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Regional Air Quality Modeling
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Regional Air Quality Modeling

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Atmospheric Techniques, Instruments, and Modeling".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2021) | Viewed by 58572

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Soontae Kim

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Environmental and Safety Engineering, Ajou University, Suwon, Korea
Interests: regional air quality modeling; PM2.5; ozone; transboundary transport; source apportionment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Our understanding of air pollution is imperative to mitigate its harmful effects on our human health. We continuously make efforts to improve air quality in our regions. The regional air quality model is an effective and powerful tool to better understand our regional air quality and to estimate the effectiveness of air quality improvement strategies. It can also help to explain the causality between emission and air pollution and the fate of primary and secondary pollutants, including ozone, particulate matter, and other air pollutants. Air quality models involve a number of modules to describe the complicated atmospheric physiochemical processes, such as gas-phase chemistry, secondary aerosol formation, photolysis, advection, and dry/wet depositions of air pollutants. They require various input information such as meteorological data, emissions inventories, land use/land cover, and topography. Many researchers have focused on regional air pollution and air quality improvement plans using regional air quality models. This Special Issue is expected to discuss the current status of regional air quality modeling and advance our understanding. We welcome papers and reviews that present latest advances in regional air quality modeling. This issue includes validating air quality modeling, developing emission inventories, improving meteorological and other inputs for regional air quality models, and simulating future regional air quality.

Dr. Soontae Kim
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • regional air quality models
  • model evaluation
  • ozone
  • particulate matter
  • emission inventory
  • atmospheric transport and turbulence mixing
  • air quality forecasting

Published Papers (14 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 2578 KiB  
Article
Spatial Regression Modeling Approach for Assessing the Spatial Variation of Air Pollutants
by Seunghoon Park and Dongwon Ko
Atmosphere 2021, 12(6), 785; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12060785 - 18 Jun 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2524
Abstract
Over the past decades, industrialization has resulted in radical economic development in Korea. The resulting urban sprawl and unsustainable development have led to considerable air pollution. In this study, using spatial regression models, we examine the effects of the physical and socioeconomic characteristics [...] Read more.
Over the past decades, industrialization has resulted in radical economic development in Korea. The resulting urban sprawl and unsustainable development have led to considerable air pollution. In this study, using spatial regression models, we examine the effects of the physical and socioeconomic characteristics of neighborhoods on particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5), NO2, CO, and SO2 concentrations in the Daegu Metropolitan area. Results reveal the following: (i) the socioeconomic characteristics were not statistically significant regardless of the air pollutant type; (ii) the effects of the built environment characteristics of the neighborhoods were different for each air pollutant. Compared with other pollutants, PM2.5 was affected more by the built environment. Concerning the neighborhoods’ main roads, the SO2 concentration was higher, that of PM2.5 was higher in neighborhoods with more bus stops, and those of CO and PM2.5 were possibly higher in the neighborhood of industrial zones. In neighborhoods with parks and green areas, air pollutant concentrations are likely to be lower. When the total used surface of residential buildings was higher, the air pollutant concentrations were lower. Contextually, similar neighborhoods with more single-family houses seemed to have high pollution levels. Overall, this study is expected to guide policymakers and planners in making smart decisions for eco-friendly and healthy cities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Air Quality Modeling)
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16 pages, 8975 KiB  
Article
Effectiveness of SOx, NOx, and Primary Particulate Matter Control Strategies in the Improvement of Ambient PM Concentration in Taiwan
by Jiun-Horng Tsai, Ming-Ye Lee and Hung-Lung Chiang
Atmosphere 2021, 12(4), 460; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12040460 - 06 Apr 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4858
Abstract
The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) measurement was employed for evaluating the effectiveness of fine particulate matter control strategies in Taiwan. There are three scenarios as follows: (I) the 2014 baseline year emission, (II) 2020 emissions reduced via the Clean Air Act (CAA), [...] Read more.
The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) measurement was employed for evaluating the effectiveness of fine particulate matter control strategies in Taiwan. There are three scenarios as follows: (I) the 2014 baseline year emission, (II) 2020 emissions reduced via the Clean Air Act (CAA), and (III) other emissions reduced stringently via the Clean Air Act. Based on the Taiwan Emission Data System (TEDs) 8.1, established in 2014, the emission of particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) was 73.5 thousand tons y−1, that of SOx was 121.3 thousand tons y−1, and that of NOx was 404.4 thousand tons y−1 in Taiwan. The CMAQ model simulation indicated that the PM2.5 concentration was 21.9 μg m−3. This could be underestimated by 24% in comparison with data from the ambient air quality monitoring stations of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration (TEPA). The results of the simulation of the PM2.5 concentration showed high PM2.5 concentrations in central and southwestern Taiwan, especially in Taichung and Kaohsiung. Compared to scenario I, the average annual concentrations of PM2.5 for scenario II and scenario III showed reductions of 20.1% and 28.8%, respectively. From the results derived from the simulation, it can be seen that control of NOx emissions may improve daily airborne PM2.5 concentrations in Taiwan significantly and control of directly emitted PM2.5 emissions may improve airborne PM2.5 concentrations each month. Nevertheless, the results reveal that the preliminary control plan could not achievethe air quality standard. Therefore, the efficacy and effectiveness of the control measures must be considered to better reduce emissions in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Air Quality Modeling)
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23 pages, 4332 KiB  
Article
Development of the Global to Mesoscale Air Quality Forecast and Analysis System (GMAF) and Its Application to PM2.5 Forecast in Korea
by SeogYeon Cho, HyeonYeong Park, JeongSeok Son and LimSeok Chang
Atmosphere 2021, 12(3), 411; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12030411 - 23 Mar 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2600
Abstract
This paper presents the development of the global to mesoscale air quality forecast and analysis system (GMAF) and its application to particulate matter under 2.5 μm (PM2.5) forecast in Korea. The GMAF combined a mesoscale model with a global data assimilation [...] Read more.
This paper presents the development of the global to mesoscale air quality forecast and analysis system (GMAF) and its application to particulate matter under 2.5 μm (PM2.5) forecast in Korea. The GMAF combined a mesoscale model with a global data assimilation system by the grid nudging based four-dimensional data assimilation (FDDA). The grid nudging based FDDA developed for weather forecast and analysis was extended to air quality forecast and analysis for the first time as an alternative to data assimilation of surface monitoring data. The below cloud scavenging module and the secondary organic formation module of the community multiscale air quality model (CMAQ) were modified and subsequently verified by comparing with the PM speciation observation from the PM supersite. The observation data collected from the criteria air pollutant monitoring networks in Korea were used to evaluate forecast performance of GMAF for the year of 2016. The GMAF showed good performance in forecasting the daily mean PM2.5 concentrations at Seoul; the correlation coefficient between the observed and forecasted PM2.5 concentrations was 0.78; the normalized mean error was 25%; the probability of detection for the events exceeding the national PM2.5 standard was 0.81 whereas the false alarm rate was only 0.38. Both the hybrid bias correction technique and the Kalman filter bias adjustment technique were implemented into the GMAF as postprocessors. For the continuous and the categorical performance metrics examined, the Kalman filter bias adjustment technique performed better than the hybrid bias correction technique. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Air Quality Modeling)
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17 pages, 10432 KiB  
Article
Air Pollutant Analysis and AQI Prediction Based on GRA and Improved SOA-SVR by Considering COVID-19
by Ting Xu, Huichao Yan and Yanping Bai
Atmosphere 2021, 12(3), 336; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12030336 - 05 Mar 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2291
Abstract
Since COVID-19 pneumonia broke out, the Chinese government has taken a series of measures to control the spread of the epidemic, which has made the air quality of Taiyuan in February 2020 significantly better than during the same period in previous years. In [...] Read more.
Since COVID-19 pneumonia broke out, the Chinese government has taken a series of measures to control the spread of the epidemic, which has made the air quality of Taiyuan in February 2020 significantly better than during the same period in previous years. In this paper, the Gray Relational Analysis (GRA) method was first applied to evaluate and analyze the influence of six major pollutants on air quality. Then, the improved seagull optimization algorithm (ISOA) was proposed and combined with Support Vector Regression (SVR) to establish a hybrid predicted model ISOA-SVR. Finally, the proposed ISOA-SVR was utilized to predict air quality index (AQI). The experimental results on two kinds of different data showed that the proposed ISOA-SVR had the better generalization ability and robustness compared with other predicted models. Further, the proposed ISOA-SVR is suitable for the prediction of AQI. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Air Quality Modeling)
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24 pages, 17465 KiB  
Article
The On-Line Integrated Mesoscale Chemistry Model BOLCHEM
by Rita Cesari, Tony Christian Landi, Massimo D’Isidoro, Mihaela Mircea, Felicita Russo, Piero Malguzzi, Francesco Tampieri and Alberto Maurizi
Atmosphere 2021, 12(2), 192; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos12020192 - 31 Jan 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1694
Abstract
This work presents the on-line coupled meteorology–chemistry transport model BOLCHEM, based on the hydrostatic meteorological BOLAM model, the gas chemistry module SAPRC90, and the aerosol dynamic module AERO3. It includes parameterizations to describe natural source emissions, dry and wet removal processes, as well [...] Read more.
This work presents the on-line coupled meteorology–chemistry transport model BOLCHEM, based on the hydrostatic meteorological BOLAM model, the gas chemistry module SAPRC90, and the aerosol dynamic module AERO3. It includes parameterizations to describe natural source emissions, dry and wet removal processes, as well as the transport and dispersion of air pollutants. The equations for different processes are solved on the same grid during the same integration step, by means of a time-split scheme. This paper describes the model and its performance at horizontal resolution of 0.2∘× 0.2∘ over Europe and 0.1∘× 0.1∘ in a nested configuration over Italy, for one year run (December 2009–November 2010). The model has been evaluated against the AIRBASE data of the European Environmental Agency. The basic statistics for higher resolution simulations of O3, NO2 and particulate matter concentrations (PM2.5 and PM10) have been compared with those from Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) ensemble median. In summer, for O3 we found a correlation coefficient R of 0.72 and mean bias of 2.15 over European domain and a correlation coefficient R of 0.67 and mean bias of 2.36 over Italian domain. PM10 and PM2.5 are better reproduced in the winter, the latter with a correlation coefficient R of 0.66 and the mean bias MB of 0.35 over Italian domain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Air Quality Modeling)
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28 pages, 10863 KiB  
Article
Sensitivity of Simulated PM2.5 Concentrations over Northeast Asia to Different Secondary Organic Aerosol Modules during the KORUS-AQ Campaign
by Hyo-Jung Lee, Hyun-Young Jo, Chang-Keun Song, Yu-Jin Jo, Shin-Young Park and Cheol-Hee Kim
Atmosphere 2020, 11(9), 1004; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos11091004 - 20 Sep 2020
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3136
Abstract
A numerical sensitivity study on secondary organic aerosol formation has been carried out by employing the WRF-Chem (Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry). Two secondary organic aerosol formation modules, the Modal Aerosol Dynamics model for Europe/Volatility Basis Set (MADE/VBS) and the [...] Read more.
A numerical sensitivity study on secondary organic aerosol formation has been carried out by employing the WRF-Chem (Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry). Two secondary organic aerosol formation modules, the Modal Aerosol Dynamics model for Europe/Volatility Basis Set (MADE/VBS) and the Modal Aerosol Dynamics model for Europe/Secondary Organic Aerosol Model (MADE/SORGAM) were employed in the WRF-Chem model, and surface PM2.5 (particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in size) mass concentration and the composition of its relevant chemical sources, i.e., SO42−, NO3−, NH4+, and organic carbon (OC) were simulated during the Korea-United States Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) campaign period (1 May to 12 June 2016). We classified the KORUS-AQ period into two cases, the stagnant period (16–21 May) which was dominated by local emission and the long-range transport period (25–31 May) which was affected by transport from the leeward direction, and focused on the differences in OC secondary aerosol formation between two modules over Northeast Asia. The simulated surface PM2.5 chemical components via the two modules showed the largest systematic biases in surface OC, with a mean bias of 4.5 μg m−3, and the second largest in SO42− abundance of 2.2 μg m−3 over Seoul. Compared with surface observations at two ground sites located near the western coastal Korean Peninsula, MADE/VBS exhibited the overpredictions in OC by 170–180%, whereas MADE/SORGAM showed underpredictions by 49–65%. OC and sulfate via MADE/VBS were simulated to be much higher than that simulated by MADE/SORGAM by a factor of 2.8–3.5 and 1.5–1.9, respectively. Model verification against KORUS-AQ aircraft measurements also showed large discrepancies in simulated non-surface OC between the two modules by a factor of five, with higher OC by MADE/VBS and lower IC by MADE/SORGAM, whereas much closer MADE/VBS simulations to the KORUS-AQ aircraft measurements were found. On the basis of the aircraft measurements, the aggregated bias (sum of four components) for PM2.5 mass concentrations from the MADE/VBS module indicated that the simulation was much closer to the measurements, nevertheless more elaborate analysis on the surface OC simulation performance would be needed to improve the ground results. Our findings show that significant inconsistencies are present in the secondary organic aerosol formation simulations, suggesting that PM2.5 forecasts should be considered with great caution, as well as in the context of policymaking in the Northeast Asia region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Air Quality Modeling)
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12 pages, 3296 KiB  
Article
Validation of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Height Estimated from the MODIS Atmospheric Profile Data at an Equatorial Site
by Silver Onyango, Simon K. Anguma, Geoffrey Andima and Beth Parks
Atmosphere 2020, 11(9), 908; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos11090908 - 26 Aug 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2053
Abstract
The atmospheric boundary layer height is important for constraining air pollution and meteorological models. This study attempted to validate the MODIS-estimated atmospheric boundary layer height (ABLH), and variation in the ABLH in Uganda was evaluated. The ABLH was estimated from MODIS data using [...] Read more.
The atmospheric boundary layer height is important for constraining air pollution and meteorological models. This study attempted to validate the MODIS-estimated atmospheric boundary layer height (ABLH), and variation in the ABLH in Uganda was evaluated. The ABLH was estimated from MODIS data using the mixing ratio profile gradient method and compared to the ABLH estimated from radiosonde data using three different methods. Unlike in studies in other regions of the world, correlations between ABLH estimated using MODIS and radiosonde data were weak, implying limited usefulness of MODIS data for determining ABLH. However, the diurnal variation in MODIS-derived ABLH and particulate matter (PM10) was consistent with the expected inverse relationship between PM10 mass concentration and ABLH, and the mean MODIS-derived ABLH values were significantly lower during wet seasons than dry seasons, as expected. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Air Quality Modeling)
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15 pages, 6757 KiB  
Article
Spatio-Temporal Variations of Atmospheric NH3 over East Asia by Comparison of Chemical Transport Model Results, Satellite Retrievals and Surface Observations
by Zhe Wang, Itsushi Uno, Kazuo Osada, Syuichi Itahashi, Keiya Yumimoto, Xueshun Chen, Wenyi Yang and Zifa Wang
Atmosphere 2020, 11(9), 900; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos11090900 - 25 Aug 2020
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2359
Abstract
Atmospheric ammonia (NH3) plays an important role in the formation of secondary inorganic aerosols, the neutralization of acid rain, and the deposition to ecosystems, but has not been well understood yet, especially over East Asia. Based on the GEOS-Chem model results, [...] Read more.
Atmospheric ammonia (NH3) plays an important role in the formation of secondary inorganic aerosols, the neutralization of acid rain, and the deposition to ecosystems, but has not been well understood yet, especially over East Asia. Based on the GEOS-Chem model results, the IASI satellite retrievals, the in-site surface observations of a nationwide filter pack (FP) network over Japan and the long-term high resolution online NH3 measurements at Fukuoka of western Japan, the spatio-temporal distributions of atmospheric NH3 over East Asia was analyzed comprehensively. A significant seasonal variation with a summer peak was found in all datasets. Comparison between the satellite retrievals and model simulations indicated that the IASI NH3 vertical column density (VCD) showed good consistency with GEOS-Chem results over North and central China, but had large differences over South China due to the effect of clouds. Over the Japan area, GEOS-Chem simulated NH3 concentrations successfully reproduced the spatio-temporal variations compared with in-situ observations, while IASI NH3 VCD retrievals were below or near the detection limit and difficult to obtain a reasonable correlation for with model results. The comprehensive analysis indicated that there were still some differences among different datasets, and more in-situ observations, improved satellite retrievals, and high-resolution model simulations with more accurate emissions are necessary for better understanding the atmospheric NH3 over East Asia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Air Quality Modeling)
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12 pages, 2882 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Foreign SO2 Emissions on Aerosol Direct Radiative Effects in South Korea
by Jung-Woo Yoo, Wonbae Jeon, Hwa Woon Lee, Jeonghyeok Mun, Soon-Hwan Lee and Soon-Young Park
Atmosphere 2020, 11(9), 887; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos11090887 - 21 Aug 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2096
Abstract
This study examined the impact of foreign SO2 emission changes on the aerosol direct radiative effects (ADRE) in South Korea. Simulations that applied basic emissions (BASE) and simulations that applied reduced SO2 emissions from foreign sources (R_FSO2) were performed, respectively, using [...] Read more.
This study examined the impact of foreign SO2 emission changes on the aerosol direct radiative effects (ADRE) in South Korea. Simulations that applied basic emissions (BASE) and simulations that applied reduced SO2 emissions from foreign sources (R_FSO2) were performed, respectively, using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) two-way coupled model. In addition, the difference between the two experimental results was calculated (i.e., R_FSO2 minus BASE) to quantitatively identify the impact of foreign SO2 emission reduction. The reduction in foreign SO2 emissions caused a decrease in the concentration of SO2 flowing in from overseas to South Korea. As a result, a clear decrease in SO42− concentration was shown mainly in the southwest coast of South Korea. The difference in PM2.5 concentration in South Korea according to the foreign SO2 emission reduction did not correspond to the difference in SO42− concentration; it was determined in a complex way by the changes in SO42− concentration caused by SO2 concentration changes, and the subsequent series of changes in NO3− and NH4+ concentrations. The differences in SO42− and PM2.5 concentrations caused by the foreign SO2 reduction also affected the ADRE changes in South Korea. The distribution of ADRE difference between the two experiments was not consistent with the distribution of PM2.5 concentration difference, but it was very similar to the distribution of SO42− concentration difference. These results imply that the ADRE of South Korea is not simply proportional to PM2.5 concentration and may be determined by concentration changes of SO42−. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Air Quality Modeling)
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14 pages, 4872 KiB  
Article
Space-Borne Monitoring of NOx Emissions from Cement Kilns in South Korea
by Hyun Cheol Kim, Changhan Bae, Minah Bae, Okgil Kim, Byeong-Uk Kim, Chul Yoo, Jinsoo Park, Jinsoo Choi, Jae-bum Lee, Barry Lefer, Ariel Stein and Soontae Kim
Atmosphere 2020, 11(8), 881; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos11080881 - 18 Aug 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4151
Abstract
Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from the South Korean cement industry are investigated with remote-sensing measurements, surface observations, and in situ aircraft measurements. In the Yeongwol, Danyang, and Jecheon regions of central South Korea, six closely located cement factories produce 31 million [...] Read more.
Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from the South Korean cement industry are investigated with remote-sensing measurements, surface observations, and in situ aircraft measurements. In the Yeongwol, Danyang, and Jecheon regions of central South Korea, six closely located cement factories produce 31 million tons of cement annually. Their impact on the regional environment has been a public-policy issue, but their pollutants have not been continuously monitored nor have emissions inventories been fully verified. Using a newly developed downscaling technique, remote-sensing analyses show that Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) NO2 column densities over the cement kilns have more than twice the modeled concentrations, indicating that the kilns are one of the most dominant NOx emission point sources in South Korea. Observed NOx emissions are stronger in the spring, suggesting that these sources play an important role in the formation of surface ozone and secondary particulate matter. These emissions also slightly increased in recent years, even while most major South Korean cities posted a declining trend in NOx emissions. Photochemical models (during May to July 2015) demonstrate that emissions from the South Korean cement industry have significant environmental impacts, both on surface ozone (up to approximately 4 ppb) and PM2.5 (up to approximately 2 µg/m3). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Air Quality Modeling)
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14 pages, 994 KiB  
Article
Health Effects of Air-Quality Regulations in Seoul Metropolitan Area: Applying Synthetic Control Method to Controlled-Interrupted Time-Series Analysis
by Soo-Yeon Kim, Hyomi Kim and Jong-Tae Lee
Atmosphere 2020, 11(8), 868; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos11080868 - 16 Aug 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3749
Abstract
Despite enormous investment in air-quality regulations, there are only a few studies about the health effects of the air-quality regulations. By applying synthetic control methods to controlled-interrupted time-series analysis, this study aimed to test whether air-quality regulations implemented in Seoul metropolitan area since [...] Read more.
Despite enormous investment in air-quality regulations, there are only a few studies about the health effects of the air-quality regulations. By applying synthetic control methods to controlled-interrupted time-series analysis, this study aimed to test whether air-quality regulations implemented in Seoul metropolitan area since 2005 had reduced cardiovascular mortality rate in Seoul and Incheon. Each synthetic control for Seoul and Incheon was constructed to predict the counterfactual cardiovascular mortality rate through synthetic control methods. By using a synthetic control as a control group in controlled-interrupted time-series analysis, we tested whether the air-quality regulations had changed the trend of cardiovascular mortality rate in Seoul and Incheon after the intervention. The results showed a significant slope change in cardiovascular mortality rate in Seoul (coefficient: −0.001, 95% confidence interval (CI): −0.0015, −0.0004) and Incheon (coefficient: −0.0006, 95% CI: −0.0012, 0). This study suggests additional evidence that air-quality regulations implemented in the Seoul metropolitan areas since 2005 had beneficial effects on cardiovascular mortality rate in Seoul and Incheon. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Air Quality Modeling)
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21 pages, 2582 KiB  
Article
Accurate, Low Cost PM2.5 Measurements Demonstrate the Large Spatial Variation in Wood Smoke Pollution in Regional Australia and Improve Modeling and Estimates of Health Costs
by Dorothy L. Robinson
Atmosphere 2020, 11(8), 856; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos11080856 - 13 Aug 2020
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 17949
Abstract
The accuracy and utility of low-cost PM2.5 sensors was evaluated for measuring spatial variation and modeling population exposure to PM2.5 pollution from domestic wood-heating (DWH) in Armidale, a regional town in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, to obtain estimates of health [...] Read more.
The accuracy and utility of low-cost PM2.5 sensors was evaluated for measuring spatial variation and modeling population exposure to PM2.5 pollution from domestic wood-heating (DWH) in Armidale, a regional town in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, to obtain estimates of health costs and mortality. Eleven ‘PurpleAir’ (PA) monitors were deployed, including five located part of the time at the NSW government station (NSWGov) to derive calibration equations. Calibrated PA PM2.5 were almost identical to the NSWGov tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) and Armidale Regional Council’s 2017 DustTrak measurements. Spatial variation was substantial. National air quality standards were exceeded 32 times from May–August 2018 at NSWGov and 63 times in one residential area. Wood heater use by about 50% of households increased estimated annual PM2.5 exposure by over eight micrograms per cubic meter, suggesting increased mortality of about 10% and health costs of thousands of dollars per wood heater per year. Accurate real-time community-based monitoring can improve estimates of exposure and avoid bias in estimating dose-response relationships. Efforts over the past decade to reduce wood smoke pollution proved ineffective, perhaps partly because some residents do not understand the health impacts or costs of wood-heating. Real-time Internet displays can increase awareness of DWH and bushfire pollution and encourage governments to develop effective policies to protect public health, as recommended by several recent studies in which wood smoke was identified as a major source of health-hazardous air pollution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Air Quality Modeling)
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25 pages, 9081 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of WRF-Chem Predictions for Dust Deposition in Southwestern Iran
by Mansour A. Foroushani, Christian Opp, Michael Groll and Amirhossein Nikfal
Atmosphere 2020, 11(7), 757; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos11070757 - 17 Jul 2020
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4229
Abstract
The relationships between monthly recorded ground deposition rates (GDRs) and the spatiotemporal characteristics of dust concentrations in southwest Iran were investigated. A simulation by the Weather Research and Forecasting Model coupled with the Chemistry modeling system (WRF-Chem) was conducted for dust deposition during [...] Read more.
The relationships between monthly recorded ground deposition rates (GDRs) and the spatiotemporal characteristics of dust concentrations in southwest Iran were investigated. A simulation by the Weather Research and Forecasting Model coupled with the Chemistry modeling system (WRF-Chem) was conducted for dust deposition during 2014–2015. The monthly dust deposition values observed at 10 different gauge sites (G01–G10) were mapped to show the seasonal and spatial variations in dust episodes at each location. An analysis of the dust deposition samples, however, confirmed that the region along the deposition sites is exposed to the highest monthly dust load, which has a mean value of 2.4 mg cm−2. In addition, the study area is subjected to seasonally varying deposition, which follows the trend: spring > summer > winter > fall. The modeling results further demonstrate that the increase in dust emissions is followed by a windward convergence over the region (particularly in the spring and summer). Based on the maximum likelihood classification of land use land cover, the modeling results are consistent with observation data at gauge sites for three scenarios [S.I, S.II, and S.III]. The WRF model, in contrast with the corresponding observation data, reveals that the rate factor decreases from the southern [S.III—G08, G09, and G10] through [S.II—G04, G05, G06, and G07] to the northern points [S.I—G01, G02, and G03]. A narrower gap between the modeling results and GDRs is indicated if there is an increase in the number of dust particles moving to lower altitudes or an increase in the dust resident time at high altitudes. The quality of the model forecast is altered by the deposition rate and is sensitive to land surface properties and interactions among land and climate patterns. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Air Quality Modeling)
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26 pages, 6069 KiB  
Article
Model Performance Differences in Fine-Mode Nitrate Aerosol during Wintertime over Japan in the J-STREAM Model Inter-Comparison Study
by Syuichi Itahashi, Kazuyo Yamaji, Satoru Chatani, Kyo Kitayama, Yu Morino, Tatsuya Nagashima, Masahiko Saito, Masayuki Takigawa, Tazuko Morikawa, Isao Kanda, Yukako Miya, Hiroaki Komatsu, Tatsuya Sakurai, Hikari Shimadera, Katsushige Uranishi, Yuzuru Fujiwara, Tomoaki Hashimoto and Hiroshi Hayami
Atmosphere 2020, 11(5), 511; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/atmos11050511 - 15 May 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3590
Abstract
In this study, the results for nitrate (NO3−) aerosol during winter from the first-phase model inter-comparison study of Japan’s Study for Reference Air Quality Modeling (J-STREAM) were analyzed. To investigate the models’ external and internal settings, the results were limited [...] Read more.
In this study, the results for nitrate (NO3−) aerosol during winter from the first-phase model inter-comparison study of Japan’s Study for Reference Air Quality Modeling (J-STREAM) were analyzed. To investigate the models’ external and internal settings, the results were limited to Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) models. All submitted models generally underestimated NO3− over the urban areas in Japan (e.g., Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo); however, some model settings showed distinct behavior. The differences due to the model external settings were larger than the model internal settings. Emissions were an important factor, and emissions configured with lower NOx emissions and higher NH3 emissions led to a higher NO3− concentration as the NH3 was consumed under NH3-rich conditions. The model internal settings of the chemical mechanisms caused differences over China, and this could affect western Japan; however, the difference over Tokyo was lower. To obtain a higher NO3− concentration over the urban areas in Japan, the selection of the HONO option for the heterogenous reaction and the inline calculation of photolysis was desired. For future studies, the external settings of the boundary condition and the meteorological field require further investigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Regional Air Quality Modeling)
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