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Atmosphere
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Rural and Remote Aerosol
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Rural and Remote Aerosol

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2019) | Viewed by 27135

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Timothy D. Gordon

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Handix Scientific, Boulder, CO, USA
Interests: aerosol optical properties; optical instruments; secondary organic aerosol; combustion emissions

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For this Special Issue we seek the best contemporary research on rural and remote continental aerosol. We encourage colleagues to think creatively and broadly about how their work may relate to these geographic regions so we may represent a diverse segment of the current state-of-the-art. We are interested in understanding both how sparsely populated regions are affected by exogenous aerosol sources and how particles produced and/or transformed in these regions affect other areas, both near and far. Regular papers, negative results, short papers and discussion/position papers are welcomed. If in doubt about the suitability of the research for the SI, potential authors are invited to discuss the idea with the Guest Editor before preparing the paper.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of paper topics of interest:

-Role of oil and gas drilling/production in aerosol generation

-Validation/Verification of aerosol predictions from models

-Recent developments to improve satellite retrievals of aerosols in remote continental regions

-Aerosol impacts (e.g., visibility) in national parks or other public lands

-Aerosol transport to/from rural/remote areas

-Trends in aerosol composition in rural/remote areas

-Biomass burning (e.g., wildfires, prescribed burns, agricultural fires)

-Optical properties of aerosol

-Radiative forcing

-Impacts of on- and off-road combustion emissions in rural/remote locations

-Instrumental biases

-Spatial variability of aerosol at any scales

-Campaign results

-New observational techniques/tools

-Small/networked autonomous sensors for remote deployment

-Applications (insurance, agriculture, hazards, etc.)

-Temporal variability of aerosol

-Longitudinal studies tracking changing patterns of urban/rural pollution

-Secondary organic aerosol formation/impacts

-Biological aerosols (e.g., pollen, dust)

-Health effects

-Geoengineering

-Quantitative air quality policy analysis

-Environmental justice

Dr. Timothy D. Gordon
Guest Editor

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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.

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2823 KiB  
Article
Characteristics of PM2.5 at a High-Altitude Remote Site in the Southeastern Margin of the Tibetan Plateau in Premonsoon Season
by Zhuzi Zhao, Qiyuan Wang, Li Li, Yongming Han, Zhaolian Ye, Siwatt Pongpiachan, Yong Zhang, Suixin Liu, Ruixia Tian and Junji Cao
Atmosphere 2019, 10(11), 645; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10110645 - 25 Oct 2019
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3852
Abstract
The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is one of the world’s most sensitive areas for climate change. Previous studies have revealed that air pollutants emitted from South and Southeast Asia can be transported to and have a negative impact on the TP. However, the majority [...] Read more.
The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is one of the world’s most sensitive areas for climate change. Previous studies have revealed that air pollutants emitted from South and Southeast Asia can be transported to and have a negative impact on the TP. However, the majority of the investigators have focused on the pollutant transport processes from South Asian regions (i.e., India and Bangladesh) and parts of Southeast Asia, while the regions adjacent to the southeast fringe of the TP (i.e., Burma and the Sino-Burmese border) have been neglected. Here, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) samples were collected during the period 11 March to 13 May 2018 at Gaomeigu, a high-altitude remote site in the southeastern margin of the TP. Characteristics, sources of PM2.5, and the potential source regions for different chemical components were investigated. During the sampling time, PM2.5 mass loadings ranged from 3.79 to 54.57 µg m−3, with an arithmetic mean concentration of 20.99 ± 9.80 µg m−3. In general, major peaks of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) always coincided with high loadings of K+ and NO3−, which implies that common combustion sources caused these species’ concentrations to covary, while the daily variations of crustal elements showed different trends with the other chemical compositions, suggesting different source regions for crustal materials. Five source factors were identified as possible aerosol sources for PM2.5 by positive matrix factorization (PMF). They are the mining industry (5.3%), characterized by heavy metal elements; secondary formation (18.8%), described by the high concentrations of NH4+ and SO42−; traffic-related emissions (26.7%), dominated by carbonaceous species (especially soot-EC) and some metal elements; fugitive dust (15.2%), represented by crustal elements (Ti, Fe, and Mn), Ca2+, and Mg2+; and biomass burning (34.0%), which is typified by high concentrations of K+, NO3−, char-EC, primary OC, and secondary OC. The concentration-weighted trajectory (CWT) analysis results showed that the northeast part of Burma is the potential source region for high concentrations of EC and NO3− due to biomass burning emissions, while the tourism industry surrounding Gaomeigu gave strong grid cell values of SO42− as well as moderate values of EC and NO3−. Moreover, the mining industry in the southwest direction of Gaomeigu has important impacts on the zinc concentrations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural and Remote Aerosol)
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14 pages, 1869 KiB  
Article
Temporal Variation and Chemical Components of Rural Ambient PM2.5 during Main Agricultural Activity Periods in the Black Soil Region of Northeast China
by Xuewei Wu, Weiwei Chen, Shichun Zhang, Ruimin Li, Mengduo Zhang, Juan Liu, Yibing Jiang and Yang Liu
Atmosphere 2019, 10(9), 510; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10090510 - 30 Aug 2019
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2892
Abstract
Agricultural emissions are crucial to regional air quality in the autumn and spring due to the intense agricultural activities in Northeast China. However, information on rural ambient particulate matter (PM) in Northeast China is rare, limiting the accurate estimation of agricultural atmospheric particulate [...] Read more.
Agricultural emissions are crucial to regional air quality in the autumn and spring due to the intense agricultural activities in Northeast China. However, information on rural ambient particulate matter (PM) in Northeast China is rare, limiting the accurate estimation of agricultural atmospheric particulate matter emissions. In this study, we monitored hourly ambient PM2.5 (PM with a diameter of less than 2.5 μm) concentrations and analyzed daily chemical components (i.e., water-soluble ions, trace elements, organic carbon, and element carbon) at a rural site in Northeast China during the autumn and spring and assessed the impact of agricultural activities on atmospheric PM2.5 concentrations. The results showed that the daily average concentrations of PM2.5 were 143 ± 109 (range: 39–539) μg m−3 from 19 October to 23 November 2017 (i.e., typical harvesting month) and 241 ± 189 (range: 97–976) μg m−3 from 1 April to 13 May 2018 (i.e., typical tilling month). In autumn, the ambient PM2.5 concentrations were high with a Southwest wind, while a Southeast wind caused high PM2.5 concentrations during spring in the rural site. The concentrations of selected water-soluble ions, trace elements, and carbonaceous fractions accounted for 33%, 4%, and 26% of PM2.5 mass concentrations, respectively, in autumn and for 10%, 5%, and 3% of PM2.5 mass concentrations, respectively, in spring. On the basis of the component analysis, straw burning, agricultural machinery, and soil dust driven by wind and tilling were the main contributors to high rural PM2.5 concentrations. In addition, the increasing coal combustion around the rural site was another important source of PM2.5. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural and Remote Aerosol)
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15 pages, 2981 KiB  
Article
Characteristics of Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) over Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas of Hong Kong
by Muhammad Bilal, Janet E. Nichol, Majid Nazeer, Yuan Shi, Lunche Wang, K. Raghavendra Kumar, Hung Chak Ho, Usman Mazhar, Max P. Bleiweiss, Zhongfeng Qiu, Khaled Mohamed Khedher and Simone Lolli
Atmosphere 2019, 10(9), 496; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10090496 - 27 Aug 2019
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 6437
Abstract
In urban areas, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) associated with local vehicle emissions can cause respiratory and cardiorespiratory disease and increased mortality rates, but less so in rural areas. However, Hong Kong may be a special case, since the whole territory often [...] Read more.
In urban areas, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) associated with local vehicle emissions can cause respiratory and cardiorespiratory disease and increased mortality rates, but less so in rural areas. However, Hong Kong may be a special case, since the whole territory often suffers from regional haze from nearby mainland China, as well as local sources. Therefore, to understand which areas of Hong Kong may be affected by damaging levels of fine particulates, PM2.5 data were obtained from March 2005 to February 2009 for urban, suburban, and rural air quality monitoring stations; namely Central (city area, commercial area, and urban populated area), Tsuen Wan (city area, commercial area, urban populated, and residential area), Tung Chung (suburban and residential area), Yuen Long (urban and residential area), and Tap Mun (remote rural area). To evaluate the relative contributions of regional and local pollution sources, the study aimed to test the influence of weather conditions on PM2.5 concentrations. Thus, meteorological parameters including temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and wind directions were obtained from the Hong Kong Observatory. The results showed that Hong Kong’s air quality is mainly affected by regional aerosol emissions, either transported from the land or ocean, as similar patterns of variations in PM2.5 concentrations were observed over urban, suburban, and rural areas of Hong Kong. Only slightly higher PM2.5 concentrations were observed over urban sites, such as Central, compared to suburban and rural sites, which could be attributed to local automobile emissions. Results showed that meteorological parameters have the potential to explain 80% of the variability in daily mean PM2.5 concentrations—at Yuen Long, 77% at Tung Chung, 72% at Central, 71% at Tsuen Wan, and 67% at Tap Mun, during the spring to summer part of the year. The results provide not only a better understanding of the impact of regional long-distance transport of air pollutants on Hong Kong’s air quality but also a reference for future regional-scale collaboration on air quality management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural and Remote Aerosol)
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11 pages, 2017 KiB  
Article
Intercomparison of Multiple Satellite Aerosol Products against AERONET over the North China Plain
by Xuehua Fan, Xiangao Xia and Hongbin Chen
Atmosphere 2019, 10(9), 480; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10090480 - 21 Aug 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3213
Abstract
In this study, using Aerosol Robotic Network aerosol optical depth (AOD) products at three stations in the North China Plain (NCP)—a heavily polluted region in China—the AOD products from six satellite-borne radiometers: the Moderate Resolution Imagining Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR), [...] Read more.
In this study, using Aerosol Robotic Network aerosol optical depth (AOD) products at three stations in the North China Plain (NCP)—a heavily polluted region in China—the AOD products from six satellite-borne radiometers: the Moderate Resolution Imagining Spectroradiometer (MODIS), the Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR), Ozone Mapping Imaging (OMI), the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer (VIIRS), the Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS), and Polarization and Directionality of the Earth’s Reflectances (POLDER), were thoroughly validated, shedding new light on their advantages and disadvantages. The MODIS Deep Blue (DB) products provide more accurate retrievals than the MODIS Dark Target (DT) and other satellite products at the Beijing site (BJ, a megacity), with higher correlations with AERONET (R > 0.93), lower mean absolute bias (MB < 0.012), and higher percentages (>68%) falling within the expected error (EE). All MODIS DT and DB products perform better than the other satellite products at the Xianghe site (XH, a suburb). The MODIS/Aqua DT products at both 3-km and 10-km resolutions performed better than the other space-borne AOD products at the Xinglong site (XL, a rural area at the top of a mountain). MISR, VIIRS, and SeaWiFS tend to underestimate high AOD values and overestimate AOD values under very low AOD conditions in the NCP. Both OMI and POLDER significantly underestimate the AOD. In terms of data volume, MISR with the limited swath width of 380 km has less data volume than the other satellite sensors. MODIS products have the highest sampling rate, especially the MODIS DT and DB merged products, and can be used for various climate study and air-quality monitoring. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural and Remote Aerosol)
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18 pages, 3323 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of the Aqua-MODIS C6 and C6.1 Aerosol Optical Depth Products in the Yellow River Basin, China
by Miao Zhang, Jing Liu, Wei Li, Muhammad Bilal, Feifei Zhao, Chun Zhang, Bo Yuan and Khaled Mohamed Khedher
Atmosphere 2019, 10(8), 426; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10080426 - 24 Jul 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3386
Abstract
In this study, Aqua-Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Collection (C6) and C6.1 Dark Target aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals at 3 km (DT3K) and 10 km (DT10K), Deep Blue AOD retrievals at 10 km (DB10K), and combined DT and DB (DTB) AOD retrievals [...] Read more.
In this study, Aqua-Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Collection (C6) and C6.1 Dark Target aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals at 3 km (DT3K) and 10 km (DT10K), Deep Blue AOD retrievals at 10 km (DB10K), and combined DT and DB (DTB) AOD retrievals at 10 km resolutions were validated from 2002 to 2014 against ground-based sunphotometer AOD measurements obtained from the Chinese aerosol remote sensing network (CARSNET). The CARSNET AOD data were obtained for sites at Mt. Waliguan (MW), Lanzhou (LZ), Ulate (UL), and Zhengzhou (ZZ) located in the Yellow River basin (YERB) region, China. Errors and agreement between satellite and ground data were reported using Pearson’s correlation (R) and relative mean bias (RMB). Results showed that the DT3K C6.1 highest quality flag (QF = 3) AOD retrievals were well correlated with the sunphotometer AOD data, with an R of 0.82 and an RMB of 1.01. Overestimation and underestimation in DT AOD retrievals were observed for AOD > 1.1 and AOD < 1.1, respectively. A significant underestimation of 37% in DB10K AOD retrievals was observed across all the sites except ZZ, which was indicated by a low-value RMB (0.63). Spatial distribution maps showed high AOD values (>0.8) over the lower part of the YERB and low AOD values (<0.4) across the upstream part of the YERB. This might be due to a large number of aerosol emissions over the lower developed areas and a scarcity of aerosols over the upstream mountain areas. Overall, this study supports the use of DT10K C6.1 AOD retrievals over the western semi-arid and arid regions of the YERB and DTB10K AOD retrievals over the north-central water system and eastern plain regions of the YERB. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural and Remote Aerosol)
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12 pages, 3089 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Straw Open Burning Prohibition Effect on Provincial Air Quality during October and November 2018 in Jilin Province
by Weiwei Chen, Jingwei Li, Qiuyang Bao, Zongting Gao, Tianhai Cheng and Yang Yu
Atmosphere 2019, 10(7), 375; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10070375 - 5 Jul 2019
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3095
Abstract
Generally, the period (i.e., October and November) was seriously affected by frequent atmospheric pollution under concentrative seasonal crop residue burning and coal burning in Jilin Province, Northeast China. A strict straw open burning ban policy was implemented in Jilin Province during October and [...] Read more.
Generally, the period (i.e., October and November) was seriously affected by frequent atmospheric pollution under concentrative seasonal crop residue burning and coal burning in Jilin Province, Northeast China. A strict straw open burning ban policy was implemented in Jilin Province during October and November 2018. However, the quantitative effect of straw fire control and its effect on air quality are still unclear. In this study, using multisource data, we evaluated the status of straw-burning control and its contribution to air quality improvement in late autumn and early winter (i.e., October and November) of 2018 at a provincial level. The results showed that the open burning of straw was effectively controlled in October and November 2018 by comparing farmland fire point data to those collected in 2015–2017. There were significant positive correlations among the fire points, aerosol optical depth (AOD), and ground-monitored air quality index (AQI) on a spatial scale. The concentration values of AQI, PM2.5, and PM10 were significantly lower than for the other three years of 2015, 2016, and 2017. Based on meteorological analysis, similar conditions were found in 2018 and 2017, which were worse than that in 2016. Combined with emissions, meteorological conditions, and source apportionment information, if the straw-burning control of 2018 had been performed in 2016 and 2017, the PM2.5 concentrations could have been reduced by at least 30.6%. These results suggest the necessity of straw burning control in the improvement of air quality during the period of late autumn and early winter. Nevertheless, the comprehensive impact of straw-burning control on air quality should be further evaluated for the whole post-harvest period (i.e., October to April of the following year) as the straw-burning period can be postponed in some cities. Furthermore, the establishment of a scientific and reasonable planned burning of straw is also crucial in gradually reducing atmospheric pollution and the actual operation of local governments in those areas where straw can be burned under certain conditions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural and Remote Aerosol)
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11 pages, 2246 KiB  
Article
Air Quality and Potential Health Risk Impacts of Exposure to Bacterial Aerosol in a Waste Sorting Plant Located in the Mountain Region of Southern Poland, Around Which There Are Numerous Rural Areas
by Ewa Brągoszewska, Izabela Biedroń and Wojciech Hryb
Atmosphere 2019, 10(7), 360; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos10070360 - 29 Jun 2019
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3682
Abstract
Many studies have shown an association between working in waste sorting plants (SP) and occupational health problems, such as skin irritation or pulmonary diseases. These symptoms have been related to biological aerosol exposure. The main goal of this work was to assess the [...] Read more.
Many studies have shown an association between working in waste sorting plants (SP) and occupational health problems, such as skin irritation or pulmonary diseases. These symptoms have been related to biological aerosol exposure. The main goal of this work was to assess the levels of concentration and the characteristics of bacterial aerosols in waste sorting plants, based on measurements taken in a plant located in the mountain region of Southern Poland, around which there are numerous rural areas. The average concentrations of culturable bacterial aerosol (CCBA) collected in the unloading hall of the waste sorting plant (UHSP) and the outdoor air of the sorting plant (OSP) were 2687 CFU/m3 and 1138 CFU/m3, respectively. Sampling was undertaken in the plant using an Andersen six-stage impactor (with aerodynamic cut-off diameters of 7.0, 4.7, 3.3, 2.1, 1.1, and 0.65 μm), during the spring of 2019. Size distributions were unimodal, with a peak in particle bacterial aerodynamic diameters at less than 3.3 µm, increasing the potentially adverse health effects of their inhalation. An analysis was conducted to determine the antibiotic resistance of isolated strains of bacteria. During the study, it was found that isolates belonging to the genus Bacillus were most frequently detected in the waste sorting plant. Isolates with the highest resistance to antibiotics belonged to the genus Neisseria. This test indicates that the use of personal protective equipment is necessary. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural and Remote Aerosol)
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