scholarly journals Urban source term estimation for mercury using a boundary-layer budget method

Author(s):  
Basil Denzler ◽  
Christian Bogdal ◽  
Cyrill Kern ◽  
Anna Tobler ◽  
Jing Huo ◽  
...  

Abstract. Mercury is a heavy metal of particular concern due to its adverse effects on the human health and the environment. Recognizing this problem, the UN Minamata Convention on Mercury was recently adopted, where signatory countries agreed to reduce anthropogenic mercury emissions. To evaluate the effectiveness of the convention, quantitative knowledge on mercury emissions is crucial. So far, bottom-up approaches have successfully been applied to quantify mercury emission – especially for point sources. Distributed sources make up for a large share of the emission, however, they are still poorly characterized. Here, we present a top-down approach to estimate mercury emissions based on atmospheric measurements in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. While monitoring the atmospheric mercury concentrations during inversion periods in Zurich, we were able to relate the concentration increase to the mercury emission strength of the city using a box model. By the means of this boundary-layer budget approach, we succeeded to narrow down the emissions of Zurich to range between 41 ± 8 kg/a (upper bound) and 24 ± 8 kg/a (lower bound). Thereby, we could quantify emissions from mixed, diffuse and point like sources and derive an annual mercury per capita emission of 0.06 to 0.10 g/a. The approach presented here has the potential to support authorities in setting up inventories and to validate emission estimations derived from the commonly applied bottom-up approaches. Furthermore, our method is applicable to other compounds and to a wide range of cities or other areas, where sources or as well sinks for mercury and other atmospheric pollutants are presumed.

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 3821-3831 ◽  
Author(s):  
Basil Denzler ◽  
Christian Bogdal ◽  
Cyrill Kern ◽  
Anna Tobler ◽  
Jing Huo ◽  
...  

Abstract. Mercury is a heavy metal of particular concern due to its adverse effects on human health and the environment. Recognizing this problem, the UN Minamata Convention on Mercury was recently adopted, where signatory countries agreed to reduce anthropogenic mercury emissions. To evaluate the effectiveness of the convention, quantitative knowledge on mercury emissions is crucial. So far, bottom-up approaches have successfully been applied to quantify mercury emission – especially for point sources. Distributed sources make up a large share of the emission; however, they are still poorly characterized. Here, we present a top-down approach to estimate mercury emissions based on atmospheric measurements in the city of Zurich, Switzerland. While monitoring the atmospheric mercury concentrations during inversion periods in Zurich, we were able to relate the concentration increase to the mercury emission strength of the city using a box model. By means of this boundary-layer budget approach, we succeeded in narrowing down the emissions of Zurich to range between 41±8 kg a−1 (upper bound) and 24±8 kg a−1 (lower bound). Thereby, we could quantify emissions from mixed, diffuse and point-like sources and derive an annual mercury per capita emission of 0.06 to 0.10 g a−1. The approach presented here has the potential to support authorities in setting up inventories and to validate emission estimations derived from the commonly applied bottom-up approaches. Furthermore, our method is applicable to other compounds and to a wide range of cities or other areas, where sources or sinks for mercury and other atmospheric pollutants are presumed.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 5987-6003
Author(s):  
Pramod Kumar ◽  
Grégoire Broquet ◽  
Camille Yver-Kwok ◽  
Olivier Laurent ◽  
Susan Gichuki ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present a local-scale atmospheric inversion framework to estimate the location and rate of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) releases from point sources. It relies on mobile near-ground atmospheric CH4 and CO2 mole fraction measurements across the corresponding atmospheric plumes downwind of these sources, on high-frequency meteorological measurements, and on a Gaussian plume dispersion model. The framework exploits the scatter of the positions of the individual plume cross sections, the integrals of the gas mole fractions above the background within these plume cross sections, and the variations of these integrals from one cross section to the other to infer the position and rate of the releases. It has been developed and applied to provide estimates of brief controlled CH4 and CO2 point source releases during a 1-week campaign in October 2018 at the TOTAL experimental platform TADI in Lacq, France. These releases typically lasted 4 to 8 min and covered a wide range of rates (0.3 to 200 g CH4/s and 0.2 to 150 g CO2/s) to test the capability of atmospheric monitoring systems to react fast to emergency situations in industrial facilities. It also allowed testing of their capability to provide precise emission estimates for the application of climate change mitigation strategies. However, the low and highly varying wind conditions during the releases added difficulties to the challenge of characterizing the atmospheric transport over the very short duration of the releases. We present our series of CH4 and CO2 mole fraction measurements using instruments on board a car that drove along roads ∼50 to 150 m downwind of the 40 m × 60 m area for controlled releases along with the estimates of the release locations and rates. The comparisons of these results to the actual position and rate of the controlled releases indicate ∼10 %–40 % average errors (depending on the inversion configuration or on the series of tests) in the estimates of the release rates and ∼30–40 m errors in the estimates of the release locations. These results are shown to be promising, especially since better results could be expected for longer releases and under meteorological conditions more favorable to local-scale dispersion modeling. However, the analysis also highlights the need for methodological improvements to increase the skill for estimating the source locations.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pramod Kumar ◽  
Grégoire Broquet ◽  
Camille Yver-Kwok ◽  
Olivier Laurent ◽  
Susan Gichuki ◽  
...  

Abstract. We present a local-scale atmospheric inversion framework to estimate the location and rate of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) releases from point sources. It relies on mobile near-ground atmospheric CH4 and CO2 mole fraction measurements across the corresponding atmospheric plumes downwind the sources, on high-frequency meteorological measurements, and a Gaussian plume dispersion model. It exploits the spread of the positions of individual plume cross-sections and the integrals of the gas mole fractions above the background within these plume cross-sections to infer the position and rate of the releases. It has been developed and applied to provide estimates of brief controlled CH4 and CO2 point source releases during a one-week campaign in October 2018 at the TOTAL's experimental platform TADI in Lacq, France. These releases lasted typically 4 to 8 minutes and covered a wide range of rates (0.3 to 200 gCH4/s and 0.2 to 150 gCO2/s) to test the capability of atmospheric monitoring systems to react fast to emergency situations in industrial facilities. It also allowed testing their capability to provide precise emission estimates for the application of climate change mitigation strategies. However, the low and highly varying wind conditions during the releases added difficulties to the challenge of characterizing the atmospheric transport over the very short duration of the releases. We present our series of measurements of CH4 and CO2 mole fractions using instruments onboard a car that drives along the roads ~50 to 150 m downwind the 40 m × 60 m area of controlled releases for each of the releases and the results from the inversions of the release locations and rates. The comparisons of these results to the actual position and rate of the controlled release indicate a 20 %–30 % average error on the release rates and a ~30–40 m errors in the estimates of the release locations. These results are shown to be promising especially since better results could be expected for longer releases and under meteorological conditions more favorable to local scale dispersion modeling.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 2108
Author(s):  
Jurandir Moura Dutra ◽  
Helder Relvas ◽  
João Rodrigues ◽  
Geise Canalez ◽  
Kátia Cavalcante ◽  
...  

Foram estimadas as emissões antrópicas de gases de efeito estufa e poluentes atmosféricos para cidade de Manaus oriundas da mobilidade urbana, adotando as orientações do IPCC e as recomendações do governo brasileiro, no que tange ao uso de biomassa na matriz energética, assim como as experiências relatadas por outros grandes centros brasileiros que já publicaram seus inventários. A cidade apresentou crescimento demográfico vertiginoso nos últimos 50 anos graças à edição do Decreto 288/67 que instituiu o modelo econômico Zona Franca de Manaus com incentivos fiscais ao setor industrial. Neste período a população saltou de 314.197 habitantes em 1970 para 2.094.391 em 2016. Com uma frota de veículos de 710.586, a cidade apresenta uma série de problemas, seja de infraestrutura pela quase ausência de planejamento urbano, seja pela precariedade dos serviços públicos. As emissões são representativas da frota e, muito embora, venham reduzindo nas últimas décadas, sobretudo, em face da implementação de diversas fases do Programa de Controle da Poluição do Ar por Veículos Automotores – PROCONVE e Programa de Controle da Poluição do Ar por Motocicletas e Veículos Similares - PROMAT, os resultados são de ordem preocupante e precisam fomentar o desenvolvimento de políticas públicas de transporte e saúde inerentes à qualidade do ar. Analysis of the Displacement of Emissions Pollutants in the Manaus city, Brazil A B S T R A C TThe anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and atmospheric pollutants to the city of Manaus from urban mobility were estimated by adopting the IPCC guidelines and recommendations of the Brazilian government regarding the use of biomass in the energy matrix, as well as the reported experiences by other major Brazilian centers that have already published their inventories. The city has experienced rapid growth in the last 50 years thanks to the publication of Decree 288/67, which established the economic model of the Free Zone of Manaus with tax incentives for the industrial sector. In this period the population jumped from 314,197 inhabitants in 1970 to 2,094,391 in 2016. With a fleet of 710,586 vehicles, the city presents a series of problems, be it infrastructure due to the almost absence of urban planning or the precariousness of public services. The estimates were elaborated from the Bottom-Up approach, whose methodology is most recommended when the volume of data and information is more robust. Were considered the stratified circulating fleet by thermodynamic cycle, the intensity of use and emission factors as suggested by the IPCC (2006) and guided by the Brazilian government (Brazil, 2011). The emissions are representative of the fleet and, although they have been reducing in the last decades, mainly, due to the implementation of several phases of the Air Pollution Control Program for Motor Vehicles - PROCONVE and Air Pollution Control Program for Motorcycles and Similar vehicles - PROMAT, the results are of concern and must foster the development of public transport and health policies related to air quality. Likewise, the adoption of a standard methodology with recommendations and clear definitions for border conditions is the major challenge required to demonstrate the comparability of emissions between different urban centers, in historical scenarios, in order to contribute to the construction of Municipal Mobility Plans Urban. Key words: Urban mobility; Greenhouse gases; Atmospheric pollutants; Inventories; low carbon technologies.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 21285-21315
Author(s):  
C.-J. Lin ◽  
L. Pan ◽  
D. G. Streets ◽  
S. K. Shetty ◽  
C. Jang ◽  
...  

Abstract. East Asia contributes nearly 50% of the global anthropogenic mercury emissions into the atmosphere. Recently, there are concerns for the long-range transport of mercury from East Asia to North America, which may lead to enhanced dry and wet depositions in North America. In this study, we performed four monthly simulations (January, April, July and October in 2005) using CMAQ-Hg v4.6 in an East Asian model domain. Coupled with a mass balance analysis and a number of emission inventory scenarios, the chemical transport of atmospheric mercury, the seasonal mercury transport budgets and mercury emission outflow from the East Asian region were investigated. The total annual mercury deposition in the region for the modeling year is estimated to be 821 Mg, with 396 Mg contributed by wet deposition and 425 Mg contributed by dry deposition. Regional mercury transport budgets show strong seasonal variability, with a net removal of RGM (7~5 Mg mo−1) and PHg (13~21 Mg mo−1), and a net export of GEM (60~130 Mg mo−1) from the study domain. The annual outflow caused by the East Asian emission is estimated to be in the range of 1369~1671 Mg yr−1, primarily in the form of GEM. This represents about 75% of the total mercury emissions (anthropogenic and natural) in the region. The emission outflow from this source region would contribute to 20~30% of mercury deposition in areas remote from anthropogenic emission sources.


2013 ◽  
Vol 295-298 ◽  
pp. 859-871 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Yue ◽  
Fan Wang ◽  
Bin Jie Han ◽  
Peng Lai Zuo ◽  
Fan Zhang

The mercury emission characteristics of coal-fired power plant boilers, industrial boilers, cement kilns, and sintering of iron and steel industry were studied in this paper. The reducing effect of mercury emissions by pollution control technology was analyzed. The EPA standard method was used to measure the mercury concentration of the pollution sources. For coal-fired boilers, the mercury removal efficiency of the existing electrostatic precipitator and wet FGD is up to 60%-70%, and the mercury concentration in the flue gas is below the standard 30μg/Nm3. The main mercury emissions of cement industries are at the kiln outlet, the mercury concentration of which is 2.5 to 5.4 times that of the kiln inlet. For the iron and steel industry, the mercury concentration of the exhausting gas after dust removal and desulfurization can not meet the emission limits and need to be further controlled. The research did in the paper made a scientific basis for the improvement of atmospheric mercury emission inventory and the mercury control.


Author(s):  
Kathryn A. Sloan

Popular culture has long conflated Mexico with the macabre. Some persuasive intellectuals argue that Mexicans have a special relationship with death, formed in the crucible of their hybrid Aztec-European heritage. Death is their intimate friend; death is mocked and accepted with irony and fatalistic abandon. The commonplace nature of death desensitizes Mexicans to suffering. Death, simply put, defines Mexico. There must have been historical actors who looked away from human misery, but to essentialize a diverse group of people as possessing a unique death cult delights those who want to see the exotic in Mexico or distinguish that society from its peers. Examining tragic and untimely death—namely self-annihilation—reveals a counter narrative. What could be more chilling than suicide, especially the violent death of the young? What desperation or madness pushed the victim to raise the gun to the temple or slip the noose around the neck? A close examination of a wide range of twentieth-century historical documents proves that Mexicans did not accept death with a cavalier chuckle nor develop a unique death cult, for that matter. Quite the reverse, Mexicans behaved just as their contemporaries did in Austria, France, England, and the United States. They devoted scientific inquiry to the malady and mourned the loss of each life to suicide.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 193-198
Author(s):  
Lyudmila S. Timofeeva ◽  
Albina R. Akhmetova ◽  
Liliya R. Galimzyanova ◽  
Roman R. Nizaev ◽  
Svetlana E. Nikitina

Abstract The article studies the existence experience of historical cities as centers of tourism development as in the case of Elabuga. The city of Elabuga is among the historical cities of Russia. The major role in the development of the city as a tourist center is played by the Elabuga State Historical-Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve. The object of the research in the article is Elabuga as a medium-size historical city. The subject of the research is the activity of the museum-reserve which contributes to the preservation and development of the historical look of Elabuga and increases its attractiveness to tourists. The tourism attractiveness of Elabuga is obtained primarily through the presence of the perfectly preserved historical center of the city with the blocks of integral buildings of the 19th century. The Elabuga State Historical-Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve, which emerged in 1989, is currently an object of historical and cultural heritage of federal importance. Museum-reserves with their significant territories and rich historical, cultural and natural heritage have unique resources for the implementation of large partnership projects. Such projects are not only aimed at attracting a wide range of tourists, but also stimulate interest in the reserve from the business elite, municipal and regional authorities. The most famous example is the Spasskaya Fair which revived in 2008 in Elabuga. It was held in the city since the second half of the 19th century, and was widely known throughout Russia. The process of the revival and successful development of the fair can be viewed as the creation of a special tourist event contributing to the formation of new and currently important tourism products.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 118-128
Author(s):  
Jason Cohen ◽  
Judy Backhouse ◽  
Omar Ally

Young people are important to cities, bringing skills and energy and contributing to economic activity. New technologies have led to the idea of a smart city as a framework for city management. Smart cities are developed from the top-down through government programmes, but also from the bottom-up by residents as technologies facilitate participation in developing new forms of city services. Young people are uniquely positioned to contribute to bottom-up smart city projects. Few diagnostic tools exist to guide city authorities on how to prioritise city service provision. A starting point is to understand how the youth value city services. This study surveys young people in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, and conducts an importance-performance analysis to identify which city services are well regarded and where the city should focus efforts and resources. The results show that Smart city initiatives that would most increase the satisfaction of youths in Braamfontein  include wireless connectivity, tools to track public transport  and  information  on city events. These  results  identify  city services that are valued by young people, highlighting services that young people could participate in providing. The importance-performance analysis can assist the city to direct effort and scarce resources effectively.


1994 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Puzicha

Effluents from point sources (industries, communities) and diffuse inputs introduce pollutants into the water of the river Rhine and cause a basic contaminant load. The aim is to establish a biological warning system to detect increased toxicity in addition to the already existing chemical-physical monitoring system. To cover a wide range of biocides, continuous working biotests at different trophic levels (bacteria, algae, mussels, water fleas, fishes) have been developed and proved. These are checked out for sensitivity against toxicants, reaction time, validity of data and practical handling under field conditions at the river. Test-specific appropriate methods are found to differentiate between the normal range of variation and true alarm signals.


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