Air Quality Situation Research Articles

Influence of particulate matter on the air quality situation in a mediterranean island

The objective of this study was to describe the ambient levels of particulate matter (PM) and its influence to air quality situation on the dry Mediterranean island of Cyprus. From October 2002 to August 2003 PM 10 and PM 2.5 samples were collected at 31 different sampling sites in Cyprus. In addition, continuous measurements of PM 10 were carried out from 2003 to 2007 at a traffic and a rural site. It can be recognised that at all traffic and at some residential and urban background sites, the actual EU limit values have been exceeded. Special events e.g. long-range transport of Sahara dust storms were recorded over urban as well as rural areas in the order of 6–8 events per year, with a major frequency in summer and spring periods. The comparison of the PM 10 concentrations in Cyprus cities with values of other European cities demonstrates the PM 10 problem in Cyprus, especially in the dry summer season, when no rain is cleaning the air and the dry surfaces. This underlines the necessity of PM abatement strategies.

From homo sapiens to homo automobilis. Revisiting air quality management in Mexico City

Numero 121 Enero - Abril 2008 ISSN 0041 8633 FROM HOMO SAPIENS TO HOMO AUTOMOBILIS . REVISITING AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN MEXICO CITY * Cesar NAVA ESCUDERO ** This paper describes fifteen years (1990-2005) of air quality management in Mexico City. By looking at three interlinked issues (urban and population growth; the current air quality situation; and road vehicle emissions) it concludes that as long as Mexican authorities continue to rely on the introduction of new technologies and the implementation of diverse but insufficient traffic management schemes and to disregard the importance of seriously compromising on public transport rather than on road building expansion, improved air quality in Mexico City can only be moderately achieved. Descriptors: air quality management (1990-2005), road vehicle emissions, private cars, Mexico City. * Articulo recibido el 27 de abril de 2007 y aceptado el 3 de agosto de 2007. Paper presented at Urban Governance in Global Perspective International Workshop , University of Southern California, United States of America, September 17-18, 2004. It has been revised and updated for publication purposes. ** First degree in Law (UNAM, Mexico); MA in Public Administration (University of Exeter, England); PhD (London School of Economics, University of London, United Kingdom). Currently, full-time researcher at the Institute of Legal Research (UNAM, Mexico). * Nota: Debido que la traduccion es automatica podra ser inexacta o contener errores.

From traffic flow simulations to pollutant concentrations in street canyons and backyards

Air pollution concentrations were computed in street canyons and backyards by means of an integrated modelling approach, consisting in the coupling of a street canyon model (OSPM) and a Gaussian model (IFDM). OSPM calculates the contribution of traffic emissions inside a particular street, whereas IFDM computes the background contributions, including the concentration levels caused by the surrounding streets, industrial stacks and domestic heating within a domain with a 20–30 km radius. Both models have been integrated into a new computer program. The coupled system was validated for NO 2 and PM 10 concentrations in the city of Antwerp and was applied for scenario calculations in a city quarter in Ghent, Belgium. For the scenario calculations, the traffic emissions were obtained dynamically from the traffic simulation model PARAMICS, in combination with emission measurements. For each time step and for each car, the emissions of 5 pollutants (PM, VOC, NO x, VOC and CO 2) were calculated depending on the car's category, speed and acceleration. Results show that stringent European emission standards for new vehicles will lead to reductions up to 70% in 2010. Local mobility plans show only a very limited effect. The results (time series, percentiles, yearly averages) allow a quick evaluation of the urban air quality situation with respect to the EU directives on ambient air quality assessment and management.

Environmental impacts of distributed energy systems—The case of micro cogeneration

Distributed generation in micro cogeneration systems, e.g. reciprocating or Stirling engines and fuel cells, is of increasing interest in the energy market. This paper investigates environmental impacts of micro cogeneration by carrying out a detailed life cycle assessment and an analysis of local air quality impacts of micro cogeneration systems. Most micro cogeneration systems are superior, as far as the reduction of GHG emissions is concerned, not only to average electricity and heat supply, but also to state-of-the art separate production of electricity in gas power plants and heat in condensing boilers. The GHG advantages of micro cogeneration plants are comparable to district heating with CHP. Under the assumption that gas condensing boilers are the competing heat-supply technology, all technologies are within a very narrow range. Looking at the GHG reduction potential on the level of a supply object (e.g. a single-family house) by modeling the operation with a CHP optimization tool, the achievable mitigation potential is somewhat lower, because the micro cogeneration systems do not supply the whole energy demand. Here, fuel cells offer the advantage of a higher power-to-heat ratio. Environmental impacts other than those related to climate and resource protection relate more specifically to technology. In addition to investigating the emissions side, analysis of the air quality situation of a residential area supplied by reciprocating engines was carried out. The analysis shows that for the selected conditions, the additional emission of NOx due to the engines do not create severe additional environmental impacts.

Air Quality Survey Carried Out by Schoolchildren: An Innovative Tool for Urban Planning

An educational project on biological monitoring of air quality was launched in 2004 to involve about 650 young students (age 6 to 16) from 21 schools of nine municipalities in Tuscany (Central Italy) in active detection of the crucial pollutant ozone with indicator sensitive tobacco seedlings. Results implied the reading of 9,300 raw biological figures and were fortified by the data captured by six photometric analysers. Under the guidance of their teachers, the students had several opportunities to practice with many basic and applied study areas and were initiated into the scientific method in a simple and absorbing manner. Curiosity and involvement were widespread; a sort of emotional and responsible relationship was developed by several pupils. Though primarily an educational exercise, the survey introduced a research element and the regional picture of air pollution that emerged has increased our knowledge of the air quality situation in the area. Biological monitoring of air quality is a powerful tool to improve the awareness and involvement in key topics of environmental education. In addition, it represents a crucial element for improving the awareness of problems and implies the active participation of citizens in the assessment of several indicators of the state of the environment. Its potential as a robust implement in landscape and urban planning is noteworthy.

Data mining to aid policy making in air pollution management

Abstract In the past two decades, the heavy environmental loading has led to the deterioration of air quality in Taiwan. The task of controlling and improving air quality has attracted a great deal of national attention. The Taiwanese government has since set up the National Air Quality Monitoring Network (TAQMN) to monitor nationwide air quality and adopted an array of measures to combat this problem. This study applies data mining to uncover the hidden knowledge of air pollution distribution in the voluminous data retrieved from monitoring stations in TAQMN. The mining process consists of data acquisition from Web sites of 71 data gathering stations nationwide, data pre-processing using multi-scale wavelet transforms, data pattern identification using cluster analysis, and final analysis in mapping the identified clusters to geographical locations. The application of multi-scale wavelet transforms contributes greatly in removing noises and identifying the trend of data. In addition, the proposed two-level self-organization map neural network demonstrates its ability in identifying clusters on the high-dimensional wavelet-transformed space. The identified distribution of suspended particulate PM10 represents a complete, national picture of the present air quality situation, which contrasts the present pollution districts, and could serve as an important reference for government agencies in evaluating present and devising future air pollution policies.

A Comparative Analysis of the Air Quality Management Challenges and Capabilities in Urban and Rural English Local Authorities

Local authorities in Great Britain have (in the main) completed their air quality review and assessments, the aim of the process being the identification of local hotspots where national air quality objectives are not likely to be met. Across Great Britain approximately 120 Air Quality Management Areas are in the process of being declared. Local authorities, in partnership with others, are required to write and implement an action plan outlining remedial measures to improve the air quality situation in these areas. This paper compares and contrasts the challenges facing urban and rural authorities in carrying out these responsibilities. The capabilities of urban, rural and those authorities defined as 'mixed' in implementing the review and assessment process also are discussed. The data presented indicate that, although urban authorities appear to be facing greater and more complex air quality challenges, rural areas are not without their own air quality challenges. The issues facing urban authorities are different from those facing their more rural counterparts. It is hypothesised that urban authorities have more effective frameworks in place for tackling the challenges of air quality action planning. This hypothesis is tested by questionnaire surveys and in the context of an urban and a rural case-study authority.

Natural gas reserves/total energy consumption: A useful new ratio for addressing global climate change concerns

Energy analysts have used the reserves/production ratios for oil and natural gas for decades as indicators of the ability of countries to maintain or increase their production of those fuels. The global community is now faced with the challenge of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from a variety of sources, with the energy sector being the largest contributor to the anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. Natural gas has emerged as a highly desirable fuel, since it produces lower emissions of carbon dioxide than coal or oil for equivalent amounts of energy supplied. The ratio of a country's proven natural gas reserves to its total energy consumption is a good indicator of its ability to improve its air quality situation or address greenhouse gas reduction targets from domestic natural gas sources. This paper provides the ratio for several countries at different stages of development, and discusses some of the implications. In countries where exploration for natural gas has been limited, the estimated resources in place may sometimes be a more useful indicator than proven reserves, and could be used instead.

From national emission totals to regional ambient air quality information for Austria

This paper describes a method to calculate the spatial variability of the expected annual average ambient air concentration of NO x using standard NO x emission inventories. As the first step, countrywide NO x emission inventories were spatially disaggregated into emission-relevant areas. Pollutant dispersion from emission grids into the neighboring receptor grids was calculated using source-specific dispersion profiles. Comparison of model results with data from the air monitoring network has shown that the model reflects well the overall NO x air quality situation in Austria. There are no major contradictions between model results and observations and the uncertainties are in an acceptable range. Deviations between model results and monitoring data are within ±15 μg/m 3, which is low given the many assumptions needed to establish the model. In many cases, deviations between model results and monitoring data could be explained by the fact that monitoring sites do not represent the overall air quality situation in the wider neighborhood. However, model results do usually better reflect the average situation in its model grid area. These results confirm that emission inventories can indeed be used to estimate the small-scale regional long-term average air quality. This work explores the possibility of using existing standard emission inventory data to estimate the regional ambient air pollution situation with the help of GIS tools. Such modeling is useful to supplement ambient air monitoring networks. While monitoring networks give accurate short-term information about the particular air quality situation at a fixed location, modeling results allow an overall assessment of the long-term average regional variability in larger areas. This method does not take into account meteorological influences and stochastic situations, therefore, it cannot predict the actual extent and the locations of short-term high pollutant concentrations. However, the model is useful to identify regional long-term air pollution ‘hotspots’. It can also be used to improve the siting of air pollution monitoring networks in regions of particular importance. If ambient air monitoring data are available, the model results can be used to verify emission inventory data. Finally — as the number of air pollutants covered in emission inventories is much larger than the number of air pollutants measured in monitoring networks — the model can also be used to estimate the regional ambient air pollution for substances for which no monitoring data are available.

Identifying the effect of individual emissions sources on particulate air quality within a photochemical aerosol processes trajectory model

A procedure is demonstrated that greatly expands the number of sources whose contribution to ambient particle levels can be followed separately within an aerosol processes trajectory model without significantly increasing the computational burden of the problem. Particles emitted from different sources within the same general class can be differentiated from each other with this technique; for example particles emitted by on-road diesel vehicles can be distinguished from particles emitted by diesel railroad locomotives, and particles emitted from identical sources at different locations can be distinguished from each other as well. The method developed is illustrated by application to the air quality situation in Southern California. The contributions of more than 50 types of air pollution sources to primary particle concentrations at Claremont, CA, are separated from each other by post-processing the output from the aerosol processes trajectory model for an externally mixed aerosol developed previously by Kleeman and Cass (1998, Atmospheric Environment 32, 2803–2816; 1999 Environmental Science and Technology, 33, 177–189).

Modeling the long-term frequency distribution of regional ozone concentrations

Efficient methods are developed for modeling emissions – air quality relationships that govern ozone and NO 2 concentrations over very long periods of time. A baseline model evaluation study is conducted to assess the accuracy and speed with which the relationship between pollutant emissions and the frequency distribution of O 3 concentrations throughout the year can be computed along with annual average NO 2 values using a deterministic photochemical airshed model driven by automated objective analysis of measured meteorological parameters. Methods developed are illustrated by application to the air quality situation that exists in Southern California. Model performance statistics for O 3 are similar to the results obtained in previous short-term episodic model evaluation studies that were based on hand-crafted meteorological inputs that are supplemented by expensive field measurement campaigns. Model predictions at one of the highest NO 2 concentration sites in the US indicate that measured violation of the US annual average NO 2 air quality standard at that site occurs because other species such as HNO 3 and PAN are measured as if they were NO 2 by the chemiluminescent NO x monitors in current use.

Managing Complexity Through Methodic Participation: The Case of Air Quality in Santiago, Chile

Three concrete results have been achieved over a 5-year period in Santiago, Chile, in a process addressed to managing through participation the difficult air quality situation of this 5-million-person metropolis: (1) a highly complex problem has become manageable, (2) a legitimate and effective Prevention and Decontamination Plan is in operation, and (3) citizens and the government are mutually committed to this process. This paper describes how these results have been achieved by applying Innovative Development, a social systems methodology developed by the author and co-workers and applied in many fields over the last 20 years. Following a review of the problem and results that have been achieved, an explanation is offered for why a participative methodology is necessary for dealing with a highly complex problem like the current one. The fourth section provides a brief outline of the Innovative Development methodology. The last section presents the case itself, describing three stages. In the short space available we have tried to balance the practical, methodological, and conceptual issues of this case and this approach.

A Numerical Model for Chemical and Meteorological Processes in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer. Part II: A Case Study of the Air Quality Situation in Athens, Greece

Abstract A three-dimensional coupled mesoscale meteorological and photochemical model has been applied to the Athens basin in Greece. The Athens area experiences episodes of very high air pollution levels a few times every year. A severe episode on 25 May 1990 was chosen for this study. On this day a high pressure system was situated over Greece, and the synoptic forcing was weak. A sea breeze developed in the basin during the day, and the pollutants were transported out of the basin through the gaps between the mountains to the north and northeast. A northward gradient in ozone concentration was present both in the observations and the model results. Unhealthily high concentrations of nitric oxides and hydrocarbons built up during the night, when it was stably stratified and the wind speeds were low. Variations in parameters, such as terrain influence and deposition processes, are performed to illustrate the sensitivity of the model results. Deposition is shown to be important for the results, although t...

The Motor Vehicle's Contribution towards Achieving Improvement in Air Quality

The air-quality situation in Europe in relation to automobile exhaust emissions is described. In addition the European exhaust emission legislation and the consequences to engine concepts are discussed.