Mapping aerosol pollution over the city using a scanning lidar

2020 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 877-891

Author(s):

Ekaterina Y. Zhdanova ◽

Natalia Y. Chubarova ◽

Alexei I. Lyapustin

Keyword(s):

Agricultural Development ◽

Moscow Region ◽

Pollutant Emissions ◽

City Centre ◽

Construction Sites ◽

Aerosol Pollution ◽

Aerosol Sources ◽

The Mean ◽

The Difference ◽

The City

Abstract. We estimated the distribution of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) with a spatial resolution of 1 km over the Moscow megacity using the MAIAC aerosol product based on MODIS satellite data (Lyapustin et al., 2018) for the warm period of the year (May–September, 2001–2017). AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network)-based validation of satellite estimates near the city centre at Moscow_MSU_MO and over the Moscow suburbs at Zvenigorod revealed that MAIAC AOT at 0.47 µm is in agreement with AERONET AOT though underestimated by 0.05–0.1 for AOT<1 and overestimated for smoke conditions with AOT>1. The MAIAC AOT biases were almost the same for the Moscow_MSU_MO and Zvenigorod AERONET sites, which indicated that the MAIAC algorithm effectively removed the effect of the bright urban surface in the city centre. For the ground-based measurements, the difference between annual median AOT at Moscow_MO_MSU and Zvenigorod (ΔAOT) varied within −0.002 to +0.03, with statistically significant positive bias for most years, and an average ΔAOT was about 0.02. According to the MAIAC dataset, the ΔAOT varied within ±0.01 and was not statistically significant. The ΔAOT started decreasing recently due to intensive urban development of the territory around Zvenigorod and the decrease in pollutant emissions in Moscow, which is mainly caused by the environmental regulations. According to the MAIAC dataset, the most pronounced spatial AOT differences over the territory of Moscow were observed at the 5 % quantile level, where they reached 0.05–0.06 over several locations and could be attributed to the stationary sources of aerosol pollution, for example, large areas of construction sites, aerosol pollution from roads and highways, or agriculture activities. The differences between the maximum and the mean AOT for different quantiles, except the 95 % quantile, within the Moscow region, were about 0.02–0.04, which could be attributed to the local aerosol sources. The application of the MAIAC algorithm over the whole Moscow region has revealed a decreasing AOT trend over the centre of Moscow and an increasing trend over the “New” Moscow territory which experienced an intensive build-up and agricultural development.

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Reduction in solar photovoltaic generation due to aerosol pollution in megacities in western China during 2014 to 2018

Indoor and Built Environment ◽

10.1177/1420326x20939310 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1420326X2093931

Author(s):

Liyuan Zhang ◽

Xiaoxiao Yi ◽

Min Zhao ◽

Zhaolin Gu

Keyword(s):

Northwestern China ◽

Western China ◽

Solar Photovoltaic ◽

Annual Average ◽

Photovoltaic Generation ◽

Aerosol Pollution ◽

Clean Air ◽

Total Capacity ◽

The Impact ◽

The City

Installed solar photovoltaic generation is expanding fast in western China, with total capacity accounting for >15% of global photovoltaic capacity. However, severe aerosol pollution over western China has weakened the solar radiation reaching the panels. We assessed the impact of aerosol pollution on photovoltaic power generation at the city level in western China from 2014 to 2018. Over northwestern China, severe aerosol pollution regions, aerosols reduced annual average photovoltaic generation by 0.15–0.31 kWh/m2/day relative to clean air conditions, a decrease of 4.8–9.0%. The impact had significant seasonal variations. Aerosols can exert an influence even as important as clouds in winter in northwestern China, with the reduction of 11.2–17.4% in December. Photovoltaic generation can be benefited from the improvement of aerosol pollution and can further improve the air quality by providing clean power.

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Assessment of urban aerosol pollution over Moscow megacity by MAIAC aerosol product

10.5194/amt-2019-325 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Ekaterina Y. Zhdanova ◽

Natalia Y. Chubarova ◽

Alexei I. Lyapustin

Keyword(s):

Power Plants ◽

Agricultural Development ◽

Moscow Region ◽

Pollutant Emissions ◽

City Centre ◽

The North ◽

Aerosol Pollution ◽

Aerosol Sources ◽

The Difference ◽

The City

Abstract. We estimated the distribution of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) with a spatial resolution of 1 km over Moscow megacity using MAIAC aerosol product based on MODIS satellite data (Lyapustin et al., 2018) for the warm period of year (May–September). AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network)-based validation near the city centre at Moscow_MSU_MO and over Moscow suburbs at Zvenigorod revealed that MAIAC AOT at 470 nm is in agreement with AERONET AOT though underestimated by 0.05–0.1 for AOT 1. The MAIAC AOT biases were almost the same for the Moscow_MSU_MO and Zvenigorod AERONET sites, which indicated that MAIAC effectively removed the effect of the bright urban surface in the city centre. For the ground-based measurements, the annual median AOT difference between Moscow_MO_MSU and Zvenigorod (ΔAOT) varied within −0.002±0.03 with statistically significant positive bias for most years and an average ΔAOT of ~ 0.02. According to MAIAC dataset, ΔAOT varied within ±0.01 and was not statistically significant. The ΔAOT started decreasing recently due to intensive urban development of the territory around Zvenigorod and the decrease of pollutant emissions in Moscow, which is mainly caused by the environmental regulations. According to the MAIAC dataset, the most pronounced spatial AOT difference over the territory of Moscow was observed at 5 % quantile level, where it reached 0.05–0.06 over several locations and could be attributed to the stationary sources of aerosol pollution, for example, power plants, or aerosol pollution from roads. The difference between the maximum and the mean AOT for different quantiles, except the 95 % quantile, within the Moscow region, was about 0.02–0.04 which could be attributed to the local aerosol sources. The application of the MAIAC algorithm over the whole Moscow region has revealed a decreasing AOT trend over the centre of Moscow and an increasing trend over the New Moscow territory which experienced an intensive build-up and agricultural development in the north and the south parts of this district, respectively.

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Hospitals: N.Y. Appellate Court Denies Move to Privatize Public Hospital

The Journal of Law Medicine & Ethics ◽

10.1017/s1073110500012961 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 202-203

Author(s):

Robert Chatham

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

New York City ◽

York City ◽

Public Health System ◽

Municipal Hospital ◽

The Public ◽

Public Benefit ◽

For Profit ◽

Benefit Corporation ◽

The City

The Court of Appeals of New York held, in Council of the City of New York u. Giuliani, slip op. 02634, 1999 WL 179257 (N.Y. Mar. 30, 1999), that New York City may not privatize a public city hospital without state statutory authorization. The court found invalid a sublease of a municipal hospital operated by a public benefit corporation to a private, for-profit entity. The court reasoned that the controlling statute prescribed the operation of a municipal hospital as a government function that must be fulfilled by the public benefit corporation as long as it exists, and nothing short of legislative action could put an end to the corporation's existence.In 1969, the New York State legislature enacted the Health and Hospitals Corporation Act (HHCA), establishing the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC) as an attempt to improve the New York City public health system. Thirty years later, on a renewed perception that the public health system was once again lacking, the city administration approved a sublease of Coney Island Hospital from HHC to PHS New York, Inc. (PHS), a private, for-profit entity.

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ASHA Convention 2013

ASHA Leader ◽

10.1044/leader.an11.18072013.46 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 18 (7) ◽

pp. 46-48

Keyword(s):

Ice Cream ◽

Annual Convention ◽

The City ◽

Rich History

This year's Annual Convention features some sweet new twists like ice cream and free wi-fi. But it also draws on a rich history as it returns to Chicago, the city where the association's seeds were planted way back in 1930. Read on through our special convention section for a full flavor of can't-miss events, helpful tips, and speakers who remind why you do what you do.

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