scholarly journals Decoupling of urban CO<sub>2</sub> and air pollutant emission reductions during the European SARS-CoV-2 lockdown

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 3091-3102
Author(s):  
Christian Lamprecht ◽  
Martin Graus ◽  
Marcus Striednig ◽  
Michael Stichaner ◽  
Thomas Karl
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Pollutant Emission ◽  
Systematic Bias ◽  
Sensitivity Experiment ◽  
Emission Models ◽  
Time Changes ◽  
Pollution Emissions

Abstract. Lockdown and the associated massive reduction in people's mobility imposed by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) mitigation measures across the globe provide a unique sensitivity experiment to investigate impacts on carbon and air pollution emissions. We present an integrated observational analysis based on long-term in situ multispecies eddy flux measurements, allowing for quantifying near-real-time changes of urban surface emissions for key air quality and climate tracers. During the first European SARS-CoV-2 wave we find that the emission reduction of classic air pollutants decoupled from CO2 and was significantly larger. These differences can only be rationalized by the different nature of urban combustion sources and point towards a systematic bias of extrapolated urban NOx emissions in state-of-the-art emission models. The analysis suggests that European policies, shifting residential, public, and commercial energy demand towards cleaner combustion, have helped to improve air quality more than expected and that the urban NOx flux remains to be dominated (e.g., >90 %) by traffic.

scholarly journals Decoupling of urban CO<sub>2</sub> and air pollutant emission reductions during the European SARS-CoV2 lockdown

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Lamprecht ◽  
Martin Graus ◽  
Marcus Striednig ◽  
Michael Stichaner ◽  
Thomas Karl
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Pollutant Emission ◽  
Systematic Bias ◽  
Sensitivity Experiment ◽  
Emission Models ◽  
Time Changes ◽  
Pollution Emissions

Abstract. Lockdown and the associated massive reduction in people’s mobility imposed by SARS-CoV-2 mitigation measures across the globe provide a unique sensitivity experiment to investigate impacts on carbon and air pollution emissions. We present an integrated observational analysis based on long-term in-situ multispecies eddy flux measurements, allowing to quantify near real time changes of urban surface emissions for key air quality and climate tracers. During the first European SARS-CoV-2 wave we find that the emission reduction of classic air pollutants decoupled from CO2 and was significantly larger. These differences can only be rationalized by the different nature of urban combustion sources, and point towards a systematic bias of extrapolated urban NOx emissions in state-of the art emission models. The analysis suggests that European policies, shifting residential, public and commercial energy demand towards cleaner combustion, have helped to improve air quality more than expected, and that the urban NOx flux remains to be dominated (e.g. > 90 %) by traffic.

scholarly journals EURODELTA-Trends, a multi-model experiment of air quality hindcast in Europe over 1990–2010

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 3255-3276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Augustin Colette ◽  
Camilla Andersson ◽  
Astrid Manders ◽  
Kathleen Mar ◽  
Mihaela Mircea ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Boundary Conditions ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Modelling Experiment ◽  
Technical Features

Abstract. The EURODELTA-Trends multi-model chemistry-transport experiment has been designed to facilitate a better understanding of the evolution of air pollution and its drivers for the period 1990–2010 in Europe. The main objective of the experiment is to assess the efficiency of air pollutant emissions mitigation measures in improving regional-scale air quality. The present paper formulates the main scientific questions and policy issues being addressed by the EURODELTA-Trends modelling experiment with an emphasis on how the design and technical features of the modelling experiment answer these questions. The experiment is designed in three tiers, with increasing degrees of computational demand in order to facilitate the participation of as many modelling teams as possible. The basic experiment consists of simulations for the years 1990, 2000, and 2010. Sensitivity analysis for the same three years using various combinations of (i) anthropogenic emissions, (ii) chemical boundary conditions, and (iii) meteorology complements it. The most demanding tier consists of two complete time series from 1990 to 2010, simulated using either time-varying emissions for corresponding years or constant emissions. Eight chemistry-transport models have contributed with calculation results to at least one experiment tier, and five models have – to date – completed the full set of simulations (and 21-year trend calculations have been performed by four models). The modelling results are publicly available for further use by the scientific community. The main expected outcomes are (i) an evaluation of the models' performances for the three reference years, (ii) an evaluation of the skill of the models in capturing observed air pollution trends for the 1990–2010 time period, (iii) attribution analyses of the respective role of driving factors (e.g. emissions, boundary conditions, meteorology), (iv) a dataset based on a multi-model approach, to provide more robust model results for use in impact studies related to human health, ecosystem, and radiative forcing.

scholarly journals Long-Term Assessment of Air Quality and Identification of Aerosol Sources at Setúbal, Portugal

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (15) ◽  
pp. 5447 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Viana Silva ◽  
Cristina M. Oliveira ◽  
Nuno Canha ◽  
Ana Isabel Miranda ◽  
Susana Marta Almeida
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Urban Traffic ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
World Health ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Guideline Values ◽  
Health Organization

Understanding air pollution in urban areas is crucial to identify mitigation actions that may improve air quality and, consequently, minimize human exposure to air pollutants and their impact. This study aimed to assess the temporal evolution of the air quality in the city of Setúbal (Portugal) during a time period of 10 years (2003–2012), by evaluating seasonal trends of air pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO, NO2 and NOx) measured in nine monitoring stations. In order to identify emission sources of particulate matter, PM2.5 and PM2.5–10 were characterized in two different areas (urban traffic and industrial) in winter and summer and, afterwards, source apportionment was performed by means of Positive Matrix Factorization. Overall, the air quality has been improving over the years with a decreasing trend of air pollutant concentration, with the exception of O3. Despite this improvement, levels of PM10, O3 and nitrogen oxides still do not fully comply with the requirements of European legislation, as well as with the guideline values of the World Health Organization (WHO). The main anthropogenic sources contributing to local PM levels were traffic, industry and wood burning, which should be addressed by specific mitigation measures in order to minimize their impact on the local air quality.

scholarly journals Enhanced atmospheric oxidizing capacity in simulating air quality with updated emission inventories for power plants especially for haze periods over East China

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Tianliang Zhao ◽  
Sunling Gong ◽  
Shaofei Kong ◽  
Lili Tang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Emission Inventory ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Atmospheric Environment ◽  
Pollutant Emission ◽  
East China ◽  
Emission Inventories

Abstract. Air pollutant emissions play a determinant role in deteriorating air quality. However, an uncertainty in emission inventories is still the key problem for modeling air pollution. In this study, an updated emission inventory of coal-fired power plants (UEIPP) based on online monitoring data in Jiangsu province of East China for the year of 2012 was implemented in the widely used Multi-resolution Emission Inventory for China (MEIC). By employing the Weather Research and Forecasting Model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem), two simulations were executed to assess the atmospheric environmental change by using the original MEIC emission inventory and the MEIC inventory with the UEIPP. A synthetic analysis shows that (1) compared to the power emissions of MEIC, PM2.5, PM10, SO2 and NOx were lower, and CO, black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC) and NMVOCs were higher in the UEIPP, reflecting a large discrepancy in the power emissions over East China; (2) In accordance with the changes of UEIPP, the modeled concentrations were reduced for SO2 and NO2, and increased for most areas of primary OC, BC and CO, whose concentrations in atmosphere are highly dependent on emission changes. (3) Interestingly, when the UEIPP was used, the atmospheric oxidizing capacity significantly reinforced, reflecting by increased oxidizing agents, e.g. O3 and OH, thus directly strengthened the chemical production from SO2 and NOx to sulfate and nitrate, which offset the reduction of primary PM2.5 emissions especially in the haze days. This study indicated the importance of updating air pollutant emission inventories in simulating the complex atmospheric environment changes with the implications on air quality and environmental changes.

scholarly journals Comparison of emissions inventories of anthropogenic air pollutants and greenhouse gases in China

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (10) ◽  
pp. 6393-6421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eri Saikawa ◽  
Hankyul Kim ◽  
Min Zhong ◽  
Alexander Avramov ◽  
Yu Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Emission Inventory ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Central China ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Temporal And Spatial Distribution ◽  
Emissions Inventories

Abstract. Anthropogenic air pollutant emissions have been increasing rapidly in China, leading to worsening air quality. Modelers use emissions inventories to represent the temporal and spatial distribution of these emissions needed to estimate their impacts on regional and global air quality. However, large uncertainties exist in emissions estimates. Thus, assessing differences in these inventories is essential for the better understanding of air pollution over China. We compare five different emissions inventories estimating emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 10 µm or less (PM10) from China. The emissions inventories analyzed in this paper include the Regional Emission inventory in ASia v2.1 (REAS), the Multi-resolution Emission Inventory for China (MEIC), the Emission Database for Global Atmospheric Research v4.2 (EDGAR), the inventory by Yu Zhao (ZHAO), and the Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies (GAINS). We focus on the period between 2000 and 2008, during which Chinese economic activities more than doubled. In addition to national totals, we also analyzed emissions from four source sectors (industry, transport, power, and residential) and within seven regions in China (East, North, Northeast, Central, Southwest, Northwest, and South) and found that large disagreements exist among the five inventories at disaggregated levels. These disagreements lead to differences of 67 µg m−3, 15 ppbv, and 470 ppbv for monthly mean PM10, O3, and CO, respectively, in modeled regional concentrations in China. We also find that all the inventory emissions estimates create a volatile organic compound (VOC)-limited environment and MEIC emissions lead to much lower O3 mixing ratio in East and Central China compared to the simulations using REAS and EDGAR estimates, due to their low VOC emissions. Our results illustrate that a better understanding of Chinese emissions at more disaggregated levels is essential for finding effective mitigation measures for reducing national and regional air pollution in China.

scholarly journals Mapping the drivers of formaldehyde (HCHO) variability from 2015–2019 over eastern China: insights from FTIR observation and GEOS-Chem model simulation

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Youwen Sun ◽  
Hao Yin ◽  
Cheng Liu ◽  
Lin Zhang ◽  
Yuan Cheng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Model Simulation ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Mean Value ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
Oh Radical ◽  
Clean Air

Abstract. The major air pollutant emissions have decreased and the overall air quality has substantially improved across China in recent years as a consequence of active clean air policies for mitigating severe air pollution problems. As key precursors of formaldehyde (HCHO) and ozone (O3), the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in China are still increasing because current clean air policies lack mitigation measures for VOCs. In this study, we mapped the drivers of HCHO variability over eastern China using ground-based high-resolution Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometry and GEOS-Chem model simulation. Diurnal, seasonal, and interannual variability of HCHO over eastern China was investigated and hydroxyl (OH) radical production from HCHO was evaluated. The relative contributions of emitted and photochemical sources to the observed HCHO were analysed by using ground level carbon monoxide (CO) and Ox (O3 + nitrogen oxide (NO2)) as tracers for emitted and photochemical HCHO, respectively. Contributions of various emission sectors and geographical transport to the observed HCHO summertime enhancements were determined by using a GEOS-Chem tagged-tracer simulation. The tropospheric HCHO volume mixing ratio (VMR) reached a maximum monthly mean value of (1.1 ± 0.27) ppbv in July and a minimum monthly mean value of (0.4 ± 0.11) ppbv in January. The tropospheric HCHO VMR time series from 2015–2019 shows a positive trend of (1.43 ± 0.14) % per yr. The photochemical HCHO is the dominant source of atmospheric HCHO over eastern China for most of the year (68.1 %). In the studied years, the HCHO photolysis was an important source of OH radical over eastern China during all sunlight hours of both summer and winter days. The anthropogenic emissions (fossil fuel + biofuel emissions) accounted for 31.96 % and the natural emissions (biomass burning + biogenic) accounted for 48.75 % of HCHO summertime enhancements. The observed HCHO summertime enhancements were largely attributed to the emissions within China (76.92 %), where eastern China dominated the contribution (46.24 %). The increased trend in HCHO in recent years was largely attributed to the increase in the HCHO precursors such as CH4 and nonmethane VOCs (NMVOCs). This study can provide an evaluation of recent VOC emissions and regional photochemical capacity in China. In addition, this study is also important for regulatory and control purposes and will help to improve urban air quality and contribute to the formation of new Chinese clean air policies in the future.

scholarly journals Historical and future changes in air pollutants from CMIP6 models

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven T. Turnock ◽  
Robert J. Allen ◽  
Martin Andrews ◽  
Susanne E. Bauer ◽  
Louisa Emmons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Air Pollutants ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Climate Mitigation ◽  
Historical Period ◽  
Earth System ◽  
Natural Emission ◽  
Surface O3

Abstract. Poor air quality is currently responsible for large impacts on human health across the world. In addition, the air pollutants, ozone (O3) and particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5), are also radiatively active in the atmosphere and can influence Earth’s climate. It is important to understand the effect of air quality and climate mitigation measures over the historical period and in different future scenarios to ascertain any impacts from air pollutants on both climate and human health. The 6th Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) presents an opportunity to analyse the change in air pollutants simulated by the current generation of climate and Earth system models that include a representation of chemistry and aerosols (particulate matter). The shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs) used within CMIP6 encompass a wide range of trajectories in precursor emissions and climate change, allowing for an improved analysis of future changes to air pollutants. Firstly, we conduct an evaluation of the available CMIP6 models against surface observations of O3 and PM2.5. CMIP6 models show a consistent overestimation of observed surface O3 concentrations across most regions and in most seasons, with a large diversity in simulated values over northern hemisphere continental regions. Conversely, observed surface PM2.5 concentrations are consistently underestimated by CMIP6 models, particularly for the northern hemisphere winter months, with the largest model diversity near natural emission source regions. Over the historical period (1850–2014) large increases in both surface O3 and PM2.5 are simulated by the CMIP6 models across all regions, particularly over the mid to late 20th Century when anthropogenic emissions increase markedly. Large regional historical changes are simulated for both pollutants, across East and South Asia, with an increase of up to 40 ppb for O3 and 12 µg m-3 for PM2.5. In future scenarios containing strong air quality and climate mitigation measures (ssp126), air pollutants are substantially reduced across all regions by up to 15 ppb for O3 and 12 µg m-3 for PM2.5. However, for scenarios that encompass weak action on mitigating climate and reducing air pollutant emissions (ssp370), increases of both surface O3 (up 10 ppb) and PM2.5 (up to 8 µg m-3) are simulated across most regions. Although, for regions like North America and Europe small reductions in PM2.5 are simulated in this scenario. A comparison of simulated regional changes in both surface O3 and PM2.5 from individual CMIP6 models highlights important differences due to the interaction of aerosols, chemistry, climate and natural emission sources within models. The prediction of regional air pollutant concentrations from the latest climate and Earth system models used within CMIP6 shows that the particular future trajectory of climate and air quality mitigation measures could have important consequences for regional air quality, human health and near-term climate. Differences between individual models emphasises the importance of understanding how future Earth system feedbacks influence natural emission sources.

scholarly journals Sectorial and regional uncertainty analysis of the contribution of anthropogenic emissions to regional and global PM<sub>2.5</sub> health impacts

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Crippa ◽  
Greet Janssens-Maenhout ◽  
Diego Guizzardi ◽  
Rita Van Dingenen ◽  
Frank Dentener
Keyword(s):  
Power Generation ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Emission Inventory ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Pollutant Emission ◽  
Emission Inventories ◽  
Anthropogenic Emission ◽  
Relative Contribution

Abstract. In this work we couple the HTAPv2.2 global air pollutant emission inventory with the global source receptor model TM5-FASST to evaluate the relative contribution of the major anthropogenic emission sources (power generation, industry, ground transport, residential, agriculture and international shipping) to air quality and human health in 2010. We focus on particulate matter (PM) concentrations because of the relative importance of PM2.5 emissions in populated areas and the proven cumulative negative effects on human health. We estimate that in 2010 regional annual averaged anthropogenic PM2.5 concentrations varied between ca. 1 and 40 μg/m3 depending on the region, with the highest concentrations observed in China and India, and lower concentrations in Europe and North America. The relative contribution of anthropogenic emission source sectors to PM2.5 concentrations varies between the regions. European PM pollution is mainly influenced by the agricultural and residential sectors, while the major contributing sectors to PM pollution in Asia and the emerging economies are the power generation, industrial and residential sectors. We also evaluate the emission sectors and emission regions in which pollution reduction measures would lead to the largest improvement on the overall air quality. We show that in order to improve air quality, regional policies should be implemented (e.g. in Europe) due to the transboundary features of PM pollution. In addition, we investigate emission inventory uncertainties and their propagation to PM2.5 concentrations, in order to identify the most effective strategies to be implemented at sector and regional level to improve emission inventories knowledge and air quality. We show that the uncertainty of PM concentrations depends not only on the uncertainty of local emission inventories but also on that of the surrounding regions. Finally, we propagate emission inventories uncertainty to PM concentrations and health impacts.

Simulation of Air Quality and Pollution Control Countermeasures of Chengdu Urban Agglomeration

2012 ◽  
Vol 610-613 ◽  
pp. 1387-1397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Yong Wang ◽  
Nan Chen ◽  
Xiao Juan Ma
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Sulfur Dioxide ◽  
Pollution Sources ◽  
Air Pollutant ◽  
Urban Agglomeration ◽  
Pollutant Concentration ◽  
Pollutant Emission ◽  
Air Quality Model ◽  
Quality Model ◽  
Allowable Limit

The CMAQ model (Community Multiscale Air Quality model) was used to stimulate the atmospheric environmental quality of Chengdu urban agglomeration. The result shows that air pollutant concentration in some zones of the urban agglomeration is higher than the allowable limit of the national grade II standard. Fortunately, such zones only cover a small area. Zones where the average daily and annual PM10 concentration is higher than the allowable limit only account for 4% of the total area of Chengdu urban agglomeration. Less than 1% of the total area has the concentration of other pollutants higher than the limit. Zones with pollutant concentration higher than the limit are mainly distributed in Chengdu City, Mianyang City, and Meishan City. Pollutants emitted from the cities of Chengdu urban agglomeration shift on to and interact with each other. Therefore, the air pollutant concentration of one city is partially attributable to pollutants emitted from its own pollution sources and a part of or even most of it results from pollutants from other cities. For example, regarding PM10 in air of Deyang City, only 12% comes from its own pollution sources, and 55% comes from pollution sources of Chengdu, and the rest 29% comes from pollution sources of Mianyang. Regarding Sulfur dioxide in air of Chengdu, 59% comes from local pollution sources of Chengdu and 23% comes from pollution sources of Deyang. Other pollutants are also subject to such a rule. As in the urban agglomeration, there are zones where pollutant concentration is higher than the allowable limit, the existing pollution sources must be further controlled by setting reduction target according to the total capacity. The pollutant emission should be reduced by means of eliminating backward productivity, adjusting structure and layout of industries, and controlling pollution sources in depth to effectively improve the regional environmental air quality. At the same time, as pollutants emitted from the cities interact with each other, the 5 cities must sign a joint prevention and control agreement to collaborate in control of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, smoke and dust, and organic pollutants.

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