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Hlatshwayo SN, Tesfamichael SG, Kganyago M. Predicting tropospheric nitrogen dioxide column density in South African municipalities using socio-environmental variables and Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0308484. [PMID: 39116086 PMCID: PMC11309388 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2024] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Atmospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution is a major health and social challenge in South African induced mainly by fossil fuel combustions for power generation, transportation and domestic biomass burning for indoor activities. The pollution level is moderated by various environmental and social factors, yet previous studies made use of limited factors or focussed on only industrialised regions ignoring the contributions in large parts of the country. There is a need to assess how socio-environmenral factors, which inherently exhibit variations across space, influence the pollution levels in South Africa. This study therefore aimed to predict annual tropospheric NO2 column density using socio-environmental variables that are widely proven in the literature as sources and sinks of pollution. The environmental variables used to predict NO2 included remotely sensed Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), Land Surface Temperature and Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) while the social data, which were obtained from national household surveys, included energy sources data, settlement patterns, gender and age statistics aggregated at municipality scale. The prediction was accomplished by applying the Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression that fine-tunes the spatial scale of each variable when building geographically localised relationships. The model returned an overall R2 of 0.92, indicating good predicting performance and the significance of the socio-environmental variables in estimating NO2 in South Africa. From the environmental variables, AOD had the most influence in increasing NO2 pollution while vegetation represented by EVI had the opposite effect of reducing the pollution level. Among the social variables, household electricity and wood usage had the most significant contributions to pollution. Communal residential arrangements significantly reduced NO2, while informal settlements showed the opposite effect. The female proportion was the most important demographic variable in reducing NO2. Age groups had mixed effects on NO2 pollution, with the mid-age group (20-29) being the most important contributor to NO2 emission. The findings of the current study provide evidence that NO2 pollution is explained by socio-economic variables that vary widely across space. This can be achieved reliably using the MGWR approach that produces strong models suited to each locality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sphamandla N. Hlatshwayo
- Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Solomon G. Tesfamichael
- Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Mahlatse Kganyago
- Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
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2
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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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3
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Sharma BR, Kuttippurath J, Patel VK, Gopikrishnan GS. Regional sources of NH 3, SO 2 and CO in the Third Pole. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2024; 248:118317. [PMID: 38301761 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2024.118317] [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: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/24/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
The Third Pole (TP) is a high mountain region in the world, and is well-known for its pristine environment, but recent development activities in the region have degraded its air quality. Here, we investigate the spatial and temporal changes of the air pollutants ammonia (NH₃), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and carbon monoxide (CO) in TP, and reveal their sources using satellite measurements and emission inventory. We observe a clear seasonal cycle of NH3 in TP, with high values in summer and low values in winter. The intense agriculture activities in the southern TP are the cause of high NH₃ (6-8 × 1016 molec./cm2) there. Similarly, CO shows a distinct seasonal cycle with high values in spring in the southeast TP due to biomass burning. In addition, the eastern boundary of TP in the Sichuan and Qinghai provinces also show high values of CO (about 1.5 × 1018 mol/cm2), primarily owing to the industrial activities. There is no seasonal cycle found for SO₂ distribution in TP, but relatively high values (8-10 mg/m2) are observed in its eastern boundary. The high-altitude pristine regions of inner TP are also getting polluted because of increased human activities in and around TP, as we estimate positive trends in CO (0.5-1.5 × 1016 mol/cm2/yr) there. In addition, positive trends are also found in NH₃ (0.025 × 1016 molec./cm2/yr) during 2008-2020 in most regions of TP and SO₂ (about 0.25-0.75 mg/m2/yr) in the Sichuan and Qinghai region during 2000-2020. As revealed by the emission inventory, there are high anthropogenic emissions of NH3, SO2 and CO within TP. There are emissions of pollutants from energy sectors, oil and refinery, agriculture waste burning and manure management within TP. These anthropogenic activities accelerate the ongoing development in TP, but severely erode its environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- B R Sharma
- CORAL, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, India
| | - J Kuttippurath
- CORAL, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, India.
| | - V K Patel
- CORAL, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, India
| | - G S Gopikrishnan
- CORAL, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, India
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Sharma BR, Kuttippurath J, Patel VK. A gradual increase of aerosol pollution in the Third Pole during the past four decades: Implication for regional climate change. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2023; 238:117105. [PMID: 37689338 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Revised: 09/03/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023]
Abstract
We analyse the long-term (1980-2020) changes in aerosols over the Third Pole (TP) and assess the changes in radiative forcing (RF) using satellite, ground-based and reanalysis data. The annual mean aerosol optical depth (AOD) varies from 0.06 to 0.24, with the highest values of around 0.2 in the north and southwest TP, which are dominated by dust from Taklimakan and Thar deserts, respectively. However, Organic Carbon (OC), Black Carbon (BC) and sulphate aerosols have significant contributions to the total AOD in the south and east TP. High amounts of dust are observed in spring and summer, but BC in winter. Trajectory analysis reveals that the air mass originated from East and South Asia carries BC and OC, whereas the air from South Asia, Central Asia and Middle East brings dust to TP. Significant positive trends in AOD is found in TP, with high values of about 0.002/yr in the eastern and southern TP. There is a gradual increase in BC and OC concentrations during 1980-2020, but the change from 2000 is phenomenal. The RF at the top of the atmosphere varies from -10 to 2 W/m2 in TP, and high positive RF of about 2 W/m2 is estimated in Pamir, Karakoram and Nyainquentanglha mountains, where the massive glacier mass exists. The RF has increased in much of TP during recent decades (2001-2020) with respect to previous decades (1981-2000), which can be due to the rise in BC and dust during the latter period. Therefore, the positive trend in BC and its associated change in RF can amplify the regional warming, and thus, the melting of glaciers or ice in TP. This is a great concern as it is directly connected to the water security of many South Asian countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- B R Sharma
- CORAL, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, India; Department of Physics, Prithvinarayan Campus, Tribhuvan University, Pokhara, Nepal
| | - J Kuttippurath
- CORAL, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, India.
| | - V K Patel
- CORAL, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, 721302, India
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Zhang Y, Shi M, Chen J, Fu S, Wang H. Spatiotemporal variations of NO 2 and its driving factors in the coastal ports of China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 871:162041. [PMID: 36754320 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162041] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) is one of the major air pollutants in coastal ports of China. Understanding the spatiotemporal varying effects of driving factors of NO2 is vital for the implementation of differentiated air pollution control measures for different port areas. Based on the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite data, we adopted a Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) model to explore the influences of meteorological and socioeconomic factors on the NO2 Vertical Column Concentrations (VCDs) in coastal ports of China from 2015 to 2021. The results indicate that NO2 VCD in most ports has decreased since 2016 and the ports with serious NO2 pollution are mainly distributed in northern China. The associations between NO2 VCD levels and their drivers exhibit obvious spatiotemporal heterogeneity. Higher wind speed and relative humidity are more helpful to alleviate NO2 pollution in ports of the Bohai Rim and the Pearl River Delta. Cargo throughput has more closely associated with NO2 pollution in Beibu Gulf in recent years, yet there is no significant association found for Shanghai ports. The positive relationship between transportation emissions and NO2 VCD is more significant in southern ports. This work provides some implications for the formulation of targeted emission reduction policies for different ports along the Chinese coast.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Zhang
- College of Transport and Communications, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Meiyu Shi
- College of Transport and Communications, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Jihong Chen
- College of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518073, China; Shenzhen International Maritime Institute, Shenzhen 518081, China; Business School, Xi'an International University, Xi'an 710077, China.
| | - Shanshan Fu
- College of Transport and Communications, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China
| | - Huizhen Wang
- Business School, Xi'an International University, Xi'an 710077, China
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6
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Shen Y, Jiang F, Feng S, Xia Z, Zheng Y, Lyu X, Zhang L, Lou C. Increased diurnal difference of NO 2 concentrations and its impact on recent ozone pollution in eastern China in summer. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 858:159767. [PMID: 36341852 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 10/23/2022] [Accepted: 10/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is a key tropospheric O3 precursor. Since 2013, efforts to decrease air pollution in China have driven substantial declines in annual NO2 concentrations, whereas ozone (O3) concentrations have increased. Based on nationwide NO2 observations and a regional air quality model (WRF-CMAQ), we analyzed trends in the diurnal difference (DD, the difference between nighttime and daytime concentrations) of NO2 concentrations across eastern China and in five national urban agglomerations (UAs) from 2014 to 2021, and explored the factors underlying such changes and the potential impacts on O3 pollution. We found that the observed DD of NO2 has increased in most cities and UAs, and that this trend can be primarily attributed to changes in anthropogenic emissions, based on comparison with DDs simulated with fixed anthropogenic emissions, which generally showed much weaker trends and little interannual variation. A sensitivity analysis using the WRF-CMAQ model was conducted to investigate the impact of a modified diurnal cycle of nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions on O3 concentrations. The result revealed that enhancing the DD of NO2 would increase O3 concentrations in the morning and the daily maximum 8-h O3 concentrations in the cities with high NOx concentrations, as well as downwind areas of cities, indicating that greater DDs in NO2 is one of the reasons that have led to the enhanced China's O3 pollution in recent years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yang Shen
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology, International Institute for Earth System Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Fei Jiang
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology, International Institute for Earth System Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China; Jiangsu Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Resource Development and Application, Nanjing 210023, China; Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China.
| | - Shuzhuang Feng
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology, International Institute for Earth System Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Zheng Xia
- Zhejiang Ecological and Environmental Monitoring Center, Hangzhou 310012, China
| | - Yanhua Zheng
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology, International Institute for Earth System Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Xiaopu Lyu
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
| | - LingYu Zhang
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology, International Institute for Earth System Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Chenxi Lou
- Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology, International Institute for Earth System Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
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7
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Spatio-Temporal Heterogeneous Impacts of the Drivers of NO2 Pollution in Chinese Cities: Based on Satellite Observation Data. REMOTE SENSING 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/rs14143487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Rapid urbanization in China has led to an increasing problem of atmospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution, which negatively impacts urban ecology and public health. Nitrogen dioxide is an important atmospheric pollutant, and quantitative spatio-temporal analysis and influencing factor analysis of Chinese cities can help improve urban air pollution. In this study, the spatio-temporal analysis methods were used to explore the variations of NO2 pollution in Chinese cities from 2005 to 2020. The findings are as follows. In more than half of Chinese cities, NO2 levels remarkably decreased between 2005 and 2020. The effective NO2 reduction strategies contributed to the significant NO2 reduction during the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016–2020). Moreover, we found that the pandemic of COVID-19 alleviated NO2 pollution in China since it reduced the traffic, industrial, and living activities. The NO2 pollution in Chinese cities was found highly spatially clustered. The geographically and temporally weighted regression model was used to analyze the spatio-temporal heterogeneity of NO2 pollution influencing factors in Chinese cities, including natural meteorological and socio-economic factors. The results showed that the GDPPC, population densities, and ambient air pressure were positively correlated with NO2 pollution. In contrast, the ratio of the tertiary to the secondary industry, temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity negatively impacted the NO2 pollution level. The findings of this research contribute to the improvement of urban air quality, stimulating the achievements of the sustainable development goals of Chinese cities.
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Spatiotemporal Variations in the Air Pollutant NO2 in Some Regions of Pakistan, India, China, and Korea, before and after COVID-19, Based on Ozone Monitoring Instrument Data. ATMOSPHERE 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos13060986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
In 2020, COVID-19 was proclaimed a pandemic by the World Health Organization, prompting several nations throughout the world to block their borders and impose a countrywide lockdown, halting all major manmade activities and thus leaving a beneficial impact on the natural environment. We investigated the influence of a sudden cessation of human activity on tropospheric NO2 concentrations to understand the resulting changes in emissions, particularly from the power-generating sector, before (2010–2019) and during the pandemic (2020). NO2 was chosen because of its short lifespan in the Earth’s atmosphere. Using daily tropospheric NO2 column concentrations from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument, the geographic and temporal characteristics of tropospheric NO2 column were investigated across 12 regions in India, Pakistan, China, and South Korea (2010–2020). We analyzed weekly, monthly, and annual trends and found that the NO2 concentrations were decreased in 2020 (COVID-19 period) in the locations investigated. Reduced anthropogenic activities, including changes in energy production and a reduction in fossil fuel consumption before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as reduced traffic and industrial activity in 2020, can explain the lower tropospheric NO2 concentrations. The findings of this study provide a better understanding of the process of tropospheric NO2 emissions over four nations before and after the coronavirus pandemic for improving air quality modeling and management approaches.
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Spatiotemporal Analysis of NO2 Production Using TROPOMI Time-Series Images and Google Earth Engine in a Middle Eastern Country. REMOTE SENSING 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/rs14071725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Like many developing countries, Iran faces air pollution, especially in its metropolises and industrial cities. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is one of the significant air pollutants; therefore, this study aims to investigate the spatiotemporal variability of NO2 using Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) sensor mounted on the Sentinel-5P (S5P) satellite and the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform over Iran. In addition, we used ground truth data to assess the correlation between data acquired by this sensor and ground stations. The results show that there is a strong correlation between products of the TROPOMI sensor and data provided by the Air Quality Monitoring Organization of Iran. The results also display that the correlation coefficient (R) of NO2 between ground truth data and the TROPOMI sensor varies in the range of 0.4 to 0.92, over three years. Over an annual period (2018 to 2021) and wide area, these data can become valuable points of reference for NO2 monitoring. In addition, this study proved that the tropospheric NO2 concentrations are generally located over the northern part of Iran. According to the time and season, the concentration of the tropospheric NO2 column shows higher values during winter than in the summertime. The results show that a higher concentration of the tropospheric NO2 column is in winter while in some southern and central parts of the country more NO2 concentration can be seen in the summertime. This study indicates that these urban areas are highly polluted, which proves the impact of pollutants such as NO2 on the people living there. In other words, small parts of Iran are classified as high and very highly polluted areas, but these areas are the primary location of air pollution in Iran. We provide a code repository that allows spatiotemporal analysis of NO2 estimation using TROPOMI time-series images within GEE. This method can be applied to other regions of interest for NO2 mapping.
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Chi Y, Fan M, Zhao C, Yang Y, Fan H, Yang X, Yang J, Tao J. Machine learning-based estimation of ground-level NO 2 concentrations over China. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 807:150721. [PMID: 34619217 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Most current scientific research on NO2 remote sensing focuses on tropospheric NO2 column concentrations rather than ground-level NO2 concentrations; however, ground-level NO2 concentrations are more related to anthropogenic emissions and human health. This study proposes a machine learning estimation method for retrieving the ground-level NO2 concentrations throughout China based on the tropospheric NO2 column concentrations from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) and multisource geographic data from 2018 to 2020. This method adopts the XGBoost machine learning model characterized by a strong fitting ability and complex model structure, which can explain the complex nonlinear and high-order relationships between ground-measured NO2 and its influencing factors. The R2 values between the retrievals and the validation and test datasets are 0.67 and 0.73, respectively, which suggests that the proposed method can reliably retrieve the ground-level NO2 concentrations across China. The distribution characteristics, seasonal variations and interannual differences in ground-level NO2 concentrations are further analyzed based on the retrieval results, demonstrating that the ground-level NO2 concentrations exhibit significant geographical and seasonal variations, with high concentrations in winter and low concentrations in summer, and the highly polluted regions are concentrated mainly in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), the Pearl River Delta (PRD), Cheng-Yu District (CY) and other urban agglomerations. Finally, the interannual variation in the ground-level NO2 concentrations indicates that pollution decreased continuously from 2018 to 2020.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yulei Chi
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Meng Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Chuanfeng Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
| | - Yikun Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Hao Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Xingchuan Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Jie Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Jinhua Tao
- State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Science, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
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11
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Assessment of the Performance of TROPOMI NO2 and SO2 Data Products in the North China Plain: Comparison, Correction and Application. REMOTE SENSING 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/rs14010214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
The TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) aboard the Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite has been used to detect the atmospheric environment since 2017, and it is of great significance to investigate the accuracy of its products. In this work, we present comparisons between TROPOMI tropospheric NO2 and total SO2 products against ground-based MAX-DOAS at a single site (Xianghe) and OMI products over a seriously polluted region (North China Plain, NCP) in China. The results show that both NO2 and SO2 data from three datasets exhibit a similar tendency and seasonality. In addition, TROPOMI tropospheric NO2 columns are generally underestimated compared with collocated MAX-DOAS and OMI data by about 30–60%. In contrast to NO2, the monthly average SO2 retrieved from TROPOMI is larger than MAX-DOAS and OMI, with a mean bias of 2.41 (153.8%) and 2.17 × 1016 molec cm−2 (120.7%), respectively. All the results demonstrated that the TROPOMI NO2 as well as the SO2 algorithms need to be further improved. Thus, to ensure reliable analysis in NCP area, a correction method has been proposed and applied to TROPOMI Level 3 data. The revised datasets agree reasonably well with OMI observations (R > 0.95 for NO2, and R > 0.85 for SO2) over the NCP region and have smaller mean biases with MAX-DOAS. In the application during COVID-19 pandemic, it showed that the NO2 column in January-April 2020 decreased by almost 25–45% compared to the same period in 2019 due to the lockdown for COVID-19, and there was an apparent rebound of nearly 15–50% during 2021. In contrast, a marginal change of the corresponding SO2 is revealed in the NCP region. It signifies that short-term control measures are expected to have more effects on NO2 reduction than SO2; conversely, we need to recognize that although the COVID-19 lockdown measures improved air quality in the short term, the pollution status will rebound to its previous level once industrial and human activities return to normal.
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12
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Zhang Y, Ren Z, Zhang Y. Winter nitrogen enrichment does not alter the sensitivity of plant communities to precipitation in a semiarid grassland. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 790:148264. [PMID: 34380248 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 05/29/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen (N) deposition often promotes aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP), but has adverse effects on terrestrial ecosystem biodiversity. It is unclear, however, whether biomass production and biodiversity are equally altered by seasonal N enrichment, as there is a temporal pattern to atmospheric N deposition. By adding N in autumn, winter, or growing season from October 2014 to May 2019 in a temperate grassland in China, we found that N addition promoted peak plant community ANPP, but tended to decrease plant richness. Regardless of seasonal N additions, precipitation was positively correlated with plant community ANPP, confirming that precipitation is the primary limiting factor in this semiarid grassland. Unexpectedly, N addition in autumn or growing season, but not in winter, increased the sensitivity of plant communities to precipitation (i.e., the slope of the positive relationship between community ANPP and precipitation), indicating that precipitation determines the influence of seasonal N enrichment on plant community biomass production. These findings suggest that previous studies in which N was added in a single season, e.g., the growing season, have likely overestimated the effects of N deposition on ecosystem primary productivity, especially during wet years. This study illustrates that multi-season N addition in agreement with predicted seasonal patterns of N deposition needs to be evaluated to precisely assess ecosystem responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqiu Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhengru Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yunhai Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetation and Environmental Change, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
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Identification of NO2 and SO2 Pollution Hotspots and Sources in Jiangsu Province of China. REMOTE SENSING 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/rs13183742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) are important atmospheric trace gases for determining air quality, human health, climate change, and ecological conditions both regionally and globally. In this study, the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), total column nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) were used from 2005 to 2020 to identify pollution hotspots and potential source areas responsible for air pollution in Jiangsu Province. The study investigated the spatiotemporal distribution and variability of NO2 and SO2, the SO2/NO2 ratio, and their trends, and potential source contribution function (PSCF) analysis was performed to identify potential source areas. The spatial distributions showed higher values (>0.60 DU) of annual mean NO2 and SO2 for most cities of Jiangsu Province except for Yancheng City (<0.50 DU). The seasonal analyses showed the highest NO2 and SO2 in winter, followed by spring, autumn, and summer. Coal-fire-based room heating and stable meteorological conditions during the cold season may cause higher NO2 and SO2 in winter. Notably, the occurrence frequency of NO2 and SO2 of >1.2 was highest in winter, which varied between 9.14~32.46% for NO2 and 7.84~21.67% for SO2, indicating a high level of pollution across Jiangsu Province. The high SO2/NO2 ratio (>0.60) indicated that industry is the dominant source, with significant annual and seasonal variations. Trends in NO2 and SO2 were calculated for 2005–2020, 2006–2010 (when China introduced strict air pollution control policies during the 11th Five Year Plan (FYP)), 2011–2015 (during the 12th FYP), and 2013–2017 (the Action Plan of Air Pollution Prevention and Control (APPC-AC)). Annually, decreasing trends in NO2 were more prominent during the 12th FYP period (2011–2015: −0.024~−0.052 DU/year) than in the APPC-AC period (2013–2017: −0.007~−0.043 DU/year) and 2005–2020 (−0.002 to −0.012 DU/year). However, no prevention and control policies for NO2 were included during the 11th FYP period (2006–2010), resulting in an increasing trend in NO2 (0.015 to 0.031) observed throughout the study area. Furthermore, the implementation of China’s strict air pollution control policies caused a larger decrease in SO2 (per year) during the 12th FYP period (−0.002~−0.075 DU/year) than in the 11th FYP period (−0.014~−0.071 DU/year), the APPC-AC period (−0.007~−0.043 DU/year), and 2005–2020 (−0.015~−0.032 DU/year). PSCF analysis indicated that the air quality of Jiangsu Province is mainly influenced by local pollution sources.
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Wu Y, Di B, Luo Y, Grieneisen ML, Zeng W, Zhang S, Deng X, Tang Y, Shi G, Yang F, Zhan Y. A robust approach to deriving long-term daily surface NO 2 levels across China: Correction to substantial estimation bias in back-extrapolation. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2021; 154:106576. [PMID: 33901976 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2021.106576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2020] [Revised: 04/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Long-term surface NO2 data are essential for retrospective policy evaluation and chronic human exposure assessment. In the absence of NO2 observations for Mainland China before 2013, training a model with 2013-2018 data to make predictions for 2005-2012 (back-extrapolation) could cause substantial estimation bias due to concept drift. OBJECTIVE This study aims to correct the estimation bias in order to reconstruct the spatiotemporal distribution of daily surface NO2 levels across China during 2005-2018. METHODS On the basis of ground- and satellite-based data, we proposed the robust back-extrapolation with a random forest (RBE-RF) to simulate the surface NO2 through intermediate modeling of the scaling factors. For comparison purposes, we also employed a random forest (Base-RF), as a representative of the commonly used approach, to directly model the surface NO2 levels. RESULTS The validation against Taiwan's NO2 observations during 2005-2012 showed that RBE-RF adequately corrected the substantial underestimation by Base-RF. The RMSE decreased from 10.1 to 8.2 µg/m3, 7.1 to 4.3 µg/m3, and 6.1 to 2.9 µg/m3 in predicting daily, monthly, and annual levels, respectively. For North China with the most severe pollution, the population-weighted NO2 ([NO2]pw) during 2005-2012 was estimated as 40.2 and 50.9 µg/m3 by Base-RF and RBE-RF, respectively, i.e., 21.0% difference. While both models predicted that the national annual [NO2]pw increased during 2005-2011 and then decreased, the interannual trends were underestimated by >50.2% by Base-RF relative to RBE-RF. During 2005-2018, the nationwide population that lived in the areas with NO2 > 40 µg/m3 were estimated as 259 and 460 million by Base-RF and RBE-RF, respectively. CONCLUSION With RBE-RF, we corrected the estimation bias in back-extrapolation and obtained a full-coverage dataset of daily surface NO2 across China during 2005-2018, which is valuable for environmental management and epidemiological research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yangyang Wu
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China
| | - Baofeng Di
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China; Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610200, China
| | - Yuzhou Luo
- Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United States
| | - Michael L Grieneisen
- Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, United States
| | - Wen Zeng
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China
| | - Shifu Zhang
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China
| | - Xunfei Deng
- Institute of Digital Agriculture, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310021, China
| | - Yulei Tang
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China; Natural Resources Comprehensive Survey Command Center, China Geological Survey, Beijing 100055, China
| | - Guangming Shi
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China; National Engineering Research Center for Flue Gas Desulfurization, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China
| | - Fumo Yang
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China; National Engineering Research Center for Flue Gas Desulfurization, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China
| | - Yu Zhan
- Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China; National Engineering Research Center for Flue Gas Desulfurization, Chengdu, Sichuan 610065, China; Yibin Institute of Industrial Technology, Sichuan University Yibin Park, Yibin 644000, China.
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15
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Liang L, Wang Z. Control Models and Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Air Pollution in the Rapidly Developing Urban Agglomerations. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18116177. [PMID: 34200515 PMCID: PMC8201052 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18116177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
This paper systematically summarizes the hierarchical cross-regional multi-directional linkage in terms of air pollution control models implemented in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration, including the hierarchical linkage structure of national-urban agglomeration-city, the cross-regional linkage governance of multiple provinces and municipalities, the multi-directional linkage mechanism mainly involving industry access, energy structure, green transportation, cross-regional assistance, monitoring and warning, consultation, and accountability. The concentration data of six air pollutants were used to analyze spatiotemporal characteristics. The concentrations of SO2, NO2, PM10, PM2.5, CO decreased, and the concentration of O3 increased from 2014 to 2017; the air pollution control has achieved good effect. The concentration of O3 was the highest in summer and lowest in winter, while those of other pollutants were the highest in winter and lowest in summer. The high pollution ranges of O3 diffused from south to north, and those of other pollutants decreased significantly from north to south. Finally, we suggest strengthening the traceability and process research of heavy pollution, increasing the traceability and process research of O3 pollution, promoting the joint legislation of different regions in urban agglomeration, create innovative pollution discharge supervision mechanisms, in order to provide significant reference for the joint prevention and control of air pollution in urban agglomerations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Longwu Liang
- Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;
- Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- College of Resource and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhenbo Wang
- Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;
- Key Laboratory of Regional Sustainable Development Modeling, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
- College of Resource and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
- Correspondence:
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16
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Chen X, Han X, Li J. Spatiotemporal characteristics of nitrogen dioxide pollution in mainland China from 2015 to 2018. ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT 2021; 193:313. [PMID: 33914181 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-021-09099-7] [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: 06/07/2020] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
With the rapid industrial development and urbanisation in China, nitrogen dioxide [Formula: see text] pollution has become a severe environmental problem that threatens public health. Based on hourly concentration monitoring data of the six main air pollutants in mainland China, a space-time Bayesian hierarchy model was employed to analyse the spatiotemporal trends of the absolute and relative [Formula: see text] concentrations (i.e., the proportion of [Formula: see text] in the six main air pollutants: [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text]). Both the absolute and relative [Formula: see text] concentrations were higher in the autumn and winter of each year during the study period. Four regions in particular-the North China Plain, the Yangtze River Delta, the Sichuan Basin, and the Pearl River Delta-experience the largest amounts of [Formula: see text] pollution, with a high local magnitude of more than 1.0 relative to the overall absolute and relative [Formula: see text] concentrations; this affects an area with a human population of 571.85 million, which is 42.47% of the total population. Central China (i.e., the Shaanxi-Shanxi-Henan region) and the Tarim Basin (northwest of Xinjiang) were heavily polluted by [Formula: see text] and other pollutants throughout the year, with a high local magnitude of more than 1.0 relative to the overall absolute [Formula: see text] concentration. The [Formula: see text] pollution in most of the cities in western and southern China is less serious, along with cities in the northeast. Local trends reveal that in general, cities with high [Formula: see text] pollution are accompanied by upward trends. Specifically, except for in the summer, there were about 86 cities showing the increasing trend, of which 66 cities are located in areas with higher absolute and relative [Formula: see text] concentrations. Taiyuan, for example, represents the maximal local trend, with an average annual increase of 4.39 (95% CI 1.61-7.43) [Formula: see text] and 0.43 (95% CI 0.16-0.73) %, respectively, which will lead to further increases in the population exposure-risk in heavily polluted areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinglin Chen
- School of Statistics, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Wucheng Road 696, Taiyuan, 030006, China.
| | - Xiulan Han
- School of Statistics, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Wucheng Road 696, Taiyuan, 030006, China
| | - Junming Li
- School of Statistics, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Wucheng Road 696, Taiyuan, 030006, China
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17
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Wu S, Huang B, Wang J, He L, Wang Z, Yan Z, Lao X, Zhang F, Liu R, Du Z. Spatiotemporal mapping and assessment of daily ground NO 2 concentrations in China using high-resolution TROPOMI retrievals. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2021; 273:116456. [PMID: 33477063 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.116456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2020] [Revised: 01/04/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is an important air pollutant that causes direct harms to the environment and human health. Ground NO2 mapping with high spatiotemporal resolution is critical for fine-scale air pollution and environmental health research. We thus developed a spatiotemporal regression kriging model to map daily high-resolution (3-km) ground NO2 concentrations in China using the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) satellite retrievals and geographical covariates. This model combined geographically and temporally weighted regression with spatiotemporal kriging and achieved robust prediction performance with sample-based and site-based cross-validation R2 values of 0.84 and 0.79. The annual mean and standard deviation of ground NO2 concentrations from June 1, 2018 to May 31, 2019 were predicted to be 15.05 ± 7.82 μg/m3, with that in 0.6% of China's area (10% of the population) exceeding the annual air quality standard (40 μg/m3). The ground NO2 concentrations during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) period (January and February in 2020) was 14% lower than that during the same period in 2019 and the mean population exposure to ground NO2 was reduced by 25%. This study was the first to use TROPOMI retrievals to map fine-scale daily ground NO2 concentrations across all of China. This was also an early application to use the satellite-estimated ground NO2 data to quantify the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the air pollution and population exposures. These newly satellite-derived ground NO2 data with high spatiotemporal resolution have value in advancing environmental and health research in China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sensen Wu
- School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science, Hangzhou, 310028, China; Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong
| | - Bo Huang
- Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong; Institute of Space and Earth Information Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong.
| | - Jionghua Wang
- Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong
| | - Lijie He
- Department of Geography and Resource Management, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong
| | - Zhongyi Wang
- School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China
| | - Zhen Yan
- Center of Agricultural and Rural Development, School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Xiangqian Lao
- The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong
| | - Feng Zhang
- School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science, Hangzhou, 310028, China
| | - Renyi Liu
- School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science, Hangzhou, 310028, China
| | - Zhenhong Du
- School of Earth Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310027, China; Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science, Hangzhou, 310028, China
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18
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Wang Z, Uno I, Yumimoto K, Itahashi S, Chen X, Yang W, Wang Z. Impacts of COVID-19 lockdown, Spring Festival and meteorology on the NO 2 variations in early 2020 over China based on in-situ observations, satellite retrievals and model simulations. ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT (OXFORD, ENGLAND : 1994) 2021; 244:117972. [PMID: 33013178 PMCID: PMC7521432 DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.117972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Revised: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The lockdown measures due to COVID-19 affected the industry, transportation and other human activities within China in early 2020, and subsequently the emissions of air pollutants. The decrease of atmospheric NO2 due to the COVID-19 lockdown and other factors were quantitively analyzed based on the surface concentrations by in-situ observations, the tropospheric vertical column densities (VCDs) by different satellite retrievals including OMI and TROPOMI, and the model simulations by GEOS-Chem. The results indicated that due to the COVID-19 lockdown, the surface NO2 concentrations decreased by 42% ± 8% and 26% ± 9% over China in February and March 2020, respectively. The tropospheric NO2 VCDs based on both OMI and high quality (quality assurance value (QA) ≥ 0.75) TROPOMI showed similar results as the surface NO2 concentrations. The daily variations of atmospheric NO2 during the first quarter (Q1) of 2020 were not only affected by the COVID-19 lockdown, but also by the Spring Festival (SF) holiday (January 24-30, 2020) as well as the meteorology changes due to seasonal transition. The SF holiday effect resulted in a NO2 reduction from 8 days before SF to 21 days after it (i.e. January 17 - February 15), with a maximum of 37%. From the 6 days after SF (January 31) to the end of March, the COVID-19 lockdown played an important role in the NO2 reduction, with a maximum of 51%. The meteorology changes due to seasonal transition resulted in a nearly linear decreasing trend of 25% and 40% reduction over the 90 days for the NO2 concentrations and VCDs, respectively. Comparisons between different datasets indicated that medium quality (QA ≥ 0.5) TROPOMI retrievals might suffer large biases in some periods, and thus attention must be paid when they are used for analyses, data assimilations and emission inversions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhe Wang
- Research Institute for Applied Mechanics (RIAM), Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 8168580, Japan
- State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry (LAPC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Itsushi Uno
- Research Institute for Applied Mechanics (RIAM), Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 8168580, Japan
| | - Keiya Yumimoto
- Research Institute for Applied Mechanics (RIAM), Kyushu University, Fukuoka, 8168580, Japan
| | - Syuichi Itahashi
- Environmental Science Research Laboratory, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI), Chiba, 270-1194, Japan
| | - Xueshun Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry (LAPC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Wenyi Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry (LAPC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100029, China
| | - Zifa Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry (LAPC), Institute of Atmospheric Physics (IAP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Beijing, 100029, China
- College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), Beijing, 100049, China
- Center for Excellence in Urban Atmospheric Environment, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, China
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19
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Goldberg DL, Anenberg SC, Griffin D, McLinden CA, Lu Z, Streets DG. Disentangling the Impact of the COVID-19 Lockdowns on Urban NO 2 From Natural Variability. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS 2020; 47:e2020GL089269. [PMID: 32904906 PMCID: PMC7461033 DOI: 10.1029/2020gl089269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2020] [Revised: 07/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
TROPOMI satellite data show substantial drops in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) during COVID-19 physical distancing. To attribute NO2 changes to NO x emissions changes over short timescales, one must account for meteorology. We find that meteorological patterns were especially favorable for low NO2 in much of the United States in spring 2020, complicating comparisons with spring 2019. Meteorological variations between years can cause column NO2 differences of ~15% over monthly timescales. After accounting for solar angle and meteorological considerations, we calculate that NO2 drops ranged between 9.2% and 43.4% among 20 cities in North America, with a median of 21.6%. Of the studied cities, largest NO2 drops (>30%) were in San Jose, Los Angeles, and Toronto, and smallest drops (<12%) were in Miami, Minneapolis, and Dallas. These normalized NO2 changes can be used to highlight locations with greater activity changes and better understand the sources contributing to adverse air quality in each city.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel L. Goldberg
- Department of Environmental and Occupational HealthGeorge Washington UniversityWashingtonDCUSA
- Energy Systems DivisionArgonne National LaboratoryLemontILUSA
| | - Susan C. Anenberg
- Department of Environmental and Occupational HealthGeorge Washington UniversityWashingtonDCUSA
| | - Debora Griffin
- Air Quality Research DivisionEnvironment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)TorontoOntarioCanada
| | - Chris A. McLinden
- Air Quality Research DivisionEnvironment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)TorontoOntarioCanada
| | - Zifeng Lu
- Energy Systems DivisionArgonne National LaboratoryLemontILUSA
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Maji KJ, Sarkar C. Spatio-temporal variations and trends of major air pollutants in China during 2015-2018. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2020; 27:33792-33808. [PMID: 32535826 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-09646-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
The Chinese government, as a policy response, has continued to invest efforts and resources to implement cost-effective air pollution control technologies and stringent regulation to reduce emissions from the most contributing sectors to protect the environment and public health. The higher density of monitoring stations (> 1600) distributed across China provides a timely opportunity to use them to study in detail the national pollution trends in light of more stringent air pollution control policies. In the present study, air quality datasets comprising hourly concentrations of PM2.5, O3, NO2, and SO2 collected across 1309, 1341, 1289, and 1347 monitoring stations respectively were obtained from the National Environmental Monitoring Centre over 4 years (2015-2018) and trend analysis was performed. Results indicate that the overall annual trends for PM2.5 and SO2 were - 2.9 ± 2.7 and - 3.2 ± 3.2 μg/m3/year, while the winter trends were - 4.8 ± 5.8 and - 6.9 ± 8.4 μg/m3/year respectively across China. The daily maximum 8-h average (DMA8) ozone concentration showed a significant positive trend of 2.4 ± 4.6 μg/m3/year, which was comparatively higher in summer at 4.4 ± 9.0 μg/m3/year. On the other side, NO2 trend is not great in number (- 0.45 ± 2.0 μg/m3/year). Overall, 62.2%, 61.8%, and 20.9% of PM2.5, SO2, and NO2 monitoring stations were associated with a negative trend of ≥ - 2 μg/m3/year. For O3 DMA8 concentrations, 50.7% of the monitoring stations showed a significant positive trend of ≥ 2 μg/m3/year. In light of the Chinese government's increasing impetus on combating air pollution and climate change via new policy regulations, it is important to understand the spatio-temporal distributions and relative contributions of the spectrum of gaseous pollutants to the pollution loads as well as identify changing emission loads across sectors. The results of this study will facilitate the formulation of evidence-based air pollution reduction strategies and policies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamal Jyoti Maji
- Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China.
| | - Chinmoy Sarkar
- Healthy High Density Cities Lab, HKUrbanLab, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
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Abstract
The new-generation sensor TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) onboard the Sentinel 5 precursor (S5P) satellite is promising for monitoring air pollutants with greater spatial resolution, especially for China, which suffers from severe pollution. As tropospheric NO2 vertical column densities (VCDs) from TROPOMI have become available since February 2018, this study presents the comparisons of NO2 data measured by TROPOMI and its predecessor Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) over China, together with validation against ground Multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) measurements. At the nationwide scale, we used two different filters performed for the TROPOMI data (named TROPOMI50 and TROPOMI75), and the TROPOMI50 yielded larger values than TROPOMI75. The TROPOMI NO2 datasets from different filters show consistent spatial patterns with OMI, and the correlation coefficient values were both above 0.93. However, linear regression indicates that NO2 loadings in TROPOMI is about 2/3 to 4/5 of those in OMI, which is presumably due to a different cloud mask and uncertainties of air mass factors. The absolute difference is prominent over the high pollution areas such as Jing-Jin-Ji region and during winter and autumn, exceeding 0.6 × 1016 molecules cm−2 (molec cm−2). However, the NO2 concentrations retrieved from TROPOMI50 in the southern China may be somewhat higher than OMI. When it comes to the local-scale Jing-Jin-Ji hotspot, the analysis focuses on a comparison to TROPOMI75. TROPOMI manifests high quality and exhibits a significantly better performance of representing spatial variability. In contrast, OMI shows fewer effective pixels and does a poor job of capturing local details due to its row anomaly and low resolution. The absolute difference between two datasets shows the same seasonal behavior with NO2 variation, which is most striking in the winter (0.31 × 1016 molec cm−2) and is lowest in the summer (0.05 × 1016 molec cm−2). Furthermore, the ground MAX-DOAS instrument in Xianghe station, the representative site in Jing-Jin-Ji, is used to assess the skill of satellite retrievals. It turns out that both OMI and TROPOMI underestimate the observations, ranging from 30% to 50%, with OMI being less biased. In spite of the negative drift, the temporal structures of changes derived from OMI and TROPOMI closely match the ground-based records, since the correlation coefficients are above 0.8 and 0.95 for daily and monthly scales, respectively. Overall, TROPOMI NO2 retrievals are better suited for applications in China as well as the Jing-Jin-Ji hotspot due to its higher spatial resolution, although some improvements are also needed in the near future.
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22
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Improvement of Air Pollution in China Inferred from Changes between Satellite-Based and Measured Surface Solar Radiation. REMOTE SENSING 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/rs11242910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The air pollution crisis in China has become a global concern due to its profound effects on the global environment and human health. To significantly improve the air quality, mandatory reductions were imposed on pollution emissions and energy consumption within the framework of the 11th and 12th Five Year Plans of China. This study takes the first step to quantify the implications of recent pollution control efforts for surface solar radiation (SSR), the primary energy source for our planet. The observed bias between satellite-retrieved and surface-observed SSR time series is proposed as a useful indicator for the radiative effects of aerosol changes. This is due to the fact that the effects of temporal variations of aerosols are neglected in satellite retrievals but well captured in surface observations of SSR. The implemented pollution control measures and actions have successfully brought back SSR by an average magnitude of 3.5 W m−2 decade−1 for the whole of China from 2008 onwards. Regionally, effective pollution regulations are indicated in the East Coast regions of South and North China, including the capital Beijing, with the SSR brightening induced by aerosol reduction of 7.5 W m−2 decade−1, 5.2 W m−2 decade−1, and 5.9 W m−2 decade−1, respectively. Seasonally, the SSR recovery in China mainly occurs in the warm seasons of spring and summer, with the magnitudes induced by the aerosol radiative effects of 5.9 W m−2 decade−1 and 4.7 W m−2 decade−1, respectively.
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Temporal Analysis of OMI-Observed Tropospheric NO2 Columns over East Asia during 2006–2015. ATMOSPHERE 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/atmos10110658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The study analyzed temporal variations of Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI)-observed NO2 columns, interregional correlation, and comparison between NO2 columns and NOx emissions during the period from 2006 to 2015. Regarding the trend of the NO2 columns, the linear lines were classified into four groups: (1) ‘upward and downward’ over six defined geographic regions in central-east Asia; (2) ‘downward’ over Guangzhou, Japan, and Taiwan; (3) ‘stagnant’ over South Korea; and (4) ‘upward’ over North Korea, Mongolia, Qinghai, and Northwestern Pacific ocean. In particular, the levels of NO2 columns in 2015 returned to those in 2006 over most of the polluted regions in China. Quantitatively, their relative changes in 2015 compared to 2006 were approximately 10%. From the interregional correlation analysis, it was found that unlike positive relationships between the polluted areas, the different variations of monthly NO2 columns led to negative relationships in Mongolia and Qinghai. Regarding the comparison between NO2 columns and NOx emission, the NOx emissions from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) and Clean Air Policy Support System (CAPSS) inventories did not follow the year-to-year variations of NO2 columns over the polluted regions. In addition, the weekly effect was only clearly shown in South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, indicating that the amounts of NOx emissions are significantly contributed to by the transportation sector.
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