scholarly journals Climate and air quality trade-offs in altering ship fuel sulfur content

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 12059-12071 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. I. Partanen ◽  
A. Laakso ◽  
A. Schmidt ◽  
H. Kokkola ◽  
T. Kuokkanen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Sulfur Content ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Premature Mortality ◽  
Open Ocean ◽  
Cooling Effect ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Emission Controls

Abstract. Aerosol particles from shipping emissions both cool the climate and cause adverse health effects. The cooling effect is, however, declining because of shipping emission controls aiming to improve air quality. We used an aerosol-climate model ECHAM-HAMMOZ to test whether by altering ship fuel sulfur content, the present-day aerosol-induced cooling effect from shipping could be preserved, while at the same time reducing premature mortality rates related to shipping emissions. We compared the climate and health effects of a present-day shipping emission scenario (ship fuel sulfur content of 2.7%) with (1) a simulation with strict emission controls in the coastal waters (ship fuel sulfur content of 0.1%) and twofold the present-day fuel sulfur content (i.e. 5.4%) elsewhere; and (2) a scenario with global strict shipping emission controls (ship fuel sulfur content of 0.1% in coastal waters and 0.5% elsewhere) roughly corresponding to international agreements to be enforced by the year 2020. Scenario 1 had a slightly stronger aerosol-induced effective radiative forcing (ERF) from shipping than the present-day scenario (−0.43 W m−2 vs. −0.39 W m−2) while reducing premature mortality from shipping by 69% (globally 34 900 deaths avoided per year). Scenario 2 decreased the ERF to −0.06 W m−2 and annual deaths by 96% (globally 48 200 deaths avoided per year) compared to present-day. Our results show that the cooling effect of present-day emissions could be retained with simultaneous notable improvements in air quality, even though the shipping emissions from the open ocean clearly have a significant effect on continental air quality. However, increasing ship fuel sulfur content in the open ocean would violate existing international treaties, could cause detrimental side-effects, and could be classified as geoengineering.

scholarly journals Climate and air quality trade-offs in altering ship fuel sulfur content

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 21989-22024
Author(s):  
A.-I. Partanen ◽  
A. Laakso ◽  
A. Schmidt ◽  
H. Kokkola ◽  
T. Kuokkanen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Sulfur Content ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
Climate Model ◽  
Premature Mortality ◽  
Open Ocean ◽  
Cooling Effect ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Emission Controls

Abstract. Aerosol particles from shipping emissions both cool the climate and cause adverse health effects. The cooling effect is, however, declining because of shipping emission controls aiming to improve air quality. We used an aerosol-climate model ECHAM-HAMMOZ to test whether by altering ship fuel sulfur content, the present-day aerosol-induced cooling effect from shipping could be preserved while at the same time reducing premature mortality rates related to shipping emissions. We compared the climate and health effects of a present-day shipping emission scenario with (1) a simulation with strict emission controls in the coastal waters (ship fuel sulfur content of 0.1%) and twofold ship fuel sulfur content compared to current global average of 2.7% elsewhere; and (2) a scenario with global strict shipping emission controls (ship fuel sulfur content of 0.1% in coastal waters and 0.5% elsewhere) roughly corresponding to international agreements to be enforced by the year 2020. Scenario 1 had a slightly stronger aerosol-induced radiative flux perturbation (RFP) from shipping than the present-day scenario (−0.43 W m−2 vs. −0.39 W m−2) while reducing premature mortality from shipping by 69% (globally 34 900 deaths avoided per year). Scenario 2 decreased the RFP to −0.06 W m−2 and annual deaths by 96% (globally 48 200 deaths avoided per year) compared to present-day. A small difference in radiative effect (global mean of 0.04 W m−2) in the coastal regions between Scenario 1 and the present-day scenario imply that shipping emission regulation in the existing emission control areas should not be removed in hope of climate cooling. Our results show that the cooling effect of present-day emissions could be retained with simultaneous notable improvements in air quality, even though the shipping emissions from the open ocean clearly have a significant effect on continental air quality. However, increasing ship fuel sulfur content in the open ocean would violate existing international treaties, could cause detrimental side-effects, and could be classified as geoengineering.

Improving the Protection of Children Against Air Pollution Threats in Romania � The RokidAIR Project Approach and Future Perspectives

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 841-846
Author(s):  
Hai-Ying Liu ◽  
Daniel Dunea ◽  
Mihaela Oprea ◽  
Tom Savu ◽  
Stefania Iordache
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Behavioural Change ◽  
Health Assessment ◽  
Warning System ◽  
Personal Exposure ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Quality Maps

This paper presents the approach used to develop the information chain required to reach the objectives of the EEA Grants� RokidAIR project in two Romanian cities i.e., Targoviste and Ploiesti. It describes the PM2.5 monitoring infrastructure and architecture to the web-based GIS platform, the early warning system and the decision support system, and finally, the linking of air pollution to health effects in children. In addition, it shows the analysis performance of the designed system to process the collected time series from various data sources using the benzene concentrations monitored in Ploiesti. Moreover, this paper suggests that biomarkers, mobile technologies, and Citizens� Observatories are potential perspectives to improve data coverage by the provision of near-real-time air quality maps, and provide personal exposure and health assessment results, enabling the citizens� engagement and behavioural change. This paper also addresses new fields in nature-based solutions to improve air quality, and studies on air pollution and its mental health effects in the urban areas of Romania.

Air quality and synergistic health effects of ozone and nitrogen oxides in response to China’s integrated air quality control policies during 2015–2019

Chemosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 268 ◽  
pp. 129385
Author(s):  
Xuguo Zhang ◽  
Jimmy C.H. Fung ◽  
Alexis K.H. Lau ◽  
Md Shakhaoat Hossain ◽  
Peter K.K. Louie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Nitrogen Oxides ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Control Policies ◽  
Air Quality Control

scholarly journals Ensemble Predictions of Air Pollutants in China in 2013 for Health Effects Studies Using WRF/CMAQ Modeling System with Four Emission Inventories

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianlin Hu ◽  
Xun Li ◽  
Lin Huang ◽  
Qi Ying ◽  
Qiang Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Emission Inventory ◽  
Model Performance ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Emission Inventories ◽  
Air Quality Model ◽  
Quality Model ◽  
Future Health

Abstract. Accurate exposure estimates are required for health effects analyses of severe air pollution in China. Chemical transport models (CTMs) are widely used tools to provide detailed information of spatial distribution, chemical composition, particle size fractions, and source origins of pollutants. The accuracy of CTMs' predictions in China is largely affected by the uncertainties of public available emission inventories. The Community Multi-scale Air Quality model (CMAQ) with meteorological inputs from the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF) were used in this study to simulate air quality in China in 2013. Four sets of simulations were conducted with four different anthropogenic emission inventories, including the Multi-resolution Emission Inventory for China (MEIC), the Emission Inventory for China by School of Environment at Tsinghua University (SOE), the Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research (EDGAR), and the Regional Emission inventory in Asia version 2 (REAS2). Model performance was evaluated against available observation data from 422 sites in 60 cities across China. Model predictions of O3 and PM2.5 with the four inventories generally meet the criteria of model performance, but difference exists in different pollutants and different regions among the inventories. Ensemble predictions were calculated by linearly combining the results from different inventories under the constraint that sum of the squared errors between the ensemble results and the observations from all the cities was minimized. The ensemble annual concentrations show improved agreement with observations in most cities. The mean fractional bias (MFB) and mean fractional errors (MFE) of the ensemble predicted annual PM2.5 at the 60 cities are −0.11 and 0.24, respectively, which are better than the MFB (−0.25–−0.16) and MFE (0.26–0.31) of individual simulations. The ensemble annual 1-hour peak O3 (O3-1 h) concentrations are also improved, with mean normalized bias (MNB) of 0.03 and mean normalized errors (MNE) of 0.14, compared to MNB of 0.06–0.19 and MNE of 0.16–0.22 of the individual predictions. The ensemble predictions agree better with observations with daily, monthly, and annual averaging times in all regions of China for both PM2.5 and O3-1 h. The study demonstrates that ensemble predictions by combining predictions from individual emission inventories can improve the accuracy of predicted temporal and spatial distributions of air pollutants. This study is the first ensemble model study in China using multiple emission inventories and the results are publicly available for future health effects studies.

scholarly journals The Impact of Future Emission Policies on Tropospheric Ozone using a Parameterised Approach

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Turnock ◽  
Oliver Wild ◽  
Frank Dentener ◽  
Yanko Davila ◽  
Louisa Emmons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Tropospheric Ozone ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Source Attribution ◽  
The Future ◽  
Future Emission ◽  
Tropospheric O3 ◽  
Near Term ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Surface O3

Abstract. This study quantifies future changes in tropospheric ozone (O3) using a simple parameterisation of source-receptor relationships based on simulations from a range of models participating in the Task Force on Hemispheric Transport of Air Pollutants (TF-HTAP) experiments. Surface and tropospheric O3 changes are calculated globally and across 16 regions from perturbations in precursor emissions (NOx, CO, VOCs) and methane (CH4) abundance. A source attribution is provided for each source region along with an estimate of uncertainty based on the spread of the results from the models. Tests against model simulations using HadGEM2-ES confirm that the approaches used within the parameterisation are valid. The O3 response to changes in CH4 abundance is slightly larger in TF-HTAP Phase 2 than in the TF-HTAP Phase 1 assessment (2010) and provides further evidence that controlling CH4 is important for limiting future O3 concentrations. Different treatments of chemistry and meteorology in models remains one of the largest uncertainties in calculating the O3 response to perturbations in CH4 abundance and precursor emissions, particularly over the Middle East and South Asian regions. Emission changes for the future ECLIPSE scenarios and a subset of preliminary Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) indicate that surface O3 concentrations will increase by 1 to 8 ppbv in 2050 across different regions. Source attribution analysis highlights the growing importance of CH4 in the future under current legislation. A global tropospheric O3 radiative forcing of +0.07 W m−2 from 2010 to 2050 is predicted using the ECLIPSE scenarios and SSPs, based solely on changes in CH4 abundance and tropospheric O3 precursor emissions and neglecting any influence of climate change. Current legislation is shown to be inadequate in limiting the future degradation of surface ozone air quality and enhancement of near-term climate warming. More stringent future emission controls provide a large reduction in both surface O3 concentrations and O3 radiative forcing. The parameterisation provides a simple tool to highlight the different impacts and associated uncertainties of local and hemispheric emission control strategies on both surface air quality and the near-term climate forcing by tropospheric O3.

Air Quality Profile in an Enclosed Car Park

2014 ◽  
Vol 567 ◽  
pp. 3-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurul Izma Mohammed ◽  
Nurfadhilah Othman ◽  
Khairul Bariyah Baharuddin
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Health Effects ◽  
Sulphur Dioxide ◽  
Motor Vehicle ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Ambient Air Pollution ◽  
Kuala Lumpur ◽  
Short Supply ◽  
Car Park

Complaints on poor air quality in an enclosed car park have been raised up among the public, which might cause serious health effects to the drivers, passengers, and labours who are working at the premises. Improper design of mechanical ventilation systems in a car park would result in a poor indoor environment. The exhaust emission of motor vehicle contains a variety of potentially harmful substances encompassing carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide, hydrocarbons, and fine particulates. In Kuala Lumpur, there is a great demand but a short supply of lands and building spaces. Thus, a large multi-storey underground car parks is a common solution for both, the government and developers. Although the health effects of the motor vehicle emissions and ambient air pollution are already known, but due to the nature of enclosed multi-storey car parks, these health risks are predicted to be intensified. Thus, it is crucial to investigate and evaluate the status of the air pollution in the enclosed car parks with emphasis on sulphur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen dioxides (NO2). Samples were collected in one of the famous shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur using a GrayWolf Advanced Sense Direct Sense; Toxic Gas Test Meters from 8 am until 5 pm on weekdays and weekends. The results demonstrate that the concentrations of SO2 and NO2 on weekends is higher than weekdays. Besides, the concentrations for both weekdays and weekends have exceeded the standard limit set by the Malaysian Ambient Air Quality Guideline (MAAQG).

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