scholarly journals The impact of multi-species surface chemical observations assimilation on the air quality forecasts in China

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Peng ◽  
Lili Lei ◽  
Zhiquan Liu ◽  
Jianning Sun ◽  
Aijun Ding ◽  
...  

Abstract. An Ensemble Kalman Filter data assimilation (DA) system has been developed to improve air quality forecasts using surface measurements of PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, O3 and CO together with an online regional chemical transport model, WRF-Chem (Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry). This DA system was applied to simultaneously adjust the chemical initial conditions (ICs) and emission inputs of the species affecting PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, O3 and CO concentrations during an extreme haze episode that occurred in early October 2014 over the North China Plain. Numerical experimental results indicate that ICs play key roles in PM2.5, PM10 and CO forecasts during the severe haze episode. The 72-h verification forecasts with the optimized ICs and emissions performed very similarly to the verification forecasts with only optimized ICs and the prescribed emissions. For the first-day forecast, near perfect verification forecasts results were achieved. However, with longer range forecasts, the DA impacts decayed quickly. For the SO2 verification forecasts, it was efficient to improve the SO2 forecast via the joint adjustment of SO2 ICs and emissions. Large improvements were achieved for SO2 forecasts with both the optimized ICs and emissions for the whole 72-h forecast range. Similar improvements were achieved for SO2 forecasts with optimized ICs only for just the first 3 h, and then the impact of the ICs decayed quickly. For the NO2 verification forecasts, both forecasts performed much worse than the control run without DA. Plus, the 72-h O3 verification forecasts performed worse than the control run during the daytime, due to the worse performance of the NO2 forecasts, even though they performed better at night. However, relatively favorable NO2 and O3 forecast results were achieved for the Yangtze River delta and Pearl River delta regions.

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 17387-17404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhen Peng ◽  
Lili Lei ◽  
Zhiquan Liu ◽  
Jianning Sun ◽  
Aijun Ding ◽  
...  

Abstract. An ensemble Kalman filter data assimilation (DA) system has been developed to improve air quality forecasts using surface measurements of PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, O3, and CO together with an online regional chemical transport model, WRF-Chem (Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry). This DA system was applied to simultaneously adjust the chemical initial conditions (ICs) and emission inputs of the species affecting PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2, O3, and CO concentrations during an extreme haze episode that occurred in early October 2014 over East Asia. Numerical experimental results indicate that ICs played key roles in PM2.5, PM10 and CO forecasts during the severe haze episode over the North China Plain. The 72 h verification forecasts with the optimized ICs and emissions performed very similarly to the verification forecasts with only optimized ICs and the prescribed emissions. For the first-day forecast, near-perfect verification forecasts results were achieved. However, with longer-range forecasts, the DA impacts decayed quickly. For the SO2 verification forecasts, it was efficient to improve the SO2 forecast via the joint adjustment of SO2 ICs and emissions. Large improvements were achieved for SO2 forecasts with both the optimized ICs and emissions for the whole 72 h forecast range. Similar improvements were achieved for SO2 forecasts with optimized ICs only for the first 3 h, and then the impact of the ICs decayed quickly. For the NO2 verification forecasts, both forecasts performed much worse than the control run without DA. Plus, the 72 h O3 verification forecasts performed worse than the control run during the daytime, due to the worse performance of the NO2 forecasts, even though they performed better at night. However, relatively favorable NO2 and O3 forecast results were achieved for the Yangtze River delta and Pearl River delta regions.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ning Yang ◽  
Yanru Bai ◽  
Yong Zhu ◽  
Nan Ma ◽  
Qiaoqiao Wang

<p>In the last six years, China has experienced significant improvement in air quality due to great emission reduction efforts. However, ozone concentrations are still slowly increasing in three major regions of eastern China, respectively Jing-Jin-Ji(JJJ), Yangtze River Delta region(YRD) and Pearl River Delta region(PRD). It is shown from the 2015-2018 national urban air quality real-time release platform that the surface ozone in JJJ, YRD and PRD has increased each year and reached the highest in 2018. The monthly ozone concentration peaked in June in almost all cities of JJJ, while it had multiple peaks in other two regions (summer and autumn in YRD - and February, May and September in PRD). Simulation with a chemical transport model(GEOS-Chem) indicates that the formation of ozone is affected by the optical properties of PM<sub>2.5</sub> and also the heterogeneous uptake of N<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> on sea salt aerosol.</p>


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junlan Feng ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Shanshan Li ◽  
Jingbo Mao ◽  
Allison P. Patton ◽  
...  

Abstract. The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and the megacity of Shanghai are host to one of the busiest port clusters in the world, the region also suffers from high levels of air pollution. The goal of this study was to estimate the contributions of shipping to emissions, air quality, and population exposure and characterize their dependence on the geographic spatiality of ship lanes from the regional scale to city scale for 2015. The WRF-CMAQ model was used to simulate the influence of coastal and inland-water shipping, in port emissions, shipping-related cargo transport on air quality and, population-weighted concentrations, a measure of human exposure. Our results showed that the impact of shipping on air quality in the YRD was attributable primarily to shipping emissions within 12 NM of shore, but emissions coming from the coastal area of 24 to 96 NM still contributed substantially to ship-related PM2.5 concentrations in YRD. The overall contribution of ships to PM2.5 concentration in YRD could reach to 4.62 μg/m3 in summer when monsoon winds transport shipping emissions onshore. In Shanghai city, inland-water going ships were major contributors (40–80 %) to the shipping impact on urban air quality. Given the proximity of inland-water ships to urban populations of Shanghai, the emissions of inland-water ships contributed more to population-weighted concentrations. These research results provide scientific evidence to inform policies for controlling future shipping emissions; in particular, stricter standards could be considered for the ships on inland rivers and other waterways close to residential regions.


2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam J. Silva ◽  
Colette L. Heald ◽  
Jeffrey A. Geddes ◽  
Kemen G. Austin ◽  
Prasad S. Kasibhatla ◽  
...  

Abstract. Over recent decades oil palm plantations have rapidly expanded across Southeast Asia (SEA). According to the United Nations, oil palm production in SEA increased by a factor of 3 from 1995 to 2010. We investigate the impacts of current (2010) and future (2020) oil palm expansion in SEA on surface-atmosphere exchange and the resulting air quality in the region. For this purpose, we use satellite data, high-resolution land maps, and the chemical transport model GEOS-Chem. Relative to a no oil palm plantation scenario (~ 1990), overall simulated isoprene emissions in the region increase by 13 % due to oil palm plantations in 2010 and a further 11 % by 2020. In addition, the expansion of palm plantations leads to local increases in ozone deposition velocities of up to 20 %. The net result of these changes is that oil palm expansion in SEA increases surface O3 by up to 3.5 ppbv over dense urban regions, and could rise more than 4.5 ppbv above baseline levels by 2020. Biogenic secondary organic aerosol loadings also increase by up to 1 μg m−3 due to oil palm expansion, and could increase a further 2.5 μg m−3 by 2020. Our analysis indicates that while the impact of recent oil palm expansion on air quality in the region has been significant, the retrieval error and sensitivity of the current constellation of satellite measurements limit our ability to observe these impacts from space. Oil palm expansion is likely to continue to degrade air quality in the region in the coming decade and hinder efforts to achieve air quality regulations in major urban areas such as Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 3943-3990
Author(s):  
S. Myriokefalitakis ◽  
N. Daskalakis ◽  
N. Mihalopoulos ◽  
A. R. Baker ◽  
A. Nenes ◽  
...  

Abstract. The global atmospheric iron (Fe) cycle is parameterized in the global 3-D chemical transport model TM4-ECPL to simulate the proton- and the organic ligand-promoted mineral Fe dissolution as well as the aqueous-phase photochemical reactions between the oxidative states of Fe(III/II). Primary emissions of total (TFe) and dissolved (DFe) Fe associated with dust and combustion processes are also taken into account. TFe emissions are calculated to amount to ~35 Tg Fe yr−1. The model reasonably simulates the available Fe observations, supporting the reliability of the results of this study. Accounting for proton- and organic ligand-promoted Fe-dissolution in present-day TM4-ECPL simulations, the total Fe-dissolution is calculated to be ~0.163 Tg Fe yr−1 that accounts for up to ~50% of the calculated total DFe emissions. The atmospheric burden of DFe is calculated to be ~0.012 Tg Fe. DFe deposition presents strong spatial and temporal variability with an annual deposition flux ~0.489 Tg Fe yr−1 from which about 25% (~0.124 Tg Fe yr−1) are deposited over the ocean. The impact of air-quality on Fe deposition is studied by performing sensitivity simulations using preindustrial (year 1850), present (year 2008) and future (year 2100) emission scenarios. These simulations indicate that an increase (~2 times) in Fe-dissolution may have occurred in the past 150 years due to increasing anthropogenic emissions and thus atmospheric acidity. On the opposite, a decrease (~2 times) of Fe-dissolution is projected for near future, since atmospheric acidity is expected to be lower than present-day due to air-quality regulations of anthropogenic emissions. The organic ligand contribution to Fe dissolution shows inverse relationship to the atmospheric acidity thus its importance has decreased since the preindustrial period but is projected to increase in the future. The calculated changes also show that the atmospheric DFe supply to High-Nutrient-Low-Chlorophyll oceanic areas (HNLC) characterized by Fe scarcity, has increased (~50%) since the preindustrial period. However, the DFe deposition flux is expected to decrease (~30%) to almost preindustrial levels over the Northern Hemisphere HNLC oceanic regions in the future. Significant reductions of ~20% over the Southern Ocean and the remote tropical Pacific Ocean are also projected which can further limit the primary productivity over HNLC waters.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilaria D'Elia ◽  
Gino Briganti ◽  
Lina Vitali ◽  
Antonio Piersanti ◽  
Gaia Righini ◽  
...  

Abstract. Air pollution harms human health and the environment. Several regulatory efforts and different actions have been taken in the last decades by authorities. Air quality trend analysis represents a valid tool in assessing the impact of these actions taken both at national and local levels. This paper presents for the first time the capability of the Italian national chemical transport model, AMS-MINNI, in capturing the observed concentration trends of three air pollutants, NO2, inhalable particles having diameter less than 10 micrometres (PM10) and O3, in Italy over the period 2003–2010. We firstly analyse the model performance finding it in line with the state of the art of regional models applications. The modelled trends result in a general significant downward trend for the three pollutants and, in comparison with observations, the values of the simulated slopes show the same magnitude for NO2 (in the range −3.0 ÷ −0.5 ug m−3 yr−1), while a smaller variability is detected for PM10 (−1.5 ÷ −0.5 ug m−3 yr−1) and O3-maximum daily 8-hour average concentration (−2.0 ÷ −0.5 ug m−3 yr−1). As a general result, we find a good agreement between modelled and observed trends; moreover, the model allowed to extend both the spatial coverage and the statistical significance of pollutants' concentrations trends with respect to observations, in particular for NO2. We also conduct a qualitative attempt to correlate the temporal concentration trends to meteorological and emission variability. Since no clear tendency in yearly meteorological anomalies (temperature, precipitation, geopotential height) was observed for the period investigated, we focus the discussion of concentrations trends on emissions variations. We point out that, due to the complex links between precursors emissions and air pollutants concentrations, emission reductions do not always result in a corresponding decrease in atmospheric concentrations, especially for those pollutants that are formed in the atmosphere such as O3 and the major fraction of PM10. These complex phenomena are still uncertain and their understanding is of the utmost importance in planning future policies for reducing air pollution and its impacts on health and ecosystems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 6193-6206
Author(s):  
Kathryn M. Emmerson ◽  
Malcolm Possell ◽  
Michael J. Aspinwall ◽  
Sebastian Pfautsch ◽  
Mark G. Tjoelker

Abstract. Predicting future air quality in Australian cities dominated by eucalypt emissions requires an understanding of their emission potentials in a warmer climate. Here we measure the temperature response in isoprene emissions from saplings of four different Eucalyptus species grown under current and future average summertime temperature conditions. The future conditions represent a 2050 climate under Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5, with average daytime temperatures of 294.5 K. Ramping the temperature from 293 to 328 K resulted in these eucalypts emitting isoprene at temperatures 4–9 K higher than the default maximum emission temperature in the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN). New basal emission rate measurements were obtained at the standard conditions of 303 K leaf temperature and 1000 µmol m−2 s−1 photosynthetically active radiation and converted into landscape emission factors. We applied the eucalypt temperature responses and emission factors to Australian trees within MEGAN and ran the CSIRO Chemical Transport Model for three summertime campaigns in Australia. Compared to the default model, the new temperature responses resulted in less isoprene emission in the morning and more during hot afternoons, improving the statistical fit of modelled to observed ambient isoprene. Compared to current conditions, an additional 2 ppb of isoprene is predicted in 2050, causing hourly increases up to 21 ppb of ozone and 24-hourly increases of 0.4 µg m−3 of aerosol in Sydney. A 550 ppm CO2 atmosphere in 2050 mitigates these peak Sydney ozone mixing ratios by 4 ppb. Nevertheless, these forecasted increases in ozone are up to one-fifth of the hourly Australian air quality limit, suggesting that anthropogenic NOx should be further reduced to maintain healthy air quality in future.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 735
Author(s):  
Zeeshan Javed ◽  
Aimon Tanvir ◽  
Yuhang Wang ◽  
Ahmed Waqas ◽  
Mingjie Xie ◽  
...  

The emergence of the novel corona virus and the resulting lockdowns over various parts of the world have substantially impacted air quality due to reduced anthropogenic activity. The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of COVID-19 lockdown and Spring Festival on air quality of four major cities of Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, including Shanghai, Nanjing, Hefei, and Hangzhou. In situ measurements were taken for nitrogen dioxide (NO2), particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone (O3). In situ measurements from 1 January to 25 April were taken two years prior to COVID-19 (2018–19), during COVID-19 lockdown (2020), and one year after the COVID-19 (2021). The results indicated that the concentration of NO2 and PM2.5 dropped considerably during the lockdown days compared to normal days while the O3 concentration showed an upsurge. The NO2 showed reduction of about 54% on average during lockdown level 1 in 2020 whereas, PM 2.5 showed reduction of about 36% through the YRD. A substantial drop was observed in concentration of NO2 during the Spring Festival holidays throughout the YRD from 2019 to 2021.


Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 722
Author(s):  
Dongsheng Chen ◽  
Dingyue Liang ◽  
Lei Li ◽  
Xiurui Guo ◽  
Jianlei Lang ◽  
...  

Ship-exhausted air pollutants could cause negative impacts on air quality, climate change, and human health. Increasing attention has been paid to investigate the impact of ship emissions on air quality. However, the conclusions are often based on a specific year, the extent to which the inter-annual variation in meteorological conditions affects the contribution is not yet fully addressed. Therefore, in this study, the Weather Research and Forecast model and the Community Multiscale Air Quality model(WRF/CMAQ) were employed to investigate the inter-annual variations in ship-contributed PM2.5 from 2010 to 2019. The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region in China was selected as the target study area. To highlight the impact of inter-annual meteorological variations, the emission inventory and model configurations were kept the same for the 10-year simulation. We found that: (1) inter-annual meteorological variation had an evident impact on the ship-contributed PM2.5 in most coastal cities around YRD. Taking Shanghai as an example, the contribution varied between 3.05 and 5.74 µg/m3, with the fluctuation rate of ~65%; (2) the inter-annual changes in ship’s contribution showed a trend of almost simultaneous increase and decrease for most cities, which indicates that the impact of inter-annual meteorological variation was more regional than local; (3) the inter-annual changes in the northern part of YRD were significantly higher than those in the south; (4) the most significant inter-annual changes were found in summer, followed by spring, fall and winter.


2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 7609-7655 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. B. Millet ◽  
D. J. Jacob ◽  
T. G. Custer ◽  
J. A. de Gouw ◽  
A. H. Goldstein ◽  
...  

Abstract. We use a global 3-D chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) to interpret new aircraft, surface, and oceanic observations of methanol in terms of the constraints that they place on the atmospheric methanol budget. Recent measurements of methanol concentrations in the ocean mixed layer (OML) imply that in situ biological production must be the main methanol source in the OML, dominating over uptake from the atmosphere. It follows that oceanic emission and uptake must be viewed as independent terms in the atmospheric methanol budget. We deduce that the marine biosphere is a large primary source (85 Tg y−1) of methanol to the atmosphere and is also a large sink (101 Tg y−1), comparable in magnitude to atmospheric oxidation by OH (88 Tg y−1). The resulting atmospheric lifetime of methanol in the model is 4.7 days. Aircraft measurements in the North American boundary layer imply that terrestrial plants are a much weaker source than presently thought, likely reflecting an overestimate of broadleaf tree emissions, and this is also generally consistent with surface measurements. We deduce a terrestrial plant source of 80 Tg y−1, comparable in magnitude to the ocean source. The aircraft measurements show a strong correlation with CO (R2=0.51–0.61). We reproduce this correlation in the model with the reduced plant source, which also confirms that the anthropogenic source of methanol must be small. Our reduced plant source also provides a better simulation of methanol observations over tropical South America.


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