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Zhu R, Luo W, Grieneisen ML, Zuoqiu S, Zhan Y, Yang F. A novel approach to deriving the fine-scale daily NO 2 dataset during 2005-2020 in China: Improving spatial resolution and temporal coverage to advance exposure assessment. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 249:118381. [PMID: 38331142 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2023] [Revised: 01/22/2024] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Surface NO2 pollution can result in serious health consequences such as cardiovascular disease, asthma, and premature mortality. Due to the extensive spatial variation in surface NO2, the spatial resolution of a NO2 dataset has a significant impact on the exposure and health impact assessment. There is currently no long-term, high-resolution, and publicly available NO2 dataset for China. To fill this gap, this study generated a NO2 dataset named RBE-DS-NO2 for China during 2005-2020 at 1 km and daily resolution. We employed the robust back-extrapolation via a data augmentation approach (RBE-DA) to ensure the predictive accuracy in back-extrapolation before 2013, and utilized an improved spatial downscaling technique (DS) to refine the spatial resolution from 10 km to 1 km. Back-extrapolation validation based on 2005-2012 observations from sites in Taiwan province yielded an R2 of 0.72 and RMSE of 10.7 μg/m3, while cross-validation across China during 2013-2020 showed an R2 of 0.73 and RMSE of 9.6 μg/m3. RBE-DS-NO2 better captured spatiotemporal variation of surface NO2 in China compared to the existing publicly available datasets. Exposure assessment using RBE-DS-NO2 show that the population living in non-attainment areas (NO2 ≥ 30 μg/m3) grew from 376 million in 2005 to 612 million in 2012, then declined to 404 million by 2020. Unlike this national trend, exposure levels in several major cities (e.g., Shanghai and Chengdu) continued to increase during 2012-2020, driven by population growth and urban migration. Furthermore, this study revealed that low-resolution dataset (i.e., the 10 km intermediate dataset before the downscaling) overestimated NO2 levels, due to the limited specificity of the low-resolution model in simulating the relationship between NO2 and the predictor variables. Such limited specificity likely biased previous long-term NO2 exposure and health impact studies employing low-resolution datasets. The RBE-DS-NO2 dataset enables robust long-term assessments of NO2 exposure and health impacts in China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongxin Zhu
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610065, China; College of Carbon Neutrality Future Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610065, China
| | - Wenfeng Luo
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610065, China
| | - Michael L Grieneisen
- Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, United States
| | - Sophia Zuoqiu
- Pittsburgh Institute, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610207, China
| | - Yu Zhan
- College of Carbon Neutrality Future Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610065, China.
| | - Fumo Yang
- College of Carbon Neutrality Future Technology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 610065, China
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Arter CA, Buonocore JJ, Isakov V, Pandey G, Arunachalam S. Air pollution benefits from reduced on-road activity due to COVID-19 in the United States. PNAS NEXUS 2024; 3:pgae017. [PMID: 38292536 PMCID: PMC10825624 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/02/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
On-road transportation is one of the largest contributors to air pollution in the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic provided the unintended experiment of reduced on-road emissions' impacts on air pollution due to lockdowns across the United States. Studies have quantified on-road transportation's impact on fine particulate matter (PM2.5)-attributable and ozone (O3)-attributable adverse health outcomes in the United States, and other studies have quantified air pollution-attributable health outcome reductions due to COVID-19-related lockdowns. We aim to quantify the PM2.5-attributable, O3-attributable, and nitrogen dioxide (NO2)-attributable adverse health outcomes from traffic emissions as well as the air pollution benefits due to reduced on-road activity during the pandemic in 2020. We estimate 79,400 (95% CI 46,100-121,000) premature mortalities each year due to on-road-attributable PM2.5, O3, and NO2. We further break down the impacts by pollutant and vehicle types (passenger [PAS] vs. freight [FRT] vehicles). We estimate PAS vehicles to be responsible for 63% of total impacts and FRT vehicles 37%. Nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions from these vehicles are responsible for 78% of total impacts as it is a precursor for PM2.5 and O3. Utilizing annual vehicle miles traveled reductions in 2020, we estimate that 9,300 (5,500-14,000) deaths from air pollution were avoided in 2020 due to the state-specific reductions in on-road activity across the continental United States. By quantifying the air pollution public health benefits from lockdown-related reductions in on-road emissions, the results from this study stress the need for continued emission mitigation policies, like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) recently proposed NOX standards for heavy-duty vehicles, to mitigate on-road transportation's public health impact.
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Affiliation(s)
- Calvin A Arter
- Institute for the Environment, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Jonathan J Buonocore
- Department of Environment Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02118, USA
| | - Vlad Isakov
- Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA
| | - Gavendra Pandey
- Institute for the Environment, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Saravanan Arunachalam
- Institute for the Environment, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
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Wu Y, Liu H, Liu S, Lou C. Estimate of near-surface NO 2 concentrations in Fenwei Plain, China, based on TROPOMI data and random forest model. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2023; 195:1379. [PMID: 37882903 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-023-11993-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentration is a crucial indicator of ground-level air quality, and elevated concentrations can adversely affect human health and the atmospheric environment. In this study, we utilized Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) tropospheric NO2 vertical column density data (VCD) and multi-source geographic data to establish a random forest regression (RF) model that accurately estimates NO2 concentrations near the ground in the Fenwei Plain. The model addresses the inherent limitations of traditional ground-based monitoring and provides data support for analyzing regional pollution spatial and temporal characteristics. (1) The RF model based on TROPOMI and geographic data demonstrates high estimation accuracy, with monthly average RF model fit and validation coefficient of determination (R2) reaching 0.949 and 0.875, respectively. (2) A complex nonlinear relationship exists between near-surface NO2 concentration and multi-source geographic data. The RF model's estimations reveal clear seasonal and regional variations in near-surface NO2 concentration. Concentrations are generally highest in winter, followed by spring and autumn, and lowest in summer. The high NO2 concentrations are primarily mainly distributed in the plains and river valleys with low elevation and dense population density. The model estimation results also indicate that the estimated effect is better when the NO2 concentration fluctuates less and anthropogenic emission reduction measures significantly impact the NO2 concentration near the ground. (3) The population exposure risk results indicate that most cities in the Fenwei Plain face varying exposure risks. These findings offer valuable insights for regional NO2 pollution management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yarui Wu
- College of Geomatics, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, 710054, Shaanxi, China.
| | - Honglei Liu
- College of Geomatics, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, 710054, Shaanxi, China
| | - Shuangyue Liu
- College of Geomatics, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, 710054, Shaanxi, China
| | - Chunhui Lou
- College of Geomatics, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an, 710054, Shaanxi, China
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Huang K, Zhu Q, Lu X, Gu D, Liu Y. Satellite-Based Long-Term Spatiotemporal Trends in Ambient NO 2 Concentrations and Attributable Health Burdens in China From 2005 to 2020. GEOHEALTH 2023; 7:e2023GH000798. [PMID: 37206379 PMCID: PMC10190124 DOI: 10.1029/2023gh000798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Despite the recent development of using satellite remote sensing to predict surface NO2 levels in China, methods for estimating reliable historical NO2 exposure, especially before the establishment of NO2 monitoring network in 2013, are still rare. A gap-filling model was first adopted to impute the missing NO2 column densities from satellite, then an ensemble machine learning model incorporating three base learners was developed to estimate the spatiotemporal pattern of monthly mean NO2 concentrations at 0.05° spatial resolution from 2005 to 2020 in China. Further, we applied the exposure data set with epidemiologically derived exposure response relations to estimate the annual NO2 associated mortality burdens in China. The coverage of satellite NO2 column densities increased from 46.9% to 100% after gap-filling. The ensemble model predictions had good agreement with observations, and the sample-based, temporal and spatial cross-validation (CV) R 2 were 0.88, 0.82, and 0.73, respectively. In addition, our model can provide accurate historical NO2 concentrations, with both by-year CV R 2 and external separate year validation R 2 achieving 0.80. The estimated national NO2 levels showed a increasing trend during 2005-2011, then decreased gradually until 2020, especially in 2012-2015. The estimated annual mortality burden attributable to long-term NO2 exposure ranged from 305 thousand to 416 thousand, and varied considerably across provinces in China. This satellite-based ensemble model could provide reliable long-term NO2 predictions at a high spatial resolution with complete coverage for environmental and epidemiological studies in China. Our results also highlighted the heavy disease burden by NO2 and call for more targeted policies to reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides in China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keyong Huang
- Department of EpidemiologyFuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular DiseasesChinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeBeijingChina
- Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular EpidemiologyChinese Academy of Medical SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Qingyang Zhu
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental HealthRollins School of Public HealthEmory UniversityAtlantaGAUSA
| | - Xiangfeng Lu
- Department of EpidemiologyFuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular DiseasesChinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeBeijingChina
- Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular EpidemiologyChinese Academy of Medical SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Dongfeng Gu
- Department of EpidemiologyFuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular DiseasesChinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical CollegeBeijingChina
- Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular EpidemiologyChinese Academy of Medical SciencesBeijingChina
- School of MedicineSouthern University of Science and TechnologyShenzhenChina
| | - Yang Liu
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental HealthRollins School of Public HealthEmory UniversityAtlantaGAUSA
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Effect of different plant communities on NO 2 in an urban road greenbelt in Nanjing, China. Sci Rep 2023; 13:3424. [PMID: 36854721 PMCID: PMC9975237 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30488-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2023] Open
Abstract
As an important part of urban ecosystems, plants can reduce NO2 concentrations in the air. However, there is little evidence of the effects of different plant communities on NO2 concentrations in street-scale green spaces. We used a multifunctional lifting environmental detector to investigate the impact of environmental factors and small plant communities on NO2 concentrations in street green spaces during the summer and winter in Nanjing, China. The results showed that temperature, atmospheric pressure, and noise were significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with seasonal changes, temperature and humidity significantly (P < 0.01) influenced NO2 concentrations in winter and summer, and the average NO2 concentration in summer was generally higher than in winter. By comparing NO2 concentrations in different plant community structures and their internal spaces, we found that the plant community structure with tree-shrub-grass was more effective in reducing pollution. These findings will help predict the impact of plant communities on NO2 concentrations in urban streets and help city managers and planners effectively reduce NO2 pollution.
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