presented in this work. Overall, the future estimations revealed that the ideal outdoor temperature conditions will be higher compared to the reference period, meaning that the monuments will have to adapt to new warmer climate conditions. In addition to the new temperature conditions to which the monuments will have to adapt, the study showed that the monuments will be exposed to “moderate-maximum” risk more often in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Climate Mitigation Techniques and Technologies)

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Open AccessArticle

Impact of Water-Based Coating Substitution on VOCs Emission Characteristics for the Surface-Coating Industries and Policy Effectiveness: A Case Study in Jiangsu Province, China

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Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 662; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040662 (registering DOI) - 31 Mar 2023

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As solvent-based coatings are gradually phasing out in China, the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emission characteristics of surface-coating industries have changed rapidly. Sector-based field measurements were conducted to build VOCs emission factors and source profiles of surface-coating industries in Jiangsu Province. A VOCs [...] Read more.

As solvent-based coatings are gradually phasing out in China, the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emission characteristics of surface-coating industries have changed rapidly. Sector-based field measurements were conducted to build VOCs emission factors and source profiles of surface-coating industries in Jiangsu Province. A VOCs emission inventory was developed, and the projections for 2020 to 2030 were set. It was found that VOCs content in water-based coatings is 50.8% of solvent-based coatings on average. VOCs emission factors of solvent-based coatings ranged from 0.40 to 0.51 kg kg⁻¹, while those of water-based coatings ranged from 0.14 to 0.24 kg kg⁻¹. Compared to solvent-based coatings, the proportion of aromatics emitted from water-based coatings was 44.2% lower, while the proportion of oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) was 11.6% higher. The results showed that VOCs emissions were about 134 Gg in Jiangsu Province in 2020, of which the solvent-based coating sources contributed 79.6% of the total. Aromatics were the main species contributing 52.9% of VOCs emissions and 85.9% of ozone formation potential (OFP). According to emission prediction results of four scenarios, the emission reduction of implementing low-content VOCs coating substitution is 8.7% higher than that of adopting the best available end-of-pipe treatment measures by 2030. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Pollutants: Characteristics, Sources and Transport)

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Open AccessArticle

Size-Segregated Characteristics of Organic Carbon (OC) and Elemental Carbon (EC) in Marine Aerosol in the Northeastern South China Sea

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Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 661; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040661 (registering DOI) - 31 Mar 2023

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Organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) size-segregated characteristics were analyzed at the junction of sea and land (JSL) and the marine aerosol during the navigation along the northeastern South China Sea (NSCS), including the shallow ocean (NSCS-SO) and the remote ocean (NSCS-RO), [...] Read more.

Organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) size-segregated characteristics were analyzed at the junction of sea and land (JSL) and the marine aerosol during the navigation along the northeastern South China Sea (NSCS), including the shallow ocean (NSCS-SO) and the remote ocean (NSCS-RO), from 3 to 20 March 2016. More than 90% of the OC and EC were concentrated in fine particles, and the OC and EC mean concentrations were 10.1 ± 0.63 and 3.44 ± 0.82, 2.67 ± 1.27 and 0.72 ± 0.36, and 1.41 ± 0.50 and 0.40 ± 0.28 μg m⁻³ in PM_3.0 at the JSL, NSCS-SO, and NSCS-RO, respectively. Approximately 75–83% of OC and 84–98% of EC were found in PM_1.5. Three sampling sites showed similar OC mass size distributions that had a dominant peak in the 0.49–0.95 μm size range. The mass mean diameters (MMDs) of OC were 0.65 ± 0.15 and 0.59 ± 0.16 μm at the NSCS-SO and NSCS-RO, respectively, followed by 0.53 ± 0.25 μm in fine particles at the JSL. Similar characteristics were found for EC MMDs. Each particle-size bin had OC concentrations that were higher than the EC values of all three sites, and the OC/EC mass ratios were generally more than 2.0. The mean secondary organic carbon (SOC) concentrations in PM_1.5 were as follows: JSL (5.42 ± 1.35 μg m⁻³) > NSCS-SO (1.08 ± 1.02 μg m⁻³) > NSCS-RO (0.38 ± 0.25 μg m⁻³), indicating that the contribution of secondary carbonaceous aerosols to organic carbon is relatively low in the remote ocean region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Aerosols)

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Open AccessArticle

Examining the Impact of Dimethyl Sulfide Emissions on Atmospheric Sulfate over the Continental U.S.

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Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 660; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040660 (registering DOI) - 31 Mar 2023

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We examined the impact of dimethylsulfide (DMS) emissions on sulfate concentrations over the continental U.S. by using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model version 5.4 and performing annual simulations without and with DMS emissions for 2018. DMS emissions enhance sulfate not only [...] Read more.

We examined the impact of dimethylsulfide (DMS) emissions on sulfate concentrations over the continental U.S. by using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model version 5.4 and performing annual simulations without and with DMS emissions for 2018. DMS emissions enhance sulfate not only over seawater but also over land, although to a lesser extent. On an annual basis, the inclusion of DMS emissions increase sulfate concentrations by 36% over seawater and 9% over land. The largest impacts over land occur in California, Oregon, Washington, and Florida, where the annual mean sulfate concentrations increase by ~25%. The increase in sulfate causes a decrease in nitrate concentration due to limited ammonia concentration, especially over seawater, and an increase in ammonium concentration with a net effect of increased inorganic particles. The largest sulfate enhancement occurs near the surface (over seawater), and the enhancement decreases with altitude, diminishing to 10–20% at an altitude of ~5 km. Seasonally, the largest enhancement in sulfate over seawater occurs in summer, and the lowest in winter. In contrast, the largest enhancements over land occur in spring and fall due to higher wind speeds that can transport more sulfate from seawater into land. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Improving Air Quality Predictions and Assessment across Scales)

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Open AccessArticle

Metal Composition and Source Identification of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ at a Suburban Site in Pathum Thani, Thailand

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Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 659; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040659 - 31 Mar 2023

Abstract

This study reports the mass concentrations, elemental characterization and identification of the possible sources of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ at a suburban site in Pathum Thani, Thailand. The sampling was done from 18 February 2021 to 14 September 2021. PM_2.5 concentrations [...] Read more.

This study reports the mass concentrations, elemental characterization and identification of the possible sources of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ at a suburban site in Pathum Thani, Thailand. The sampling was done from 18 February 2021 to 14 September 2021. PM_2.5 concentrations were between 0.39 μg/m³ and 174.26 μg/m³, while PM₁₀ concentration ranged from 12.75 μg/m³ to 242.02 μg/m³. The average concentration of PM_2.5 in the wet season (61.96 μg/m³) in the study area exceeded the national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). Particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) was used to measure the element concentrations. The main elements, namely Fe, K, Cr and Ca, in both PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ showed significantly higher concentrations in the summer season. A qualitative inter-elemental correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were applied for source identification of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀. The results for the three procedures were in good agreement. Four and three factors of sources were isolated by the PCA for PM_2.5 and PM₁₀, respectively. The main sources identified by PCA were, for PM_2.5, soil dust and biomass burning (32%), road dust and industrial emission (25%), vehicle and industrial emission (10%) and soil dust (9%); for PM₁₀, road dust and industrial emission (36%), crustal and biomass burning (30%) and industrial sources (10%). Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Air Quality)

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Open AccessArticle

Physics-Informed Deep Learning for Reconstruction of Spatial Missing Climate Information in the Antarctic

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Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 658; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040658 - 31 Mar 2023

Abstract

Understanding the influence of the Antarctic on the global climate is crucial for the prediction of global warming. However, due to very few observation sites, it is difficult to reconstruct the rational spatial pattern by filling in the missing values from the limited [...] Read more.

Understanding the influence of the Antarctic on the global climate is crucial for the prediction of global warming. However, due to very few observation sites, it is difficult to reconstruct the rational spatial pattern by filling in the missing values from the limited site observations. To tackle this challenge, regional spatial gap-filling methods, such as Kriging and inverse distance weighted (IDW), are regularly used in geoscience. Nevertheless, the reconstructing credibility of these methods is undesirable when the spatial structure has massive missing pieces. Inspired by image inpainting, we propose a novel deep learning method that demonstrates a good effect by embedding the physics-aware initialization of deep learning methods for rapid learning and capturing the spatial dependence for the high-fidelity imputation of missing areas. We create the benchmark dataset that artificially masks the Antarctic region with ratios of 30%, 50% and 70%. The reconstructing monthly mean surface temperature using the deep learning image inpainting method RFR (Recurrent Feature Reasoning) exhibits an average of 63% and 71% improvement of accuracy over Kriging and IDW under different missing rates. With regard to wind speed, there are still 36% and 50% improvements. In particular, the achieved improvement is even better for the larger missing ratio, such as under the 70% missing rate, where the accuracy of RFR is 68% and 74% higher than Kriging and IDW for temperature and also 38% and 46% higher for wind speed. In addition, the PI-RFR (Physics-Informed Recurrent Feature Reasoning) method we proposed is initialized using the spatial pattern data simulated by the numerical climate model instead of the unified average. Compared with RFR, PI-RFR has an average accuracy improvement of 10% for temperature and 9% for wind speed. When applied to reconstruct the spatial pattern based on the Antarctic site observations, where the missing rate is over 90%, the proposed method exhibits more spatial characteristics than Kriging and IDW. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Simulation and Modeling of Climate: Recent Trends, Current Progress and Future Directions)

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Open AccessArticle

Multiscale Flood Disaster Risk Assessment in the Lancang-Mekong River Basin: A Focus on Watershed and Community Levels

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Shengnan Wu

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Yu Lei

Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 657; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040657 - 31 Mar 2023

Abstract

Floods are one of the most frequent and costly natural hazards worldwide, causing significant damage to infrastructure, agriculture, and livelihoods. The Lancang-Mekong River is a major river in Southeast Asia, but the basin is prone to flood disasters that may be exacerbated by [...] Read more.

Floods are one of the most frequent and costly natural hazards worldwide, causing significant damage to infrastructure, agriculture, and livelihoods. The Lancang-Mekong River is a major river in Southeast Asia, but the basin is prone to flood disasters that may be exacerbated by climate change. Therefore, to better understand disaster risk and tailor disaster risk reduction measures, this study conducted multiscale flood disaster risk assessments at the watershed and community levels using indicator-based and hydrodynamic model-based methods. Both methods adopted open data with the supplement of local survey data. The results of the study showed that the flood risk is generally higher in the lower reach of the river due to high levels of both hazard and vulnerability. However, the community-scale risk assessment revealed that high flood-risk communities exist in low-risk zones, and vice versa, when the flood risk was assessed at the watershed scale. Such phenomena can lead to inadequate community preparedness for flooding or unnecessary allocation of resources for flood mitigation measures. These findings provide valuable insights for the development of disaster risk reduction strategies, policies, and plans based on an understanding of the risks. Furthermore, they offer a basis for prioritizing and targeting resources, particularly in areas with high population density or vulnerable communities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Increasing Risk of Natural Hazards and the Impact Assessment in a Changing Climate)

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Open AccessArticle

Emissions of PAHs, Nitro-PAHs and Quinones (Oxy-PAHs) Associated to PM_1.0 and PM_2.5 Emitted by a Diesel Engine Fueled with Diesel-Biodiesel-Ethanol Blends

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Joilson Nascimento Paim

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Aldenor Gomes Santos

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Rennan G. O. Araujo

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Madson Moreira Nascimento

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Jailson Bittencourt De Andrade

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Lilian Lefol Nani Guarieiro

Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 656; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040656 - 31 Mar 2023

Abstract

Emissions of PAH, nitro-PAHs, and oxy-PAHs from a diesel engine fueled with diesel-biodiesel-ethanol blends need to be controlled and reduced, as they are unregulated emissions harmful to the environment and human health. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of [...] Read more.

Emissions of PAH, nitro-PAHs, and oxy-PAHs from a diesel engine fueled with diesel-biodiesel-ethanol blends need to be controlled and reduced, as they are unregulated emissions harmful to the environment and human health. The objective of this work was to investigate the effect of ethanol concentration on diesel engine emissions when fueled with diesel–biodiesel–ethanol blends. Ethanol was added with biodiesel–diesel blends. Diesel B7 and two ternary blends, B7E3 and B7E10, with 3% and 10% ethanol, were tested and studied in a diesel engine to determine engine performance characteristics and particulate matter emissions and to quantify polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) associated with PM_1.0 and PM_2.5. Under the same engine conditions, 18 PAHs, 27 nitro-PAHs, and 6 quinones (oxy-PAHs) were determined by GC–MS in real samples obtained from the engine. The mean concentrations of PACs found in the B7, B7E3, and B7E10 blends for PM_1.0 ranged from 0.1 µg m⁻³ (coronene) to 118.1 µg m⁻³ (2-nitrofluorene). The concentrations for PM_2.5 ranged from 0.1 µg m⁻³ (acenaphthylene) to 99.7 µg m⁻³ (2-nitrofluorene). Potent mutagens benzanthrone (BA) and 3-nitrobenzanthrone (3-NBA) were found at concentrations ranging from 0.10 µg m⁻³ to 1.9 µg m⁻³ and 0.3 µg m⁻³ to 1.6 µg m⁻³, respectively. Low molecular weight (LMW) PAHs were mainly PACs bounded to the PM_1.0 and PM_2.5 particles emitted by B7E10. Flow properties were improved by adding 3% and 10% ethanol to biodiesel. B7E3 and B7E10 blends presented low fuel consumption and a reduction in the emission factor (EF) by the engine. B7E10 blending showed a smaller total concentration of ∑PAH (26.8 µg m⁻³), ∑nitro-PAH (85.4 µg m⁻³), and ∑oxy-PAH (6.0 µg m⁻³) associated with PM_2.5 particles compared PM_1.0. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Pollution Exposure and Health Impact Assessment)

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Open AccessReview

Environmental Analysis, Monitoring, and Process Control Strategy for Reduction of Greenhouse Gaseous Emissions in Thermochemical Reactions

by

Mohamed Aboughaly

and

I. M. Rizwanul Fattah

Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 655; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040655 - 31 Mar 2023

Abstract

This review paper illustrates the recommended monitoring technologies for the detection of various greenhouse gaseous emissions for solid waste thermochemical reactions, including incineration, pyrolysis, and gasification. The illustrated gas analyzers are based on the absorption principle, which continuously measures the physicochemical properties of [...] Read more.

This review paper illustrates the recommended monitoring technologies for the detection of various greenhouse gaseous emissions for solid waste thermochemical reactions, including incineration, pyrolysis, and gasification. The illustrated gas analyzers are based on the absorption principle, which continuously measures the physicochemical properties of gaseous mixtures, including oxygen, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and methane, during thermochemical reactions. This paper illustrates the recommended gas analyzers and process control tools for different thermochemical reactions and aims to recommend equipment to increase the sensitivity, linearity, and dynamics of various thermochemical reactions. The equipment achieves new levels of on-location, real-time analytical capability using FTIR analysis. The environmental assessment study includes inventory analysis, impact analysis, and sensitivity analysis to compare the mentioned solid waste chemical recycling methods in terms of greenhouse gaseous emissions, thermal efficiency, electrical efficiency, and sensitivity analysis. The environmental impact assessment compares each technology in terms of greenhouse gaseous emissions, including CO₂, NO_x, NH₃, N₂O, CO, CH₄, heat, and electricity generation. The conducted environmental assessment compares the mentioned technologies through 15 different emission-related impact categories, including climate change impact, ecosystem quality, and resource depletion. The continuously monitored process streams assure the online monitoring of gaseous products of thermochemical processes that enhance the quality of the end products and reduce undesired products, such as tar and char. This state-of-the-art monitoring and process control framework provides recommended analytical equipment and monitoring tools for different thermochemical reactions to optimize process parameters and reduce greenhouse gaseous emissions and undesired products. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Greenhouse Gas Emission: Sources, Monitoring and Control)

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Open AccessArticle

Coupling Coordination Degree of AOD and Air Pollutants in Shandong Province from 2015 to 2020

by

,

,

,

,

,

and

Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 654; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040654 - 30 Mar 2023

Abstract

In order to reveal the correlation between aerosols and pollution indicators, the MODIS aerosol optical depth (AOD) was used to investigate the distribution of AOD in 16 prefecture-level cities in Shandong Province from 2015 to 2020. This study quantitatively analyzed the coupling degree [...] Read more.

In order to reveal the correlation between aerosols and pollution indicators, the MODIS aerosol optical depth (AOD) was used to investigate the distribution of AOD in 16 prefecture-level cities in Shandong Province from 2015 to 2020. This study quantitatively analyzed the coupling degree and the coupling coordination degree between AOD and pollution indicators based on the coupling coordination model. The results showed that: (1) The annual average AOD in Shandong Province showed a rapid downward trend with a mean value of 0.615. The seasonal AOD of Shandong Province and prefecture-level cities was characterized by spring and summer > autumn and winter. The distribution of AOD in Shandong Province showed a spatial pattern of high in the west and low in the east, and high in the surrounding area and low in the middle. The decreasing rate of AOD was high in the west and low in the east. (2) The annual average AOD and Air Quality Index (AQI) were in a highly coupled and coordinated state. Their spatial distribution pattern decreased from west to east. There were certain fluctuations with seasonal changes, with the largest fluctuation in winter. (3) Except for O₃, the overall coupling and coordination level between AOD and each pollutant was relatively high. The coupling coordination effect was as follows: C (PM_2.5, AOD) and C (PM₁₀, AOD) > C (NO₂, AOD) > C (SO₂, AOD), and C (CO, AOD) > C (O₃, AOD). Except for the O₃, its distribution was characterized by highs in the west and lows in the east. The degree of coupling between each pollution indicator and the seasonal average AOD was high. The study showed that there was a high degree of coupling and coordination between pollutant concentration indicators and AOD, and remote sensing AOD data can be used as an effective supplement to regional pollutant monitoring indicators. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Natural Sources Aerosol Remote Monitoring)

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Open AccessArticle

Decomposing Fast and Slow Responses of Global Cloud Cover to Quadrupled CO₂ Forcing in CMIP6 Models

by

,

,

and

Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 653; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040653 - 30 Mar 2023

Abstract

Cloud changes and their attribution under global warming still remains a challenge in climatic change studies, especially in decomposing the fast and slow cloud responses to anthropogenic forcing. In this study, the responses of global cloud cover to the quadrupled CO₂ forcing [...] Read more.

Cloud changes and their attribution under global warming still remains a challenge in climatic change studies, especially in decomposing the fast and slow cloud responses to anthropogenic forcing. In this study, the responses of global cloud cover to the quadrupled CO₂ forcing are investigated quantitatively by decomposing the total response into fast and slow ones using the multi-model data from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). During the quasi-equilibrium period after the quadrupling of CO₂ forcing, the global mean changes of simulated total cloud cover (TCC) in the total, fast, and slow responses are −2.42%, −0.64%, and −1.78%, respectively. Overall, the slow response dominates the total response in most regions over the globe with similar spatial patterns. TCC decreases at middle and low latitudes but increases at high latitudes in the total and slow responses. Whereas, it mainly decreases in the middle and low latitudes of the southern hemisphere as well as in the middle and high latitudes of the northern hemisphere in the fast response. A change in vertical motion is the major contributor to the cloud cover change at middle and low latitudes, while the decrease in upper atmospheric temperature leads to an increase in high cloud cover at high latitudes. In addition, the anomaly in water vapor convergence/diffusion also contributes to the cloud cover increase/decrease at low latitudes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Climate Variability, and Their Impact on Extreme Events)

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Open AccessArticle

Evaluating the Impact of Urban Microclimate on Buildings’ Heating and Cooling Energy Demand Using a Co-Simulation Approach

by

Stella Tsoka

Atmosphere 2023, 14(4), 652; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14040652 - 30 Mar 2023

Abstract

The current research proposes an integrated computational method to consider the effect of the urban microclimate and the higher urban air temperatures on the assessment of urban building energy demands on an annual basis. A one-way coupling procedure is established to generate datasets [...] Read more.

The current research proposes an integrated computational method to consider the effect of the urban microclimate and the higher urban air temperatures on the assessment of urban building energy demands on an annual basis. A one-way coupling procedure is established to generate datasets on typical weather years that can capture the particularities of the urban microclimate as a function of their morphological and geometrical characteristics, thus providing a global perspective of the annual building energy performance at a reasonable computational cost. The proposed simulation method, here applied for an energy performance analysis of generic, non-insulated building units located in four different urban sites of Thessaloniki, Greece, is based on the three tools: (a) the ENVI-met v.4 microclimate model, (b) the Meteonorm weather generator and (c) the dynamic BEPS tool EnergyPlus. The obtained simulation results indicate a decrease in the annual heating energy needs of the examined building units of 8.2–11.5% when the effect of urban warming was accounted for, along with a rise in the annual cooling energy needs of between 13.4 and 28.2%, depending on the case study area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Climate Mitigation Techniques and Technologies)

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