scholarly journals Long-term trends in air quality in major cities in the UK and India: a view from space

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 6275-6296
Author(s):  
Karn Vohra ◽  
Eloise A. Marais ◽  
Shannen Suckra ◽  
Louisa Kramer ◽  
William J. Bloss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Temporal Consistency ◽  
Ozone Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Modis Aod ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Long Term Trends ◽  
The Uk

Abstract. Air quality networks in cities can be costly and inconsistent and typically monitor a few pollutants. Space-based instruments provide global coverage spanning more than a decade to determine trends in air quality, augmenting surface networks. Here we target cities in the UK (London and Birmingham) and India (Delhi and Kanpur) and use observations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), ammonia (NH3) from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI), formaldehyde (HCHO) from OMI as a proxy for non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), and aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) for PM2.5. We assess the skill of these products at reproducing monthly variability in surface concentrations of air pollutants where available. We find temporal consistency between column and surface NO2 in cities in the UK and India (R = 0.5–0.7) and NH3 at two of three rural sites in the UK (R = 0.5–0.7) but not between AOD and surface PM2.5 (R < 0.4). MODIS AOD is consistent with AERONET at sites in the UK and India (R ≥ 0.8) and reproduces a significant decline in surface PM2.5 in London (2.7 % a−1) and Birmingham (3.7 % a−1) since 2009. We derive long-term trends in the four cities for 2005–2018 from OMI and MODIS and for 2008–2018 from IASI. Trends of all pollutants are positive in Delhi, suggesting no air quality improvements there, despite the roll-out of controls on industrial and transport sectors. Kanpur, identified by the WHO as the most polluted city in the world in 2018, experiences a significant and substantial (3.1 % a−1) increase in PM2.5. The decline of NO2, NH3, and PM2.5 in London and Birmingham is likely due in large part to emissions controls on vehicles. Trends are significant only for NO2 and PM2.5. Reactive NMVOCs decline in Birmingham, but the trend is not significant. There is a recent (2012–2018) steep (> 9 % a−1) increase in reactive NMVOCs in London. The cause for this rapid increase is uncertain but may reflect the increased contribution of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from household products, the food and beverage industry, and domestic wood burning, with implications for the formation of ozone in a VOC-limited city.

scholarly journals Long-term trends in air quality in major cities in the UK and India: A view from space

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karn Vohra ◽  
Eloise A. Marais ◽  
Shannen Suckra ◽  
Louisa Kramer ◽  
William J. Bloss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Temporal Consistency ◽  
Ozone Monitoring Instrument ◽  
Beverage Industry ◽  
Household Products ◽  
Food And Beverage ◽  
Long Term Trends ◽  
Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ◽  
The Uk

Abstract. Air quality networks in cities are costly, inconsistent, and only monitor a few pollutants. Space-based instruments provide global coverage spanning more than a decade to determine trends in air quality and address deficiencies in surface networks. Here we target cities in the UK (London and Birmingham) and India (Delhi and Kanpur) and use observations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), ammonia (NH3) from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI), formaldehyde (HCHO) from OMI as a proxy for non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), and aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) for PM2.5. We assess the skill of these products at reproducing monthly variability in surface concentrations of air pollutants where available. We find temporal consistency between column and surface NO2 in cities in the UK and India (R = 0.5–0.7) and NH3 at two of three UK supersites (R = 0.5–0.7), but not between AOD and surface PM2.5 (R  = 0.8) and reproduces significant decline in surface PM2.5 in London (2.7 % a−1) and Birmingham (3.7 % a−1) since 2009. We derive long-term trends in the four cities for 2005–2018 from OMI and MODIS and for 2008–2018 from IASI. Concentrations of all pollutants increase in Delhi, suggesting no air quality improvements there, despite rollout of controls on industrial and transport sectors. Kanpur experiences a significant and substantial (3.1 % a−1) increase in PM2.5. Concentrations of NO2, NH3 and PM2.5 decline in London and Birmingham likely due in large part to emissions controls on vehicles. Trends are significant only for NO2 and PM2.5. Reactive NMVOCs decline in Birmingham, but the trend is not significant, and there is a recent (2012–2018) steep (> 9 % a−1) increase in reactive NMVOCs in London. This may reflect increased contribution of oxygenated VOCs from household products, the food and beverage industry, and domestic wood burning, with implications for formation of ozone in a VOC-limited city.

scholarly journals Long-term Trends of Volatile Organic Compounds over the Texas, USA in the Past Two Decades

2021 ◽  
Vol 259 ◽  
pp. 01003
Author(s):  
Ruizhe Liu
Keyword(s):  
Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
The Past ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Long Term Trends ◽  
Secondary Air Pollutants ◽  
Secondary Air ◽  
Oil And Gas Companies

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds in the air that have low vapor pressure. VOCs can be emitted from a variety of sources including biogenic, anthropogenic and pyrogenic processes. VOCs are precursors of aerosols and tropospheric 03. which harm human health. However, the potential of VOCs forming secondary air pollutants varies by species. Here, we analyze the long-term trends of soiu'ce. concentration and reactivity of six classes of VOCs from 1995 to 2018 over Texas. USA. VOCs emission from petroleum and related companies in Texas kept increasing these years. Among the VOCs tracers of oil and gas companies, the concentration of ethane kept increasing until 2015. Despite the increase of oil and gas related VOCs. the concentration of total VOCs and reactivity-weighted VOCs have decreased in the past two decades. We further investigate the seasonality of VOC reactivities, which depend on both temperature and VOC concentration. We find that VOC reactivity generally is highest in fall and lowest in spring, and such seasonality does not change over the two decades.

Offset Ratio Assessment for Volatile Organic Compounds in Cap and Trade Zone

2012 ◽  
Vol 518-523 ◽  
pp. 2612-2616
Author(s):  
Shu Kuang Ning ◽  
Chia Hung Wang
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Cap And Trade ◽  
Adverse Health Effects ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Quantity Control ◽  
Total Quantity Control

Kaohsiung and Pintung are the first regions were set into action of total quantity control zones for air quality in Taiwan. Cap and trade programs have built for the particle matters (PM10), sulfur oxides (SOx), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in 2010. The offset ratio was designed as 1.0 or 1.2 various on the offset sources. The fixed offset ratio setting is suitable for PM10, SOx, and NOx since their characters are unitary. However, VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- or long-term adverse health effects. Even the same pollutant trading amount cannot guarantee the same health risk or environmental impacts. It would induced the highly uncertainty of air quality for the fixed offset ratio system. This study therefore tried to create a new methodology based on the pollutant impact strength of health and environment for determining the offset ratio of VOCs. An equation for calculating the offset ratio of VOCs was proposed and evaluated by case study. The elasticity of weighting determination was remained to the decision makers for confronting the various environmental improving targets.

scholarly journals Investigations of Museum Indoor Microclimate and Air Quality. Case Study from Romania

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 286
Author(s):  
Dorina Camelia Ilieș ◽  
Florin Marcu ◽  
Tudor Caciora ◽  
Liliana Indrie ◽  
Alexandru Ilieș ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Construction Materials ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Total Volatile ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Museum Exhibits ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Total Volatile Organic Compounds

Poor air quality inside museums is one of the main causes influencing the state of conservation of exhibits. Even if they are mostly placed in a controlled environment because of their construction materials, the exhibits can be very vulnerable to the influence of the internal microclimate. As a consequence, museum exhibits must be protected from potential negative effects. In order to prevent and stop the process of damage of the exhibits, monitoring the main parameters of the microclimate (especially temperature, humidity, and brightness) and keeping them in strict values is extremely important. The present study refers to the investigations and analysis of air quality inside a museum, located in a heritage building, from Romania. The paper focuses on monitoring and analysing temperature of air and walls, relative humidity (RH), CO2, brightness and particulate matters (PM), formaldehyde (HCHO), and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC). The monitoring was carried out in the Summer–Autumn 2020 Campaign, in two different exhibition areas (first floor and basement) and the main warehouse where the exhibits are kept and restored. The analyses aimed both at highlighting the hazard induced by the poor air quality inside the museum that the exhibits face. The results show that this environment is potentially harmful to both exposed items and people. Therefore, the number of days in which the ideal conditions in terms of temperature and RH are met are quite few, the concentration of suspended particles, formaldehyde, and total volatile organic compounds often exceed the limit allowed by the international standards in force. The results represent the basis for the development and implementation of strategies for long-term conservation of exhibits and to ensure a clean environment for employees, restorers, and visitors.

scholarly journals Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Emitted from Coated Furniture Units

Coatings ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 806
Author(s):  
Ozge Cemiloglu Ulker ◽  
Onur Ulker ◽  
Salim Hiziroglu
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Exposure Period ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Significant Health

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the main source influencing the overall air quality of an environment. It is a well-known fact that coated furniture units, in the form of paints and varnishes, emit VOCs, reducing the air quality and resulting in significant health problems. Exposure time to such compounds is also an important parameter regarding their possible health effects. Such issues also have a greater influence when the exposure period is extended. The main objective of this study was to review some of the important factors for the emission of VOCs from coated furniture, from the perspective of material characteristics, as well as health concerns. Some methods for controlling VOC emissions to improve indoor air quality, from the point of view recent regulations and suggestions, are also presented in this work.

scholarly journals Water-Enhanced Flux Changes under Dynamic Temperatures in the Vertical Vapor-Phase Diffusive Transport of Volatile Organic Compounds in Near-Surface Soil Environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6570
Author(s):  
Asma Akter Parlin ◽  
Monami Kondo ◽  
Noriaki Watanabe ◽  
Kengo Nakamura ◽  
Mizuki Yamada ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Vapor Phase ◽  
Inverse Correlation ◽  
Diffusive Transport ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Voc Emissions ◽  
Transport Behavior ◽  
Volatile Organic

The quantitative understanding of the transport behavior of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in near-surface soils is highly important in light of the potential impacts of soil VOC emissions on the air quality and climate. Previous studies have suggested that temperature changes affect the transport behavior; however, the effects are not well understood. Indeed, much larger changes in the VOC flux under in situ dynamic temperatures than those expected from the temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficients of VOCs in the air have been suggested but rarely investigated experimentally. Here, we present the results of a set of experiments on the upward vertical vapor-phase diffusive transport of benzene and trichloroethylene (TCE) in sandy soils with water contents ranging from an air-dried value to 10 wt% during sinusoidal temperature variation between 20 and 30 °C. In all experiments, the flux from the soil surface was correlated with the temperature, as expected. However, the changes in flux under wet conditions were unexpectedly large and increased with increasing water content; they were also larger for TCE, the volatility of which depended more strongly on the temperature. Additionally, the larger flux changes were accompanied by a recently discovered water-induced inverse correlation between temperature and flux into the overlying soil. These results demonstrated that the flux changes of VOCs under dynamic temperatures could be increased by volatilization-dissolution interactions of VOCs with water. Future extensive studies on this newly discovered phenomenon would contribute to a better understanding of the impacts of soil VOC emissions on the air quality and climate.

scholarly journals Development of a Water Matrix Certified Reference Material for Volatile Organic Compounds Analysis in Water

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (14) ◽  
pp. 4370
Author(s):  
Liping Fang ◽  
Linyan Huang ◽  
Gang Yang ◽  
Yang Jiang ◽  
Haiping Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Reference Material ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Certified Reference Material ◽  
Pure Water ◽  
Term Stability ◽  
Long Term Stability ◽  
Water Matrix ◽  
Volatile Organic

Water matrix certified reference material (MCRM) of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is used to provide quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) during the analysis of VOCs in water. In this research, a water MCRM of 28 VOCs was developed using a “reconstitution” approach by adding VOCs spiking, methanol solution into pure water immediately prior to analysis. The VOCs spiking solution was prepared gravimetrically by dividing 28 VOCs into seven groups, then based on ISO Guide 35, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to investigate the homogeneity and long-term stability. The studies of homogeneity and long-term stability indicated that the batch of VOCs spiking solution was homogeneous and stable at room temperature for at least 15 months. Moreover, the water MCRM of 28 VOCs was certified by a network of nine competent laboratories, and the certified values and expanded uncertainties of 28 VOCs ranged from 6.2 to 17 μg/L and 0.5 to 5.3 μg/L, respectively.

scholarly journals Root anoxia effects on physiology and emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) under short- and long-term inundation of trees from Amazonian floodplains

SpringerPlus ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Araceli Bracho-Nunez ◽  
Nina Knothe ◽  
Wallace R Costa ◽  
Liberato R Maria Astrid ◽  
Betina Kleiss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
Short And Long Term

scholarly journals Sensitivity of biogenic volatile organic compounds to land surface parameterizations and vegetation distributions in California

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 1959-1976 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun Zhao ◽  
Maoyi Huang ◽  
Jerome D. Fast ◽  
Larry K. Berg ◽  
Yun Qian ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Organic Compounds ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Aerosol Formation ◽  
Biogenic Volatile Organic Compounds ◽  
Vegetation Map ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Volatile Organic ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. Current climate models still have large uncertainties in estimating biogenic trace gases, which can significantly affect atmospheric chemistry and secondary aerosol formation that ultimately influences air quality and aerosol radiative forcing. These uncertainties result from many factors, including uncertainties in land surface processes and specification of vegetation types, both of which can affect the simulated near-surface fluxes of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). In this study, the latest version of Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN v2.1) is coupled within the land surface scheme CLM4 (Community Land Model version 4.0) in the Weather Research and Forecasting model with chemistry (WRF-Chem). In this implementation, MEGAN v2.1 shares a consistent vegetation map with CLM4 for estimating BVOC emissions. This is unlike MEGAN v2.0 in the public version of WRF-Chem that uses a stand-alone vegetation map that differs from what is used by land surface schemes. This improved modeling framework is used to investigate the impact of two land surface schemes, CLM4 and Noah, on BVOCs and examine the sensitivity of BVOCs to vegetation distributions in California. The measurements collected during the Carbonaceous Aerosol and Radiative Effects Study (CARES) and the California Nexus of Air Quality and Climate Experiment (CalNex) conducted in June of 2010 provided an opportunity to evaluate the simulated BVOCs. Sensitivity experiments show that land surface schemes do influence the simulated BVOCs, but the impact is much smaller than that of vegetation distributions. This study indicates that more effort is needed to obtain the most appropriate and accurate land cover data sets for climate and air quality models in terms of simulating BVOCs, oxidant chemistry and, consequently, secondary organic aerosol formation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document