Research

Jump to: Review

15281 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Emission Inventory of On-Road Transport in Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR) Development during 2007 to 2015 Using the GAINS Model

by Penwadee Cheewaphongphan, Agapol Junpen, Savitri Garivait and Satoru Chatani

Atmosphere 2017, 8(9), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8090167 - 07 Sep 2017

Cited by 26 | Viewed by 7200

Abstract

Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR), including the capital city and five adjacent provinces, constitutes one of the top 10 megacities experiencing serious traffic congestion in the world, leading to air quality problems with significant adverse human health risks. Previously, there have been many operations [...] Read more.

Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR), including the capital city and five adjacent provinces, constitutes one of the top 10 megacities experiencing serious traffic congestion in the world, leading to air quality problems with significant adverse human health risks. Previously, there have been many operations planned to influence the fuel consumption and emissions from the on-road transport sector in the BMR area. It is necessary to estimate emissions using detailed information in order to thoroughly understand the reason for changes in emission levels and their impact on air quality. This paper aims to determine the successful implementation of energy and air pollution control policies in Thailand through an investigation of the emissions inventory of on-road transport in BMR, including ozone precursors (CO, NO_X, Non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) ), greenhouse gases (CO₂, CH₄, N₂O), acidic substances (SO₂ and NH₃), and particulate matters (PM_2.5, PM₁₀, Black Carbon (BC), Organic Carbon (OC)) during the period from 2007 to 2015, using the Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS) model based on the country-specific activity data together with the emission factor from the GAINS-Asia database. This study found that the amount of exhaust emissions over the BMR area in the year 2015 (and the trend during the period from 2007 to 2015) is approximately 139 kt of CO (−7.9%), 103 kt of NO_X (−4.1%), 19.9 kt of NMVOC (−6.7%), 15 kt of CO₂ (+1.6%), 8.6 kt of CH₄ (+6.8%), 0.59 kt of N₂O (+1.3%), 0.87 kt of SO₂ (−25.8%), 1.1 kt of NH₃ (+7.8%), 4.9 kt of PM_2.5 (−5.5%), 5.1 kt of PM₁₀ (−7.9%), 3.1 kt of BC (−2.5%), and 1.4 kt of OC (−7.7%). The change in emissions in each pollutant is a result of the more stringent control of fuel and engine standards, the shift in the fuel type used, and the effects of controlling some emissions. Light duty car gasoline fuel is identified as a major contributor of CO, NH₃, N₂O, and NMVOC, whereas trucks are the greatest emitters of NO_X, SO₂, and particulate matter. This study suggests that the most powerful implementation plan for the continuous, significant reduction of ozone precursor, SO₂, and particulate matter emissions is the more stringent enforcement of fuel and vehicle standard levels, especially concerning light duty vehicles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Air Pollution)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

5672 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Evaluation of Photochemical Grid Model Response to Emission Changes in the South Coast Air Basin in California

by Prakash Karamchandani, Ralph Morris, Andrew Wentland, Tejas Shah, Stephen Reid and Julia Lester

Atmosphere 2017, 8(8), 145; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8080145 - 10 Aug 2017

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4424

Abstract

This paper describes a study to evaluate the capability of a photochemical grid modeling system to predict changes in ozone concentrations in response to emission changes over a period of several years. The development of regulatory emission control plans to meet air quality [...] Read more.

This paper describes a study to evaluate the capability of a photochemical grid modeling system to predict changes in ozone concentrations in response to emission changes over a period of several years. The development of regulatory emission control plans to meet air quality standards primarily relies on modeled projections of future-year air quality, although a weight of evidence approach (which takes into account a number of factors including modeling results, model evaluation and other pertinent information such as ambient trends) is recommended and is also typically used as part of the attainment demonstration. Thus, it is important to determine if the modeling system used to project future-year quality can correctly simulate ozone responses to the projected emissions reductions. Uncertainties and errors in modeled projections can lead to erroneous estimates of emissions controls required to attain the standards. We use two existing regulatory modeling databases, employed for forecasting future-year air quality in the South Coast Air Basin (SoCAB) of California, for a number of historical years to evaluate the ability of the system to accurately simulate the observed changes in air quality over a multi-year period. The evaluation results with the older (2012) database show that the modeling system consistently under-predicts the reductions in ozone in response to emission reductions over the years. Model response improves with the newer (2016) database with good agreement at some locations, but the system still tends to under-predict ozone responses by as much as a factor of 2 in recent years for the Basin maximum ozone design value. This suggests that future-year estimates of ozone design values may be overly conservative, resulting in emission controls that are technologically challenging or very expensive to implement. The development of better emission inventories and model inputs is recommended to develop a modeling system that more accurately responds to emission changes. Future regulatory planning should include dynamic evaluation in addition to the traditional operational evaluation of the model to provide more confidence to all stakeholders that the resulting policy decisions are necessary to attain the air quality standards and to protect public health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Air Pollution)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

1779 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Occurrence and Potential Sources of Quinones Associated with PM_2.5 in Guadalajara, Mexico

by Adriana Barradas-Gimate, Mario Alfonso Murillo-Tovar, José De Jesús Díaz-Torres, Leonel Hernández-Mena, Hugo Saldarriaga-Noreña, Juana Maria Delgado-Saborit and Alberto López-López

Atmosphere 2017, 8(8), 140; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8080140 - 29 Jul 2017

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3885

Abstract

This study aims to establish the influence of primary emission sources and atmospheric transformation process contributing to the concentrations of quinones associated to particulate matter of less than 2.5 µm (PM_2.5) in three sites within the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara (MAG), [...] Read more.

This study aims to establish the influence of primary emission sources and atmospheric transformation process contributing to the concentrations of quinones associated to particulate matter of less than 2.5 µm (PM_2.5) in three sites within the Metropolitan Area of Guadalajara (MAG), namely Centro (CEN), Tlaquepaque (TLA) and Las Águilas (AGU). Environmental levels of quinones extracted from PM_2.5 filters were analyzed using Gas Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Overall, primary emissions in combination with photochemical and oxidation reactions contribute to the presence of quinones in the urban atmosphere of MAG. It was found that quinones in PM_2.5 result from the contributions from direct emission sources by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels such as diesel and gasoline that relate mainly to vehicular activity intensity in the three sampling sites selected. However, this also suggests that the occurrence of quinones in MAG can be related to photochemical transformation of the parent Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs), to chemical reactions with oxygenated species, or a combination of both routes. The higher concentration of 1,4-Chrysenequinone during the rainy season compared to the warm-dry season indicates chemical oxidation of chrysene, since the humidity could favor singlet oxygen collision with parent PAH present in the particle phase. On the contrary, 9,10-Anthraquinone/Anthracene and 1,4-Naftoquinone/Naphthalene ratios were higher during the warm-dry season compared to the rainy season, which might indicate a prevalence of the photochemical formation during the warm-dry season favored by the large solar radiation typical of the season. In addition, the estimated percentage of photochemical formation of 9,10-Phenanthrenequinone showed that the occurrence of this compound in Tlaquepaque (TLA) and Las Águilas (AGU) sites is mainly propagated by conditions of high solar radiation such as in the warm-dry season and during long periods of advection of air masses from emission to the reception areas. This was shown by the direct association between the number hourly back trajectories arriving in the TLA and AGU from Centro and other areas in MAG and the highest photochemical formation percentage. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Air Pollution)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

5570 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Numerical Investigation on the Effect of Avenue Trees on PM_2.5 Dispersion in Urban Street Canyons

by Bo Hong, Borong Lin and Hongqiao Qin

Atmosphere 2017, 8(7), 129; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8070129 - 19 Jul 2017

Cited by 33 | Viewed by 5436

Abstract

The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) model and revised generalized drift flux model were used to investigate the characteristics of airflow fields and PM_2.5 dispersion in street canyons with a variety setting on tree crown morphologies (i.e., conical, spherical, and cylindrical), leaf area densities [...] Read more.

The Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) model and revised generalized drift flux model were used to investigate the characteristics of airflow fields and PM_2.5 dispersion in street canyons with a variety setting on tree crown morphologies (i.e., conical, spherical, and cylindrical), leaf area densities (LADs = 0.5, 1.5, and 2.5 m²/m³), and street canyon aspect ratios (H/W = 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0). Results were as follows: (1) airflow fields were reversed in the presence of trees and enhanced with higher LAD; (2) air velocity decreased negligibly when LAD increased from 1.5 to 2.5, but significantly when LAD increased from 0.5 to 1.5; (3) tree crown morphologies, building aspect ratios, and LADs were interrelated. The comparison of PM_2.5 showed that the most critical situations in H/W = 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 corresponded to LAD = 0.5 with a conical canopy; (4) the H/W = 1.0 and LAD = 1.5 scenario was identified as the most efficient combination for PM_2.5 capture; (5) the maximum PM_2.5 reduction ratio was ordered from low to high in the sequence of conical, spherical, and cylindrical canopies. At predestinated LADs and aspect ratio, Populus tomentosa with cylindrical crown morphology exhibited the best efficiency on PM_2.5 capture with a reduction ratio of 75% to 85% at pedestrian height. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Air Pollution)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

9415 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Spatiotemporal Distribution of Air Pollutants and Their Relationship with Land-Use Patterns in Hangzhou City, China

by Sheng Zheng, Xueyuan Zhou, Ramesh P. Singh, Yuzhe Wu, Yanmei Ye and Cifang Wu

Atmosphere 2017, 8(6), 110; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8060110 - 20 Jun 2017

Cited by 39 | Viewed by 7030

Abstract

Air pollution contributes to a large fraction of the total mortality estimated under the global burden of disease project (GBD) of the World Health Organization (WHO). This paper discusses an integrated study to obtain the spatiotemporal characteristics of particulate matter (PM₁₀ and [...] Read more.

Air pollution contributes to a large fraction of the total mortality estimated under the global burden of disease project (GBD) of the World Health Organization (WHO). This paper discusses an integrated study to obtain the spatiotemporal characteristics of particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) and trace gases (O₃, SO₂, NO₂, and CO) pollutants in Hangzhou City (China) for the years 2014–2016. Our detailed analysis shows a relationship between air pollutants and land-use/land-cover change. Air quality parameters (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀) and trace gases (SO₂, NO₂, and CO) show strong monthly variations in the months of January (higher values) and July (lower values). During monsoon and summer seasons, air quality and trace gases show low values, whereas ozone (O₃) is higher in the summer and lower in the winter. The spatial distribution of air pollutants is retrieved using the kriging method at the monitoring sites in Hangzhou City. We have considered normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and land surface temperature (LST) from the Landsat 8 data. The correlation between air pollutants and land use at the street-town unit suggests that areas with low NDVI, high road density, large built-up density, and LST are consistent with high concentrations of particulate matter and SO₂, NO₂, and CO. Among the trace gases, NO₂ is found to be the most sensitive element affected by land use patterns, and O₃ shows weak correlation with land use. SO₂ shows a strong positive correlation with road density and LST, whereas CO shows positive correlation with the built-up density, LST, and population density. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Air Pollution)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

2730 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Variations of Carbon Monoxide Concentrations in the Megacity of São Paulo from 2000 to 2015 in Different Time Scales

by José Roberto Rozante, Vinícius Rozante, Débora Souza Alvim, Antônio Ocimar Manzi, Júlio Barboza Chiquetto, Monica Tais Siqueira D’Amelio and Demerval Soares Moreira

Atmosphere 2017, 8(5), 81; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8050081 - 28 Apr 2017

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 7523

Abstract

Air pollution is an important public health issue. High levels of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere are hazardous to human health. Studies regarding the concentration of this and other gases in the atmosphere allow political actions to manage and reduce the emission of [...] Read more.

Air pollution is an important public health issue. High levels of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere are hazardous to human health. Studies regarding the concentration of this and other gases in the atmosphere allow political actions to manage and reduce the emission of pollutants. In this context, this paper studied the annual, seasonal, weekly and daily variations of carbon monoxide (CO) concentration for the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (MRSP). We studied three sites in the MRSP, two of them are located in areas under the influence of heavy vehicle traffic (Osasco and Congonhas) and the third one in a city park (Ibirapuera Park). The results showed high influence of gasoline vehicles on CO emission. In the annual scale, CO concentration decreased due to improvements in emission technology, despite the increasing number of vehicles. CO emission showed a seasonal, weekly and diurnal cycle associated to meteorological conditions and emission patterns. The highest values of mean concentration were observed in June/July for Osasco (2.20 ppm), Congonhas (2.04 ppm) and Ibirapuera (1.04 ppm), during the morning, due to weak dispersion of the polluting gases and higher emission from the rush hours. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Air Pollution)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

9052 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

A New Type of Haze? The December 2015 Purple (Magenta) Haze Event in Nanjing, China

by Duanyang Liu, Xuejun Liu, Hongbin Wang, Yi Li, Zhiming Kang, Lu Cao, Xingna Yu and Hao Chen

Atmosphere 2017, 8(4), 76; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8040076 - 14 Apr 2017

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 5805

Abstract

A special and unusual purple (magenta) haze episode was observed in Nanjing, China, at 17:00 on 22 December 2015. Many local and national news outlets reported this event. Based on an analysis of the pollution features and meteorological factors, including boundary layer characteristics, [...] Read more.

A special and unusual purple (magenta) haze episode was observed in Nanjing, China, at 17:00 on 22 December 2015. Many local and national news outlets reported this event. Based on an analysis of the pollution features and meteorological factors, including boundary layer characteristics, we concluded that this haze event was similar in most respects to other local haze episodes. We discuss the reasons and the possibilities about this rare color haze at the end of the paper. One way to attain a combination of blue and red light is to have the green wavelengths selectively absorbed, and this seems unlikely for typical atmospheric constituents. Another way involves pollution gases or particles together with small liquid-water drops, which need further confirmation. A third possibility is that the combination of transmitted red light from the sun and scattered blue light from above could produce a purple/magenta color in the sky. In general, further studies are required to assess the physical, chemical, and optical features of this purple haze in order to explain and predict this phenomenon in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Air Pollution)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

2273 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Inverse Relations of PM_2.5 and O₃ in Air Compound Pollution between Cold and Hot Seasons over an Urban Area of East China

by Mengwei Jia, Tianliang Zhao, Xinghong Cheng, Sunling Gong, Xiangzhi Zhang, Lili Tang, Duanyang Liu, Xianghua Wu, Liming Wang and Yusheng Chen

Atmosphere 2017, 8(3), 59; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8030059 - 20 Mar 2017

Cited by 134 | Viewed by 8511

Abstract

Abstract: By analyzing the data of urban air pollutant measurements from 2013 to 2015 in Nanjing, East China, we found that the correlation coefficients between major atmospheric compound pollutants PM_2.5 and O₃ were respectively 0.40 in hot season (June, July [...] Read more.

Abstract: By analyzing the data of urban air pollutant measurements from 2013 to 2015 in Nanjing, East China, we found that the correlation coefficients between major atmospheric compound pollutants PM_2.5 and O₃ were respectively 0.40 in hot season (June, July and August) and −0.16 in cold season (December, January and February) with both passing the confidence level of 99%. This provides evidence for the inverse relations of ambient PM_2.5 and O₃ between cold and hot seasons in an urban area of East China. To understand the interaction of PM_2.5 and O₃ in air compound pollution, the underlying mechanisms on the inversion relations between cold and hot seasons were investigated from the seasonal variations in atmospheric oxidation and radiative forcing of PM_2.5 based on three-year environmental and meteorological data. The analyses showed that the augmentation of atmospheric oxidation could strengthen the production of secondary particles with the contribution up to 26.76% to ambient PM_2.5 levels. High O₃ concentrations in a strong oxidative air condition during hot season promoted the formation of secondary particles, which could result in a positive correlation between PM_2.5 and O₃ in hot season. In cold season with weak atmospheric oxidation, the enhanced PM_2.5 levels suppressed surface solar radiation, which could weaken O₃ production for decreasing ambient O₃ level with the low diurnal peaks. Under the high PM_2.5 level exceeding 115 μg·m⁻³, the surface O₃ concentration dropped to 12.7 μg·m⁻³ at noon with a significant inhibitory effect, leading to a negative correlation between PM_2.5 and O₃ in cold season. This observational study revealed the interaction of PM_2.5 and O₃ in air compound pollution for understanding the seasonal change of atmospheric environment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Air Pollution)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

3244 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Land Use Regression Modeling of PM_2.5 Concentrations at Optimized Spatial Scales

by Liang Zhai, Bin Zou, Xin Fang, Yanqing Luo, Neng Wan and Shuang Li

Atmosphere 2017, 8(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8010001 - 23 Dec 2016

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 6852

Abstract

Though land use regression (LUR) models have been widely utilized to simulate air pollution distribution, unclear spatial scale effects of contributing characteristic variables usually make results study-specific. In this study, LUR models for PM_2.5 in Houston Metropolitan Area, US were developed under [...] Read more.

Though land use regression (LUR) models have been widely utilized to simulate air pollution distribution, unclear spatial scale effects of contributing characteristic variables usually make results study-specific. In this study, LUR models for PM_2.5 in Houston Metropolitan Area, US were developed under scales of 100 m, 300 m, 500 m, 800 m, and 1000–5000 m with intervals of 500 m by employing the idea of statistically optimized analysis. Results show that the annual average PM_2.5 concentration in Houston was significantly influenced by area ratios of open space urban and medium intensity urban at a 100 m scale, as well as of high intensity urban at a 500 m scale, whose correlation coefficients valued −0.64, 0.72, and 0.56, respectively. The fitting degree of LUR model at the optimized spatial scale (adj. R² = 0.78) is obviously better than those at any other unified spatial scales (adj. R² ranging from 0.19 to 0.65). Differences of PM_2.5 concentrations produced by LUR models with best-, moderate-, weakest fitting degree, as well as ordinary kriging were evident, while the LUR model achieved the best cross-validation accuracy at the optimized spatial scale. Results suggested that statistical based optimized spatial scales of characteristic variables might possibly ensure the performance of LUR models in mapping PM_2.5 distribution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Air Pollution)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

1105 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Chemical Composition of PM₁₀ at Urban Sites in Naples (Italy)

by Paola Di Vaio, Elisa Magli, Francesco Barbato, Giuseppe Caliendo, Beatrice Cocozziello, Angela Corvino, Anna De Marco, Ferdinando Fiorino, Francesco Frecentese, Giuseppe Onorati, Irene Saccone, Vincenzo Santagada, Maria Eleonora Soggiu, Beatrice Severino and Elisa Perissutti

Atmosphere 2016, 7(12), 163; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos7120163 - 16 Dec 2016

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5490

Abstract

Here, we report the chemical characterization and identification of the possible sources of particulate matter (fraction PM₁₀) at two different sites in Naples. PM₁₀ concentration and its chemical composition were studied using the crustal enrichment factor (EF) and principal component [...] Read more.

Here, we report the chemical characterization and identification of the possible sources of particulate matter (fraction PM₁₀) at two different sites in Naples. PM₁₀ concentration and its chemical composition were studied using the crustal enrichment factor (EF) and principal component analysis (PCA). In all of the seasons, the PM10 levels, were significantly higher (p < 0.01) in the urban-traffic site (denominated NA02) than in the urban-background site (denominated NA01). In order to reconstruct the particle mass, the components were classified into seven classes as follows: mineral dust (MD), trace elements (TE), organic matter (OM), elemental carbon (EC), sea salt (SS), secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA) and undetermined parts (unknown (UNK)). According to the chemical mass closure obtained, the major contribution was OM, which was higher (p < 0.01) during summer than in other seasons. In both sites, a good correlation (R² > 0.8) was obtained between reconstructed mass and gravimetric mass. PCA analysis explained 76% and 79% of the variance in NA01 and NA02, respectively. The emission sources were the same for both sites; but, the location of the site, the different distances from the sources and the presence and absence of vegetation proved the different concentrations and compositions of PM₁₀. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Air Pollution)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

235 KiB

Open AccessReview

Air Pollution and Public Health: A PRISMA-Compliant Systematic Review

by Marco Quarato, Luigi De Maria, Maria Franca Gatti, Antonio Caputi, Francesca Mansi, Pietro Lorusso, Francesco Birtolo and Luigi Vimercati

Atmosphere 2017, 8(10), 183; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos8100183 - 22 Sep 2017

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 5721

Abstract

(1) Background: Particulate matter increases the risk of respiratory, allergic and oncological diseases in both exposed workers and the general population due to its toxic compounds (e.g., PAHs, gases, heavy metals, microorganisms). The aim of this review is to show the results obtained [...] Read more.

(1) Background: Particulate matter increases the risk of respiratory, allergic and oncological diseases in both exposed workers and the general population due to its toxic compounds (e.g., PAHs, gases, heavy metals, microorganisms). The aim of this review is to show the results obtained by our department regarding air pollution’s contributions to health damage in both occupationally and non-occupationally exposed people. (2) Methods: This review was performed according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, searching articles on PubMed, using eligibility criteria, extracting data independently from reports to reduce bias and considering the accuracy of the statistical analyses. (3) Results: Of fifteen papers, only three respected the abovementioned criteria. A total of 453 cases (174 occupationally exposed and 279 non-occupationally exposed individuals) were included in the review. Qualitative analysis showed that among workers, occupational exposure to air pollution increased the risk of allergic and pulmonary diseases, whereas environmental exposure to PM increased heavy metal intake, the last of which was characterized by well-known carcinogenic effects. 4) Conclusion: The use of personal protective equipment, a meticulous health surveillance program and specific environmental protection policies are needed to protect public health from damages due to air pollution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Urban Air Pollution)

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Urban Air Pollution

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (11 papers)

Research

Review

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI