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10th Anniversary of Atmosphere: Air Quality
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10th Anniversary of Atmosphere: Air Quality

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Air Quality".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2019) | Viewed by 52603

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Nicole Mölders

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Guest Editor
Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
Interests: human and natural impacts on weather, air quality and climate; land-cover/use impacts on cloud and precipitation formation; pollution in remote locations, wind energy; evaluation of air-quality model results
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Daniele Contini

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Guest Editor
Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC), National Research Council (CNR), Str. Prv. Lecce-Monteroni km 1.2, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Interests: atmosphere composition; aerosol sources; health-related effects of aerosols; receptor models; turbulent fluxes; particle deposition; nucleation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Gabriele Curci

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Università degli Studi dell’Aquila, 67010 Coppito, L’Aquila, Italy
Interests: regional tropospheric chemistry and air quality; global and regional modeling of atmospheric aerosols and their radiative effects; aerosol-cloud interactions; intercontinental transport of trace gases and aerosols; aerosol optical properties and mixing state; aerosol remote sensing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Francesca Costabile

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC), National Research Council (CNR), 00133 Rome, Italy
Interests: air quality; atmospheric aerosol; health effects; characterization of ultrafine particles; combustion generated aerosol and urban areas; black carbon and carbonaceous aerosol, and relevant toxicology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Yoshizumi Kajii

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
National Institute for Environmental Studies of Japan, Center for Regional Environmental Research, Kyoto University, Tsukuba, Kyoto 606-8316, Japan
Interests: observations of ozone; carbon monoxide; hydrocarbons in the atmosphere; investigation of atmospheric photochemical reactions in the urban area; development of highly sensitive systems for measuring reactive trace species in the atmosphere by laser-induced fluorescence technique
Prof. Dr. Prashant Kumar

grade E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Global Center for Clean Air Research (GCARE), School of Sustainability, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK
Interests: low-cost sensing; air pollution modelling; pollution mitigation; atmospheric science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Gunnar W. Schade

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Texas A&M University, TX 77843, USA
Interests: biosphere-atmosphere interactions; energy and trace gas fluxes; boundary layer meteorology; climate change impacts
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Dr. Hanwant B. Singh

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
NASA Ames Research Center, Mail Stop 245-5, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
Interests: atmospheric composition and chemistry; global and regional air pollution and impacts; airborne and satellite observations of trace constituents
Dr. Chris G. Tzanis

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Guest Editor
Section of Environmental Physics and Meteorology, Department of Physics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, University Campus, 157 84 Athens, Greece
Interests: climate dynamics; climate physics; climate change and variability; aerosols; ambient air quality; ozone-climate interactions; atmospheric physics and chemistry; nonlinear processes; artificial intelligence and machine learning; remote sensing
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Prof. Dr. Robert W. Talbot <sup>†</sup>

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Guest Editor
Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA
Interests: sources of anthropogenic atmospheric methane; autonomous drone system for detecting fugitive methane leaks; controls on ozone in Southern Texas; impact of Saharan dust on air quality along the U.S. Gulf Coast; sources and cycling of atmospheric mercury; green sustainable urban areas; Houston port activities impact on local air quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Air quality has recently received a lot of public interest, not only due to air traffic hazards caused by wildfires or volcanic eruptions, limitation of visibility in National Parks, wilderness and other protected areas, erosion of cultural heritage construction, Arctic haze, and increasing Arctic commercial shipping and cruise-ship traffic as well as Arctic exploration and extraction for fossil resources. The public’s air quality concerns are also motivated by questions regarding the relation of short- and long-term exposure due to various pollutants like ozone, carbon monoxide, black carbon, particulate matter of equal or less than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5), just to mention a few. Various pollutants have namely been found to be health-adverse, causing asthma, cardio, and even cancerous diseases. Elderly, sensitive people, people with lung- or cardio-related preconditions, and pregnant women are especially at risk for poor air quality related issues. An important aspect of air quality is also the interaction of trace gases and particles with the water and energy cycle via the aerosol impacts on cloud and precipitation formation and reflectivity, as well as water quality in rivers and contaminant input into terrestrial and aqueous ecosystems including the soil and oceans.

This Special Issue about air quality and its impacts on human health as well as water, energy and biogeophysical/biogeochemical cycles will call for submissions of papers that demonstrate the original research that can overcome current gaps in understanding the interactions between air quality and the Earth system. Review articles are also welcome. The topics will include but are not limited to examining the:

  1. Relations of air quality and health;
  2. impacts of air quality and (Arctic) haze;
  3. aerosol–cloud interaction;
  4. air quality hazards;
  5. air quality climatology and field campaigns; and
  6. improvements in air quality modeling including emission modeling and inventories.

Prof. Dr. Nicole Mölders
Dr. Daniele Contini
Dr. Gabriele Curci
Dr. Francesca Costabile
Prof. Dr. Yoshizumi Kajii
Prof. Dr. Prashant Kumar
Dr. Gunnar W. Schade
Dr. Hanwant B. Singh
Dr. Chris G. Tzanis
Prof. Dr. Robert W. Talbot
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • air quality climatology
  • air quality change and variability
  • longrange transport of air pollutants
  • operational air quality monitoring
  • air quality field campaigns
  • air quality modeling and forecasting
  • air quality and health
  • emission impacts on weather
  • aerosols and clouds
  • remote sensing of atmospheric constituents

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

Jump to: Review

22 pages, 2897 KiB  
Article
Short-Term Responses of Air Quality to Changes in Emissions under the Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 Scenario over Brazil
by Daniel Schuch, Maria de Fatima Andrade, Yang Zhang, Edmilson Dias de Freitas and Michelle L. Bell
Atmosphere 2020, 11(8), 799; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11080799 - 29 Jul 2020
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3325
Abstract
Brazil, one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, is the fifth most populous country and is experiencing accelerated urbanization. This combination of factors causes an increase in urban population that is exposed to poor air quality, leading to public health burdens. In this work, [...] Read more.
Brazil, one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, is the fifth most populous country and is experiencing accelerated urbanization. This combination of factors causes an increase in urban population that is exposed to poor air quality, leading to public health burdens. In this work, the Weather Research and Forecasting Model with Chemistry is applied to simulate air quality over Brazil for a short time period under three future emission scenarios, including current legislation (CLE), mitigation scenario (MIT), and maximum feasible reduction (MFR) under the Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 (RCP4.5), which is a climate change scenario under which radiative forcing of greenhouse gases (GHGs) reach 4.5 W m−2 by 2100. The main objective of this study is to determine the sensitivity of the concentrations of ozone (O3) and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter 2.5 µm or less (PM2.5) to changes in emissions under these emission scenarios and to determine the signal and spatial patterns of these changes for Brazil. The model is evaluated with observations and shows reasonably good agreement. The MFR scenario leads to a reduction of 3% and 75% for O3 and PM2.5 respectively, considering the average of grid cells within Brazil, whereas the CLE scenario leads to an increase of 1% and 11% for O3 and PM2.5 respectively, concentrated near urban centers. These results indicate that of the three emission control scenarios, the CLE leads to poor air quality, while the MFR scenario leads to the maximum improvement in air quality. To the best of our knowledge, this work is the first to investigate the responses of air quality to changes in emissions under these emission scenarios for Brazil. The results shed light on the linkage between changes of emissions and air quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 10th Anniversary of Atmosphere: Air Quality)
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40 pages, 17676 KiB  
Article
Spatial-Temporal Pattern of Black Carbon (BC) Emission from Biomass Burning and Anthropogenic Sources in New South Wales and the Greater Metropolitan Region of Sydney, Australia
by Hiep Nguyen Duc, Kristina Shingles, Stephen White, David Salter, Lisa Tzu-Chi Chang, Gunaratnam Gunashanhar, Matthew Riley, Toan Trieu, Upma Dutt, Merched Azzi, Kathleen Beyer, Robert Hynes and John Kirkwood
Atmosphere 2020, 11(6), 570; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11060570 - 31 May 2020
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4881
Abstract
Biomass burnings either due to Hazards Reduction Burnings (HRBs) in late autumn and early winter or bushfires during summer periods in various part of the world (e.g., CA, USA or New South Wales, Australia) emit large amount of gaseous pollutants and aerosols. The [...] Read more.
Biomass burnings either due to Hazards Reduction Burnings (HRBs) in late autumn and early winter or bushfires during summer periods in various part of the world (e.g., CA, USA or New South Wales, Australia) emit large amount of gaseous pollutants and aerosols. The emissions, under favourable meteorological conditions, can cause elevated atmospheric particulate concentrations in metropolitan areas and beyond. One of the pollutants of concern is black carbon (BC), which is a component of aerosol particles. BC is harmful to health and acts as a radiative forcing agent in increasing the global warming due to its light absorption properties. Remote sensing data from satellites have becoming increasingly available for research, and these provide rich datasets available on global and local scale as well as in situ aethalometer measurements allow researchers to study the emission and dispersion pattern of BC from anthropogenic and natural sources. The Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) in New South Wales (NSW) has installed recently from 2014 to 2019 a total of nine aethalometers to measure BC in its state-wide air quality network to determine the source contribution of BC and PM2.5 (particulate Matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter) in ambient air from biomass burning and anthropogenic combustion sources. This study analysed the characteristics of spatial and temporal patterns of black carbon (BC) in New South Wales and in the Greater Metropolitan Region (GMR) of Sydney, Australia, by using these data sources as well as the trajectory HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) modelling tool to determine the source of high BC concentration detected at these sites. The emission characteristics of BC in relation to PM2.5 is dependent on the emission source and is analysed using regression analysis of BC with PM2.5 time series at the receptor site for winter and summer periods. The results show that, during the winter, correlation between BC and PM2.5 is found at nearly all sites while little or no correlation is detected during the summer period. Traffic vehicle emission is the main BC emission source identified in the urban areas but was less so in the regional sites where biomass burnings/wood heating is the dominant source in winter. The BC diurnal patterns at all sites were strongly influenced by meteorology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 10th Anniversary of Atmosphere: Air Quality)
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16 pages, 1975 KiB  
Article
Ultrafine Particle Features Associated with Pro-Inflammatory and Oxidative Responses: Implications for Health Studies
by Francesca Costabile, Maurizio Gualtieri, Carla Ancona, Silvia Canepari and Stefano Decesari
Atmosphere 2020, 11(4), 414; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11040414 - 21 Apr 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3305
Abstract
Suspected detrimental health effects associated with ultrafine particles (UFPs) are impressive. However, epidemiological evidence is still limited. This is potentially due to challenges related to UFP exposure assessment and the lack of consensus on a standard methodology for UFPs. It is imperative to [...] Read more.
Suspected detrimental health effects associated with ultrafine particles (UFPs) are impressive. However, epidemiological evidence is still limited. This is potentially due to challenges related to UFP exposure assessment and the lack of consensus on a standard methodology for UFPs. It is imperative to focus future health studies on those UFP metrics more likely to represent health effects. This is the purpose of this paper, where we extend the results obtained during the CARE (“Carbonaceous Aerosol in Rome and Environs”) experiment started in 2017 in Rome. The major purpose is to investigate features of airborne UFPs associated with pro-inflammatory and oxidative responses. Aerosol chemical, microphysical, and optical properties were measured, together with the oxidative potential, at temporal scales relevant for UFPs (minutes to hours). The biological responses were obtained using both in-vivo and in-vitro tests carried out directly under environmental conditions. Findings indicate that caution should be taken when assessing health-relevant exposure to UFPs through the conventional metrics like total particle number concentration and PM2.5 and Black Carbon (BC) mass concentration. Conversely, we recommend adding to these, a UFP source apportionment analysis and indicators for both ultrafine black carbon and the size of particles providing most of the total surface area to available toxic molecules. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 10th Anniversary of Atmosphere: Air Quality)
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15 pages, 3784 KiB  
Article
Long-Term Characterization of Submicron Atmospheric Particles in an Urban Background Site in Southern Italy
by Adelaide Dinoi, Marianna Conte, Fabio M. Grasso and Daniele Contini
Atmosphere 2020, 11(4), 334; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11040334 - 30 Mar 2020
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 3271
Abstract
Continuous measurements of particle number size distributions in the size range from 10 nm to 800 nm were performed from 2015 to 2019 at the ECO Environmental-Climate Observatory of Lecce (Global Atmosphere Watch Programme/Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (GAW/ACTRIS) regional station). [...] Read more.
Continuous measurements of particle number size distributions in the size range from 10 nm to 800 nm were performed from 2015 to 2019 at the ECO Environmental-Climate Observatory of Lecce (Global Atmosphere Watch Programme/Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (GAW/ACTRIS) regional station). The main objectives of this work were to investigate the daily, weekly and seasonal trends of particle number concentrations and their dependence on meteorological parameters gathering information on potential sources. The highest total number concentrations were observed during autumn-winter with average values nearly twice as high as in summer. More than 52% of total particle number concentration consisted of Aitken mode (20 nm < particle diameter (Dp) < 100 nm) particles followed by accumulation (100 nm < Dp < 800 nm) and nucleation (10 nm < Dp < 20 nm) modes representing, respectively, 27% and 21% of particles. The total number concentration was usually significantly higher during workdays than during weekends/holidays in all years, showing a trend likely correlated with local traffic activities. The number concentration of each particle mode showed a characteristic daily variation that was different in cold and warm seasons. The highest concentrations of the Aitken and accumulation particle mode were observed in the morning and the late evening, during typical rush hour traffic times, highlighting that the two-particle size ranges are related, although there was significant variation in the number concentrations. The peak in the number concentrations of the nucleation mode observed in the midday of spring and summer can be attributed to the intensive formation of new particles from gaseous precursors. Based on Pearson coefficients between particle number concentrations and meteorological parameters, temperature, and wind speed had significant negative relationships with the Aitken and accumulation particle number concentrations, whereas relative humidity was positively correlated. No significant correlations were found for the nucleation particle number concentrations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 10th Anniversary of Atmosphere: Air Quality)
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18 pages, 2787 KiB  
Article
Regulated and Non-Regulated Emissions from Euro 6 Diesel, Gasoline and CNG Vehicles under Real-World Driving Conditions
by Ricardo Suarez-Bertoa, Martin Pechout, Michal Vojtíšek and Covadonga Astorga
Atmosphere 2020, 11(2), 204; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11020204 - 14 Feb 2020
Cited by 73 | Viewed by 9840
Abstract
The transport sector is one of the main sources air pollutants. Different exhaust after-treatment systems have been implemented over the years to control the emissions of criteria pollutants. However, while reducing the emissions of the target compounds these systems can lead to the [...] Read more.
The transport sector is one of the main sources air pollutants. Different exhaust after-treatment systems have been implemented over the years to control the emissions of criteria pollutants. However, while reducing the emissions of the target compounds these systems can lead to the emissions of other pollutants and/or greenhouse gases such as NH3 or N2O. Following the implementation of the Real Driving Emissions (RDE) test procedure in the EU, vehicles have been equipped with more complex after-treatment configurations. The impact that these technologies may have on the emissions of non-regulated pollutants during real-world driving have not been evaluated until now. In the current study we present the on-road emissions of a series of non-regulated pollutants, including NH3, N2O, CH4 and HCHO, measured with a portable FTIR from a series of Euro 6d, Euro 6c and Euro 6d-TEMP, gasoline diesel and compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles during real-world testing. The obtained results show that it is possible to measure N2O, NH3, CH4 and HCHO during on-road operation. The results also highlight the importance of the measurement of the emissions of these pollutants during real-world driving, as the emissions of NH3 (a particulate matter precursor) and those of N2O and CH4 (green-house gases) can be high from some vehicle technologies. NH3 emissions were up to 49 mg/km for gasoline passenger cars, up to 69 mg/km for the CNG light-commercial vehicle and up to 17 mg/km a diesel passenger car equipped with a selective catalytic reduction system (SCR). On the other hand, N2O and CH4 emissions accounted for up to 9.8 g CO2 eqv/km for a diesel passenger car equipped with a combination of diesel oxidation catalysts (DOC), lean NOx traps (LNT), SCR and possibly an ammonia slip catalyst ASC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 10th Anniversary of Atmosphere: Air Quality)
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8 pages, 736 KiB  
Communication
Assessment of Open-path Spectrometer Accuracy at Low Path-integrated Methane Concentrations
by Zachary J. DeBruyn, Claudia Wagner-Riddle and Andrew VanderZaag
Atmosphere 2020, 11(2), 184; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11020184 - 10 Feb 2020
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2417
Abstract
The accurate measurement of greenhouse gas emissions is a challenge for atmospheric science. Long-range open-path sensors are flexible enough to be applied to a variety of complex emission sources, and single devices are often used to measure both high and low path-integrated concentrations. [...] Read more.
The accurate measurement of greenhouse gas emissions is a challenge for atmospheric science. Long-range open-path sensors are flexible enough to be applied to a variety of complex emission sources, and single devices are often used to measure both high and low path-integrated concentrations. As this technology develops, it is important to examine potential sources of inaccuracy. A GasFinder3 open-path laser was tested with a range of path-integrated concentrations from 11.7 to 182 ppm∙m CH4 using certified standard gases. The measured path-integrated concentrations had a positive bias which was higher than 10% at low path-integrated concentrations (<50 ppm∙m) with a declining trend expected to be under 2% at 200 ppm∙m. A linear equation was used to correct the measured path-integrated concentrations to fit the expected values. After correction, the average bias was reduced to −0.36% and there was no relationship with path-integrated concentration. A relative bias less than ±3% was achieved above ca. 150 ppm∙m with or without calibration. Measurement campaigns may reduce error by increasing path lengths to maximize path-integrated concentration. When low path-integrated concentrations are expected, calibration over the expected range is beneficial. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 10th Anniversary of Atmosphere: Air Quality)
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9 pages, 1781 KiB  
Article
Bacteria as Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) in the Atmosphere
by Mihalis Lazaridis
Atmosphere 2019, 10(12), 786; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10120786 - 6 Dec 2019
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5732
Abstract
Bacteria activation and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) formation have been studied in the atmosphere using the classical theory of heterogeneous nucleation. Simulations were performed for the binary system of sulfuric acid/water using laboratory-determined contact angles. Realistic model simulations were performed at different atmospheric [...] Read more.
Bacteria activation and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) formation have been studied in the atmosphere using the classical theory of heterogeneous nucleation. Simulations were performed for the binary system of sulfuric acid/water using laboratory-determined contact angles. Realistic model simulations were performed at different atmospheric heights for a set of 140 different bacteria. Model simulations showed that bacteria activation is a potentially favorable process in the atmosphere which may be enhanced at lower temperatures. CCN formation from bacteria nuclei is dependent on ambient atmospheric conditions (temperature, relative humidity), bacteria size, and sulfuric acid concentration. Furthermore, a critical parameter for the determination of bacteria activation is the value of the intermolecular potential between the bacteria’s surface and the critical cluster formed at their surface. In the classical nucleation theory, this is parameterized with the contact angle between substrate and critical cluster. Therefore, the dataset of laboratory values for the contact angle of water on different bacteria substrates needs to be enriched for realistic simulations of bacteria activation in the atmosphere. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 10th Anniversary of Atmosphere: Air Quality)
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20 pages, 21058 KiB  
Article
On the Impact of Trees on Ventilation in a Real Street in Pamplona, Spain
by Jose-Luis Santiago, Riccardo Buccolieri, Esther Rivas, Beatriz Sanchez, Alberto Martilli, Elisa Gatto and Fernando Martín
Atmosphere 2019, 10(11), 697; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10110697 - 12 Nov 2019
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 3832
Abstract
This paper is devoted to the quantification of changes in ventilation of a real neighborhood located in Pamplona, Spain, due to the presence of street trees Pollutant dispersion in this urban zone was previously studied by means of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations. [...] Read more.
This paper is devoted to the quantification of changes in ventilation of a real neighborhood located in Pamplona, Spain, due to the presence of street trees Pollutant dispersion in this urban zone was previously studied by means of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations. In the present work, that research is extended to analyze the ventilation in the whole neighborhood and in a tree-free street. Several scenarios are investigated including new trees in the tree-free street, and different leaf area density (LAD) in the whole neighborhood. Changes between the scenarios are evaluated through changes in average concentration, wind speed, flow rates and total pollutant fluxes. Additionally, wind flow patterns and the vertical profiles of flow properties (e.g., wind velocity, turbulent kinetic energy) and concentration, horizontally-averaged over one particular street, are analyzed. The approach-flow direction is almost perpendicular to the street under study (prevailing wind direction is only deviated 4º from the perpendicular direction). For these conditions, as LAD increases, average concentration in the whole neighborhood increases due to the decrease of wind speed. On the other hand, the inclusion of trees in the street produces an increase of averaged pollutant concentration only within this street, in particular for the scenario with the highest LAD value. In fact, the new trees in the street analyzed with the highest LAD value notably change the ventilation producing an increase of total pollutant fluxes inward the street. Additionally, pollutant dispersion within the street is also influenced by the reduction of the wind velocity along the street axis and the decrease of turbulent kinetic energy within the vegetation canopy caused by the new trees. Therefore, the inclusion of new trees in a tree-free street should be done by considering ventilation changes and traffic emissions should be consequently controlled in order to keep pollutant concentration within healthy levels. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 10th Anniversary of Atmosphere: Air Quality)
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16 pages, 965 KiB  
Article
PM1 in Ambient and Indoor Air—Urban and Rural Areas in the Upper Silesian Region, Poland
by Anna Mainka and Elwira Zajusz-Zubek
Atmosphere 2019, 10(11), 662; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10110662 - 30 Oct 2019
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3937
Abstract
(1) Background: The work presents results of concentration measurements of PM1, collected in the indoor air of four preschool buildings in Gliwice and its environs (Silesia Province) and in ambient air in the vicinity of four working hard coal power plants [...] Read more.
(1) Background: The work presents results of concentration measurements of PM1, collected in the indoor air of four preschool buildings in Gliwice and its environs (Silesia Province) and in ambient air in the vicinity of four working hard coal power plants and four coking plants located in southern Poland. (2) Methods: The samples of <1 µm, 1–2.5 µm, 2.5–10 µm, and >10 µm fractions were collected with the use of Dekati® PM10 cascade impactor, and concentrations of seven trace elements (Cd, Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sb, and Se) were determined. (3) Results: The concentrations of PM1 changed in the range of 3.1 μg/m3–65.3 μg/m3. Among trace elements, the highest concentrations in indoor air were evidenced for Cr (129–219 ng/m3), while in outdoor air for Pb (12.6–21.2 ng/m3). Principal Component Analysis PCA analysis extracted three factors of rural dusts, city dusts, and natural soils. (4) Conclusions: The paper points to accumulation of carcinogenic Cd, Cr, and Ni in indoor air, and significant contribution of trace elements in PM1, which, owing to long-lasting exposure and elevated sensitivity of developing organisms, may evoke effects on health of children. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 10th Anniversary of Atmosphere: Air Quality)
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34 pages, 14503 KiB  
Article
Dust Storm Event of February 2019 in Central and East Coast of Australia and Evidence of Long-Range Transport to New Zealand and Antarctica
by Hiep Duc Nguyen, Matt Riley, John Leys and David Salter
Atmosphere 2019, 10(11), 653; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10110653 - 28 Oct 2019
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 6939
Abstract
Between 11 and 15 February 2019, a dust storm originating in Central Australia with persistent westerly and south westerly winds caused high particle concentrations at many sites in the state of New South Wales (NSW); both inland and along the coast. The dust [...] Read more.
Between 11 and 15 February 2019, a dust storm originating in Central Australia with persistent westerly and south westerly winds caused high particle concentrations at many sites in the state of New South Wales (NSW); both inland and along the coast. The dust continued to be transported to New Zealand and to Antarctica in the south east. This study uses observed data and the WRF-Chem Weather Research Forecast model based on GOCART-AFWA (Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport–Air Force and Weather Agency) dust scheme and GOCART aerosol and gas-phase MOZART (Model for Ozone And Related chemical Tracers) chemistry model to study the long-range transport of aerosols for the period 11 to 15 February 2019 across eastern Australia and onto New Zealand and Antarctica. Wildfires also happened in northern NSW at the same time, and their emissions are taken into account in the WRF-Chem model by using the Fire Inventory from NCAR (FINN) as the emission input. Modelling results using the WRF-Chem model show that for the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand, peak concentration of PM10 (and PM2.5) as measured on 14 February 2019 at 05:00 UTC at the monitoring stations of Geraldine, Ashburton, Timaru and Woolston (Christchurch), and about 2 h later at Rangiora and Kaiapoi, correspond to the prediction of high PM10 due to the intrusion of dust to ground level from the transported dust layer above. The Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) observation data from MODIS 3 km Terra/Aqua and CALIOP LiDAR measurements on board CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol LiDAR and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations) satellite also indicate that high-altitude dust ranging from 2 km to 6 km, originating from this dust storm event in Australia, was located above Antarctica. This study suggests that the present dust storms in Australia can transport dust from sources in Central Australia to the Tasman sea, New Zealand and Antarctica. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 10th Anniversary of Atmosphere: Air Quality)
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Review

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23 pages, 3041 KiB  
Review
Long-Term Variations of Air Quality Influenced by Surface Ozone in a Coastal Site in India: Association with Synoptic Meteorological Conditions with Model Simulations
by Resmi C T, Nishanth T, Satheesh Kumar M K, Balachandramohan M and Valsaraj K T
Atmosphere 2020, 11(2), 193; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11020193 - 12 Feb 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3805
Abstract
Atmospheric ozone (O3) in the surface level plays a central role in determining air quality and atmospheric oxidizing capacity. In this paper, we review our comprehensive results of simultaneous measurements of surface ozone (O3) and its precursor gas (NOx) [...] Read more.
Atmospheric ozone (O3) in the surface level plays a central role in determining air quality and atmospheric oxidizing capacity. In this paper, we review our comprehensive results of simultaneous measurements of surface ozone (O3) and its precursor gas (NOx) and weather parameters that were carried out continuously for a span of six years (January 2013–December 2018) at a typical rural coastal site, Kannur (11.9° N, 75.4° E) in South India. Surface O3 concentration reached its maximum during daytime hours and minimum during the night time. The influence of solar radiation and water content on variations of O3 are discussed. A Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) artificial neural network technique has been used to understand the effect of atmospheric temperature on the increase in O3 over the past six years. This has been found that temperature has been a major contributor to the increase in O3 levels over the years. The National Centre for Atmospheric Research- Master Mechanism (NCAR-MM) Photochemical box model study was conducted to validate the variations of O3 in different seasons and years, and the results were shown to be in good agreement with observed trends. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue 10th Anniversary of Atmosphere: Air Quality)
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