scholarly journals Elevated 3D structures of PM<sub>2.5</sub> and impact of complex terrain-forcing circulations on heavy haze pollution over Sichuan Basin, China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhuozhi Shu ◽  
Yubao Liu ◽  
Tianliang Zhao ◽  
Junrong Xia ◽  
Chenggang Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Sichuan Basin ◽  
Southwest China ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Atmospheric Environment ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Free Troposphere ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Haze Pollution ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Deep basins create a uniquely favorable condition for the formation of air pollution, and the Sichuan Basin (SCB) in Southwest China is such a basin featuring frequent heavy pollution. A wintertime heavy haze pollution event in SCB was studied with conventional and intensive observation data and the WRF-chem model to explore the three-dimensional distribution of PM2.5 for understanding the impact of regional pollutant emissions, basin circulations associated with plateaus, and downwind transport to the adjacent areas. It was found that the vertical structure of PM2.5 over SCB was characterized with a remarkable hollow sandwiched by high PM2.5 layers at heights of 1.5–3 km and the highly polluted near-surface layer. The southwesterlies passed over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and Yunan-Guizhou Plateau (YGP) resulted in a lee vortex over SCB, which helped form and maintain heavy PM2.5 pollution. The basin PM2.5 was lifted into the free troposphere and transported outside of SCB. At the bottom of SCB, high PM2.5 concentrations were mostly located in the northwest and southern regions. Due to the blocking effect of the plateau terrain on the northeasterly winds, PM2.5 gradually increased from northeast to southwest in the basin. In the lower free troposphere, the high PM2.5 centers were distributed over the northwestern and southwestern SCB areas, as well as the central SCB region. For this event, the regional emissions from SCB contributed 75.4–94.6 % to the surface PM2.5 concentrations in SCB. The SCB emission export was the major source of the PM2.5 over the eastern regions of TP and the northern regions of YGP, with contribution rates of 72.7 % and 70.5 %, respectively, during the dissipation stage of heavy air pollution over SCB, which was regarded as the major pollutant sources affecting atmospheric environment changes in Southwest China.

scholarly journals Elevated 3D structures of PM<sub>2.5</sub> and impact of complex terrain-forcing circulations on heavy haze pollution over Sichuan Basin, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 9253-9268
Author(s):  
Zhuozhi Shu ◽  
Yubao Liu ◽  
Tianliang Zhao ◽  
Junrong Xia ◽  
Chenggang Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Sichuan Basin ◽  
Southwest China ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Atmospheric Environment ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Free Troposphere ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Haze Pollution ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Deep basins create uniquely favorable conditions for causing air pollution, and the Sichuan Basin (SCB) in Southwest China is such a basin featuring frequent heavy pollution. A wintertime heavy haze pollution event in the SCB was studied with conventional and intensive observation data and the WRF-Chem model to explore the 3D distribution of PM2.5 to understand the impact of regional pollutant emissions, basin circulations associated with plateaus, and downwind transport to the adjacent areas. It was found that the vertical structure of PM2.5 over the SCB was characterized by a remarkable hollow sandwiched by high PM2.5 layers at heights of 1.5–3 km and a highly polluted near-surface layer. The southwesterlies over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau (YGP) resulted in a lee vortex over the SCB, which helped form and maintain heavy PM2.5 pollution. The basin PM2.5 was lifted into the free troposphere and transported outside of the SCB. At the bottom of the SCB, high PM2.5 concentrations were mostly located in the northwestern and southern regions. Due to the blocking effect of the plateau terrain on the northeasterly winds, PM2.5 gradually increased from northeast to southwest in the basin. In the lower free troposphere, the high PM2.5 centers were distributed over the northwestern and southwestern SCB areas, as well as the central SCB region. For this event, the regional emissions from the SCB contributed 75.4 %–94.6 % to the surface PM2.5 concentrations in the SCB. The SCB emissions were the major source of PM2.5 over the eastern regions of the TP and the northern regions of the YGP, with contribution rates of 72.7 % and 70.5 %, respectively, during the dissipation stage of heavy air pollution over the SCB, which was regarded as the major pollutant source affecting atmospheric environment changes in Southwest China.

scholarly journals Dome effect of black carbon and its key influencing factors: A one-dimensional modelling study

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zilin Wang ◽  
Xin Huang ◽  
Aijun Ding
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Aerosol Layer ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Haze Pollution ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Black carbon (BC) has been identified to play a critical role in aerosol-planet boundary layer (PBL) interaction and further deterioration of near-surface air pollution in megacities, which has been named as its dome effect. However, the impacts of key factors that influence this effect, such as the vertical distribution and aging processes of BC, and also the underlying land surface, have not been quantitatively explored yet. Here, based on available in-situ measurements of meteorology and atmospheric aerosols together with the meteorology-chemistry online coupled model, WRF-Chem, we conduct a set of parallel simulations to quantify the roles of these factors in influencing the BC's dome effect and surface haze pollution, and discuss the main implications of the results to air pollution mitigation in China. We found that the impact of BC on PBL is very sensitive to the altitude of aerosol layer. The upper level BC, especially those near the capping inversion, is more essential in suppressing the PBL height and weakening the turbulence mixing. The dome effect of BC tends to be significantly intensified as BC aerosol mixed with scattering aerosols during winter haze events, resulting in a decrease of PBL height by more than 25 %. In addition, the dome effect is more substantial (up to 15 %) in rural areas than that in the urban areas with the same BC loading, indicating an unexpected regional impact of such kind of effect to air quality in countryside. This study suggests that China's regional air pollution would greatly benefit from BC emission reductions, especially those from the elevated sources from the chimneys and also the domestic combustions in rural areas, through weakening the aerosol-boundary layer interactions that triggered by BC.

scholarly journals Dome effect of black carbon and its key influencing factors: a one-dimensional modelling study

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 2821-2834 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zilin Wang ◽  
Xin Huang ◽  
Aijun Ding
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Aerosol Layer ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Haze Pollution ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Black carbon (BC) has been identified to play a critical role in aerosol–planetary boundary layer (PBL) interaction and further deterioration of near-surface air pollution in megacities, which has been referred to as the “dome effect”. However, the impacts of key factors that influence this effect, such as the vertical distribution and aging processes of BC, as well as the underlying land surface, have not been quantitatively explored yet. Here, based on available in situ measurements of meteorology and atmospheric aerosols together with the meteorology–chemistry online coupled model WRF-Chem, we conduct a set of parallel simulations to quantify the roles of these factors in influencing the BC dome effect and surface haze pollution. Furthermore, we discuss the main implications of the results to air pollution mitigation in China. We found that the impact of BC on the PBL is very sensitive to the altitude of aerosol layer. The upper-level BC, especially that near the capping inversion, is more essential in suppressing the PBL height and weakening the turbulent mixing. The dome effect of BC tends to be significantly intensified as BC mixed with scattering aerosols during winter haze events, resulting in a decrease in PBL height by more than 15 %. In addition, the dome effect is more substantial (up to 15 %) in rural areas than that in the urban areas with the same BC loading, indicating an unexpected regional impact of such an effect to air quality in countryside. This study indicates that China's regional air pollution would greatly benefit from BC emission reductions, especially those from elevated sources from chimneys and also domestic combustion in rural areas, through weakening the aerosol–boundary layer interactions that are triggered by BC.

scholarly journals Development of a vehicle emission inventory with high temporal–spatial resolution based on NRT traffic data and its impact on air pollution in Beijing – Part 2: Impact of vehicle emission on urban air quality

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 3171-3184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianjun He ◽  
Lin Wu ◽  
Hongjun Mao ◽  
Hongli Liu ◽  
Boyu Jing ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Spatial Resolution ◽  
Emission Inventory ◽  
Emission Factors ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Vehicle Emission ◽  
Traffic Data ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. A companion paper developed a vehicle emission inventory with high temporal–spatial resolution (HTSVE) with a bottom-up methodology based on local emission factors, complemented with the widely used emission factors of COPERT model and near-real-time (NRT) traffic data on a specific road segment for 2013 in urban Beijing (Jing et al., 2016), which is used to investigate the impact of vehicle pollution on air pollution in this study. Based on the sensitivity analysis method of switching on/off pollutant emissions in the Chinese air quality forecasting model CUACE, a modelling study was carried out to evaluate the contributions of vehicle emission to the air pollution in Beijing's main urban areas in the periods of summer (July) and winter (December) 2013. Generally, the CUACE model had good performance of the concentration simulation of pollutants. The model simulation has been improved by using HTSVE. The vehicle emission contribution (VEC) to ambient pollutant concentrations not only changes with seasons but also changes with time. The mean VEC, affected by regional pollutant transports significantly, is 55.4 and 48.5 % for NO2 and 5.4 and 10.5 % for PM2.5 in July and December 2013 respectively. Regardless of regional transports, relative vehicle emission contribution (RVEC) to NO2 is 59.2 and 57.8 % in July and December 2013, while it is 8.7 and 13.9 % for PM2.5. The RVEC to PM2.5 is lower than the PM2.5 contribution rate for vehicle emission in total emission, which may be due to dry deposition of PM2.5 from vehicle emission in the near-surface layer occuring more easily than from elevated source emission.

scholarly journals The Effects of Assimilating Conventional and ATOVS Data on Forecasted Near-Surface Wind with WRF-3DVAR

2015 ◽  
Vol 143 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feimin Zhang ◽  
Yi Yang ◽  
Chenghai Wang
Keyword(s):  
Data Assimilation ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Lower Atmosphere ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Initial Field ◽  
Infrared Observation ◽  
Forecast Performance ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Effect

Abstract In this paper, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model with the three-dimensional variational data assimilation (WRF-3DVAR) system is used to investigate the impact on the near-surface wind forecast of assimilating both conventional data and Advanced Television Infrared Observation Satellite (TIROS) Operational Vertical Sounder (ATOVS) radiances compared with assimilating conventional data only. The results show that the quality of the initial field and the forecast performance of wind in the lower atmosphere are improved in both assimilation cases. Assimilation results capture the spatial distribution of the wind speed, and the observation data assimilation has a positive effect on near-surface wind forecasts. Although the impacts of assimilating ATOVS radiances on near-surface wind forecasts are limited, the fine structure of local weather systems illustrated by the WRF-3DVAR system suggests that assimilating ATOVS radiances has a positive effect on the near-surface wind forecast under conditions that ATOVS radiances in the initial condition are properly amplified. Assimilating conventional data is an effective approach for improving the forecast of the near-surface wind.

scholarly journals Effect of the uncertainty in meteorology on air quality model predictions

Időjárás ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 125 (4) ◽  
pp. 625-646
Author(s):  
Zita Ferenczi ◽  
Emese Homolya ◽  
Krisztina Lázár ◽  
Anita Tóth
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Horizontal Resolution ◽  
Model System ◽  
Air Quality Model ◽  
Quality Model ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
The Impact

An operational air quality forecasting model system has been developed and provides daily forecasts of ozone, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter for the area of Hungary and three big cites of the country (Budapest, Miskolc, and Pécs). The core of the model system is the CHIMERE off-line chemical transport model. The AROME numerical weather prediction model provides the gridded meteorological inputs for the chemical model calculations. The horizontal resolution of the AROME meteorological fields is consistent with the CHIMERE horizontal resolution. The individual forecasted concentrations for the following 2 days are displayed on a public website of the Hungarian Meteorological Service. It is essential to have a quantitative understanding of the uncertainty in model output arising from uncertainties in the input meteorological fields. The main aim of this research is to probe the response of an air quality model to its uncertain meteorological inputs. Ensembles are one method to explore how uncertainty in meteorology affects air pollution concentrations. During the past decades, meteorological ensemble modeling has received extensive research and operational interest because of its ability to better characterize forecast uncertainty. One such ensemble forecast system is the one of the AROME model, which has an 11-member ensemble where each member is perturbed by initial and lateral boundary conditions. In this work we focus on wintertime particulate matter concentrations, since this pollutant is extremely sensitive to near-surface mixing processes. Selecting a number of extreme air pollution situations we will show what the impact of the meteorological uncertainty is on the simulated concentration fields using AROME ensemble members.

scholarly journals The assessment of pollutants emissions within sustainable urban freight transport development: The case of Novi Sad

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 307-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marko Velickovic ◽  
Djurdjica Stojanovic ◽  
Valentina Basaric
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Freight Transport ◽  
Urban Transport ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Gas Emissions ◽  
Urban Freight ◽  
Urban Freight Transport ◽  
Novi Sad ◽  
Restrictive Measures ◽  
The Impact

Assessment of pollutant emissions is a prerequisite for planning and development of sustainable urban transport systems. Majority of extant studies on sustainable urban transport is focused on pollution caused by urban passenger transport, with marked paucity of literature on the impact of urban freight transport. To partly bridge this gap, the paper objective is the impact assessment of selected regulative measures, i.e. fleet renewal on freight transport emissions. We used the case of Novi Sad to estimate the potential impact of selected restrictive measures on the external freight transport air pollution. To the best of our knowledge, this is one of the first studies on impact of urban freight transport on the air pollution in the cities in the Balkan region. Several research findings are of interest. Firstly, the analysis of particular gas emissions reveals expected overall positive effects of the fleet renewal in most of cases. Still, the total amount of same emissions hardly increase, so this particular measure is not enough to reach the ambitious EU strategy goals concerned with sustainable urban freight transport. Further, some negative impacts of restrictive measures on gas emissions were also recorded and discussed. The observed complex impact of restrictive measures on urban freight air pollution indicates that urban freight transport planning and modeling requires a comprehensive database, clear goals and higher priority of environmental criterion in traffic planning. Our results and recommendations may be useful for scholars, urban transport planners, policy makers and practitioners.

scholarly journals ANALYZING THE IMPACT OF AIR POLLUTION ON LABOR PRODUCTIVITY IN MANUFACTURING

2020 ◽  
pp. 212-219
Author(s):  
D. Klynovskyi
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Labor Productivity ◽  
Harmful Effect ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Economic Research ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Clean Technologies ◽  
The Impact

As long as the ecological topic became highly discussed recently, economic research related to ecology seems relevant. Natural features have a substantial impact on economic outcomes, in particular health capital. Air pollution, which is believed to be one of the most notable factors of environmental deterioration, affects human health, thus may influence labor productivity. In developed countries ecologically friendly production tends to spread rapidly, and, as a result, a certain regeneration of ecology is observed. However, the developing countries still make the most efforts to realize their full industrial potential, assigning a lower priority to the ecological issues. A quantitative estimate of the effect of industrial pollutant emissions on the labor productivity of the manufacturing workers would be an important argument for the firm deciding to improve its production processes, e.g. invest in ‘clean’ technologies or enhance the working conditions. In addition, it is important to investigate managerial practices that were effective in keeping or growing the level of labor productivity while decreasing the harmful effect on the environment at the same time. The result of this research might be interesting both for manufacturing firms’ management and for policymakers designing the regulation for industrial firms to overwhelm the pollution levels. A policy tool for pollution regulation must be not only efficient in reducing the amounts of pollutant emissions, but also has to be a good incentive for producers to invest in clean technologies.

scholarly journals Can the Target Responsibility System of Air Pollution Control Achieve a Win-Win Situation of Pollution Reduction and Efficiency Enhancement?

2022 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Wang ◽  
Hao Xu ◽  
Jingxuan Xu
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Pollution Control ◽  
Environmental Law ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Air Pollution Control ◽  
Sample Interval ◽  
The Difference ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Responsibility System

Whether the environmental target responsibility system, a typical mandatory environmental regulation, can realize the coordinated development of environmental protection and economic growth has attracted widespread attention. With the difference-in-differences (DID) method, this paper utilizes a policy, “China’s Key Cities for Air Pollution Control to Meet the Standards within the Time Limit (APCMS),” as a quasi-natural experiment to empirically examine the target responsibility system of air pollution control’s effect on both firms’ pollutant emissions and their total factor productivity (TFP). The corresponding mechanisms are also investigated. The results show: 1) The policy not only significantly decreases firms’ pollutant emissions, but also improves their TFP. The results are robust to the exclusion of the impact of other policies in the same period, propensity score matching DID (PSM-DID) test, the adoption of alternative dependent variables, and altering sample interval; 2) The dynamic analysis shows that the policy effect on reducing pollutant emissions has increased over years after a lag of 2 years; 3) The policy reduces pollutant emissions mainly through stimulating the internal innovation rather than end-pipe treatment or production cuts. 4) Capital-intensive and private firms and firms in regions with a high degree of marketization or strong environmental law enforcement are found more responsive to the environmental target responsibility system.

scholarly journals The Warming Tibetan Plateau improves winter air quality in the Sichuan Basin, China

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuyu Zhao ◽  
Tian Feng ◽  
Xuexi Tie ◽  
Zebin Wang
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Sichuan Basin ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Aerosol Formation ◽  
Warming Rate ◽  
The Sichuan Basin ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Impacts of global climate change on the occurrence and development of air pollution have attracted more attentions. This study investigates impacts of the warming Tibetan Plateau on air quality in the Sichuan Basin. Meteorological observations and ERA-interim reanalysis data reveal that the Tibetan Plateau has been rapidly warming during the last 40 years (1979–2017), particularly in winter when the warming rate is approximately twice as much as the annual warming rate. Since 2013, the winter temperature over the plateau has even risen by 2 °C. Here, we use the WRF-CHEM model to assess the impact of the 2 °C warming on air quality in the Sichuan Basin. The model results show that the 2 °C warming causes an increase in the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) height and a decrease in the relative humidity (RH) in the basin. The elevated PBL height strengthens vertical diffusion of PM2.5, while the decreased RH significantly reduces secondary aerosol formation. Overall, PM2.5 concentration is reduced by 17.5 % (~ 25.1 μg m−3), of which the reduction in primary and secondary aerosols is 5.4 μg m−3 and 19.7 μg m−3, respectively. These results reveal that the recent warming plateau has improved air quality in the basin, to some certain extent, mitigating the air pollution therein. Nevertheless, climate system is particularly complicated, and more studies are needed to demonstrate the impact of climate change on air quality in the downstream regions as the plateau is likely to continue warming.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document