Sample records for air quality meteorology

  1. Long-term Changes in Extreme Air Pollution Meteorology and the Implications for Air Quality.

    PubMed

    Hou, Pei; Wu, Shiliang

    2016-03-31

    Extreme air pollution meteorological events, such as heat waves, temperature inversions and atmospheric stagnation episodes, can significantly affect air quality. Based on observational data, we have analyzed the long-term evolution of extreme air pollution meteorology on the global scale and their potential impacts on air quality, especially the high pollution episodes. We have identified significant increasing trends for the occurrences of extreme air pollution meteorological events in the past six decades, especially over the continental regions. Statistical analysis combining air quality data and meteorological data further indicates strong sensitivities of air quality (including both average air pollutant concentrations and high pollution episodes) to extreme meteorological events. For example, we find that in the United States the probability of severe ozone pollution when there are heat waves could be up to seven times of the average probability during summertime, while temperature inversions in wintertime could enhance the probability of severe particulate matter pollution by more than a factor of two. We have also identified significant seasonal and spatial variations in the sensitivity of air quality to extreme air pollution meteorology.

  2. Atmospheric Model Evaluation Tool for meteorological and air quality simulations

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Atmospheric Model Evaluation Tool compares model predictions to observed data from various meteorological and air quality observation networks to help evaluate meteorological and air quality simulations.

  3. Impact of inherent meteorology uncertainty on air quality ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    It is well established that there are a number of different classifications and sources of uncertainties in environmental modeling systems. Air quality models rely on two key inputs, namely, meteorology and emissions. When using air quality models for decision making, it is important to understand how uncertainties in these inputs affect the simulated concentrations. Ensembles are one method to explore how uncertainty in meteorology affects air pollution concentrations. Most studies explore this uncertainty by running different meteorological models or the same model with different physics options and in some cases combinations of different meteorological and air quality models. While these have been shown to be useful techniques in some cases, we present a technique that leverages the initial condition perturbations of a weather forecast ensemble, namely, the Short-Range Ensemble Forecast system to drive the four-dimensional data assimilation in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model with a key focus being the response of ozone chemistry and transport. Results confirm that a sizable spread in WRF solutions, including common weather variables of temperature, wind, boundary layer depth, clouds, and radiation, can cause a relatively large range of ozone-mixing ratios. Pollutant transport can be altered by hundreds of kilometers over several days. Ozone-mixing ratios of the ensemble can vary as much as 10–20 ppb

  4. Meteorological Processes Affecting Air Quality – Research and Model Development Needs

    EPA Science Inventory

    Meteorology modeling is an important component of air quality modeling systems that defines the physical and dynamical environment for atmospheric chemistry. The meteorology models used for air quality applications are based on numerical weather prediction models that were devel...

  5. Future directions of meteorology related to air-quality research.

    PubMed

    Seaman, Nelson L

    2003-06-01

    Meteorology is one of the major factors contributing to air-pollution episodes. More accurate representation of meteorological fields has been possible in recent years through the use of remote sensing systems, high-speed computers and fine-mesh meteorological models. Over the next 5-20 years, better meteorological inputs for air quality studies will depend on making better use of a wealth of new remotely sensed observations in more advanced data assimilation systems. However, for fine mesh models to be successful, parameterizations used to represent physical processes must be redesigned to be more precise and better adapted for the scales at which they will be applied. Candidates for significant overhaul include schemes to represent turbulence, deep convection, shallow clouds, and land-surface processes. Improvements in the meteorological observing systems, data assimilation and modeling, coupled with advancements in air-chemistry modeling, will soon lead to operational forecasting of air quality in the US. Predictive capabilities can be expected to grow rapidly over the next decade. This will open the way for a number of valuable new services and strategies, including better warnings of unhealthy atmospheric conditions, event-dependent emissions restrictions, and now casting support for homeland security in the event of toxic releases into the atmosphere.

  6. Impact of inherent meteorology uncertainty on air quality model predictions

    EPA Science Inventory

    It is well established that there are a number of different classifications and sources of uncertainties in environmental modeling systems. Air quality models rely on two key inputs, namely, meteorology and emissions. When using air quality models for decision making, it is impor...

  7. Linking Meteorology, Air Quality Models and Observations to ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Epidemiologic studies are critical in establishing the association between exposure to air pollutants and adverse health effects. Results of epidemiologic studies are used by U.S. EPA in developing air quality standards to protect the public from the health effects of air pollutants. A major challenge in environmental epidemiology is adequate exposure characterization. Numerous health studies have used measurements from a few central-site ambient monitors to characterize air pollution exposures. Relying solely on central-site ambient monitors does not account for the spatial-heterogeneity of ambient air pollution patterns, the temporal variability in ambient concentrations, nor the influence of infiltration and indoor sources. Central-site monitoring becomes even more problematic for certain air pollutants that exhibit significant spatial heterogeneity. Statistical interpolation techniques and passive monitoring methods can provide additional spatial resolution in ambient concentration estimates. In addition, spatio-temporal models, which integrate GIS data and other factors, such as meteorology, have also been developed to produce more resolved estimates of ambient concentrations. Models, such as the Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, estimate ambient concentrations by combining information on meteorology, source emissions, and chemical-fate and transport. Hybrid modeling approaches, which integrate regional scale models with local scale dispersion

  8. Influence of meteorological parameters on air quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gioda, Adriana; Ventura, Luciana; Lima, Igor; Luna, Aderval

    2013-04-01

    The physical characterization representative of ambient air particle concentrations is becoming a topic of great interest for urban air quality monitoring and human exposure assessment. Human exposure to particulate matter of less than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) can result in a variety of adverse health impacts, including reduced lung function and premature mortality. Numerous studies have shown that fine airborne inhalable particulate matter particles (PM2.5) are more dangerous to human health than coarse particles, e.g. PM10. This study investigates meteorological parameter impacts on PM2.5 concentrations in the atmosphere of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Samples were collected during 24 h every six days using a high-volume sampler from six sites in the metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro from January to December 2011. The particles mass was determined by Gravimetry. Meteorological parameters were obtained from automatic stations near the sampling sites. The average PM2.5 concentrations ranged from 9 to 32 µg/m3 for all sites, exceeding the suggested annual limit of WHO (10 µg/m3). The relationship between the effects of temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction and particle concentration was examined using a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) for the different sites and seasons. The results for each sampling point and season presented different principal component numbers, varying from 2 to 4, and extremely different relationships with the parameters. This clearly shows that changes in meteorological conditions exert a marked influence on air quality.

  9. Impact of High Resolution Land-Use Data in Meteorology and Air Quality Modeling Systems

    EPA Science Inventory

    Accurate land use information is important in meteorology for land surface exchanges, in emission modeling for emission spatial allocation, and in air quality modeling for chemical surface fluxes. Currently, meteorology, emission, and air quality models often use outdated USGS Gl...

  10. Feedbacks between Air-Quality, Meteorology, and the Forest Environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Makar, Paul; Akingunola, Ayodeji; Stroud, Craig; Zhang, Junhua; Gong, Wanmin; Moran, Michael; Zheng, Qiong; Brook, Jeffrey; Sills, David

    2017-04-01

    The outcome of air quality forecasts depend in part on how the local environment surrounding the emissions regions influences chemical reaction rates and transport from those regions to the larger spatial scales. Forested areas alter atmospheric chemistry through reducing photolysis rates and vertical diffusivities within the forest canopy. The emitted pollutants, and their reaction products, are in turn capable of altering meteorology, through the well-known direct and indirect effects of particulate matter on radiative transfer. The combination of these factors was examined using version 2 of the Global Environmental Multiscale - Modelling Air-quality and CHemistry (GEM-MACH) on-line air pollution model. The model configuration used for this study included 12 aerosol size bins, eight aerosol species, homogeneous core Mie scattering, the Milbrandt-Yao two-moment cloud microphysics scheme with cloud condensation nuclei generated from model aerosols using the scheme of Abdul-Razzak and Ghan, and a new parameterization for forest canopy shading and turbulence. The model was nested to 2.5km resolution for a domain encompassing the lower Great Lakes, for simulations of a period in August of 2015 during the Pan American Games, held in Toronto, Canada. Four scenarios were carried out: (1) a "Base Case" scenario (the original model, in which coupling between chemistry and weather is not permitted; instead, the meteorological model's internal climatologies for aerosol optical and cloud condensation properties are used for direct and indirect effect calculations); (2) a "Feedback" scenario (the aerosol properties were derived from the internally simulated chemistry, and coupled to the meteorological model's radiative transfer and cloud formation modules); (3) a "Forest" scenario (canopy shading and turbulence were added to the Base Case); (4) a "Combined" scenario (including both direct and indirect effect coupling between meteorology and chemistry, as well as the forest

  11. Improvement of Meteorological Inputs for TexAQS-II Air Quality Simulations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ngan, F.; Byun, D.; Kim, H.; Cheng, F.; Kim, S.; Lee, D.

    2008-12-01

    An air quality forecasting system (UH-AQF) for Eastern Texas, which is in operation by the Institute for Multidimensional Air Quality Studies (IMAQS) at the University of Houston, uses the Fifth-Generation PSU/NCAR Mesoscale Model MM5 model as the meteorological driver for modeling air quality with the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. While the forecasting system was successfully used for the planning and implementation of various measurement activities, evaluations of the forecasting results revealed a few systematic problems in the numerical simulations. From comparison with observations, we observe some times over-prediction of northerly winds caused by inaccurate synoptic inputs and other times too strong southerly winds caused by local sea breeze development. Discrepancies in maximum and minimum temperature are also seen for certain days. Precipitation events, as well as clouds, are simulated at the incorrect locations and times occasionally. Model simulatednrealistic thunderstorms are simulated, causing sometimes cause unrealistically strong outflows. To understand physical and chemical processes influencing air quality measures, a proper description of real world meteorological conditions is essential. The objective of this study is to generate better meteorological inputs than the AQF results to support the chemistry modeling. We utilized existing objective analysis and nudging tools in the MM5 system to develop the MUltiscale Nest-down Data Assimilation System (MUNDAS), which incorporates extensive meteorological observations available in the simulated domain for the retrospective simulation of the TexAQS-II period. With the re-simulated meteorological input, we are able to better predict ozone events during TexAQS-II period. In addition, base datasets in MM5 such as land use/land cover, vegetation fraction, soil type and sea surface temperature are updated by satellite data to represent the surface features more accurately. They are key

  12. Sources of Virginia meteorological and air quality data for use in highway air quality analysis with comments on their usefulness.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1975-01-01

    The preparation of accurate air quality analysis portions of highway environmental impact statements requires valid meteorological and air quality data. These data are needed, in part, to determine the regional and local wind patterns on which pollut...

  13. Technology Needs Assessment of an Atmospheric Observation System for Multidisciplinary Air Quality/Meteorology Missions, Part 2

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Alvarado, U. R.; Bortner, M. H.; Grenda, R. N.; Brehm, W. F.; Frippel, G. G.; Alyea, F.; Kraiman, H.; Folder, P.; Krowitz, L.

    1982-01-01

    The technology advancements that will be necessary to implement the atmospheric observation systems are considered. Upper and lower atmospheric air quality and meteorological parameters necessary to support the air quality investigations were included. The technology needs were found predominantly in areas related to sensors and measurements of air quality and meteorological measurements.

  14. Meteorological determinants of air quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Turoldo, F.; Del Frate, S.; Gallai, I.; Giaiotti, D. B.; Montanari, F.; Stel, F.; Goi, D.

    2010-09-01

    Air quality is the result of complex phenomena, among which the major role is played by human emissions of pollutants. Atmospheric processes act as determinants, e.g., modulating, dumping or amplifying the effects of emissions as an orchestra's director does with musical instruments. In this work, a series of small-scale and meso-scale meteorological determinants of air-quality are presented as they are observed in an area characterized by complex orography (Friuli Venezia Giulia, in the north-eastern side of Italy). In particular, attention is devoted to: i) meso-scale flows favouring the persistence of high concentrations of particulate matter; ii) meso-scale periodic flows (breezes) favouring high values of particulate matter; iii) local-scale thermodynamic behaviour favouring high atmospheric values of nitrogen oxides. The effects of these different classes of determinants are shown through comparisons between anthropic emissions (mainly traffic) and ground-based measurements. The relevance of complex orography (relatively steep relieves near to the sea) is shown for the meso-scale flows and, in particular, for local-scale periodic flows, which favour the increase of high pollutants concentrations mainly in summer, when the breezes regime is particularly relevant. Part of these results have been achieved through the ETS - Alpine Space EU project iMONITRAF!

  15. A FEDERATED PARTNERSHIP FOR URBAN METEOROLOGICAL AND AIR QUALITY MODELING

    EPA Science Inventory

    Recently, applications of urban meteorological and air quality models have been performed at resolutions on the order of km grid sizes. This necessitated development and incorporation of high resolution landcover data and additional boundary layer parameters that serve to descri...

  16. Atmospheric Boundary Layer Modeling for Combined Meteorology and Air Quality Systems

    EPA Science Inventory

    Atmospheric Eulerian grid models for mesoscale and larger applications require sub-grid models for turbulent vertical exchange processes, particularly within the Planetary Boundary Layer (PSL). In combined meteorology and air quality modeling systems consistent PSL modeling of wi...

  17. MODELED MESOSCALE METEOROLOGICAL FIELDS WITH FOUR-DIMENSIONAL DATA ASSIMILATION IN REGIONAL SCALE AIR QUALITY MODELS

    EPA Science Inventory

    This paper addresses the need to increase the temporal and spatial resolution of meteorological data currently used in air quality simulation models, AQSMs. ransport and diffusion parameters including mixing heights and stability used in regulatory air quality dispersion models a...

  18. Air Quality and Meteorological Boundary Conditions during the MCMA-2003 Field Campaign

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sosa, G.; Arriaga, J.; Vega, E.; Magaña, V.; Caetano, E.; de Foy, B.; Molina, L. T.; Molina, M. J.; Ramos, R.; Retama, A.; Zaragoza, J.; Martínez, A. P.; Márquez, C.; Cárdenas, B.; Lamb, B.; Velasco, E.; Allwine, E.; Pressley, S.; Westberg, H.; Reyes, R.

    2004-12-01

    A comprehensive field campaign to characterize photochemical smog in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) was conducted during April 2003. An important number of equipment was deployed all around the urban core and its surroundings to measure gas and particles composition from the various sources and receptor sites. In addition to air quality measurements, meteorology variables were also taken by regular weather meteorological stations, tethered balloons, radiosondes, sodars and lidars. One important issue with regard to the field campaign was the characterization of the boundary conditions in order to feed meteorological and air quality models. Four boundary sites were selected to measure continuously criteria pollutants, VOC and meteorological variables at surface level. Vertical meteorological profiles were measured at three other sites : radiosondes in Tacubaya site were launched every six hours daily; tethered balloons were launched at CENICA and FES-Cuautitlan sites according to the weather conditions, and one sodar was deployed at UNAM site in the south of the city. Additionally to these measurements, two fixed meteorological monitoring networks deployed along the city were available to complement these measurements. In general, we observed that transport of pollutants from the city to the boundary sites changes every day, according to the coupling between synoptic and local winds. This effect were less important at elevated sites such as Cerro de la Catedral and ININ, where synoptic wind were more dominant during the field campaign. Also, local sources nearby boundary sites hide the influence of pollution coming from the city some days, particularly at the La Reforma site.

  19. AN INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO ADDRESSING NEIGHBORHOOD SCALE AIR QUALITY CONCERNS: THE INTEGRATION OF GIS, URBAN MORPHOLOGY, PREDICTIVE METEOROLOGY, AND AIR QUALITY MONITORING TOOLS

    EPA Science Inventory

    The paper describes a project that combines the capabilities of urban geography, raster-based GIS, predictive meteorological and air pollutant diffusion modeling, to support a neighborhood-scale air quality monitoring pilot study under the U.S. EPA EMPACT Program. The study ha...

  20. [Study on air quality and pollution meteorology conditions of Guangzhou during the 2010 Asian games].

    PubMed

    Li, Ting-Yuan; Deng, Xue-Jiao; Fan, Shao-Jia; Wu, Dui; Li, Fei; Deng, Tao; Tan, Hao-Bo; Jiang, De-Hai

    2012-09-01

    Based on the monitoring data of NO2, O3, SO2, PM, visibility, regional air quality index (RAQI) and the atmospheric transport and diffusion data from Nov. 4, 2010 to Dec. 10, 2010 in Guangzhou area, the variations of air quality and meteorological conditions during the Guangzhou Asian Games were analyzed. It was found that, during the Asian Games, the air quality was better than the air quality before or after the Asian Games. The visibility was greater than the visibility before or after the Asian Games, while the concentrations of PM1 and PM2.5 were lower. The correlation coefficient between visibility and the concentrations of PM1, PM2.5 indicated anti-correlation relationships. Daily and hourly concentrations of NO2 and SO2 met the primary ambient air quality standards, whereas the daily concentration of PM10 and hourly concentration of O3 met the secondary ambient air quality standards. Pollutants had been well controlled during the Asian Games. The concentration of SO2 in Guangzhou was influenced by local sources and long distance transmission, while the concentration of NO2 was significantly influenced by local sources. The emissions of NO2, SO2 and PM10 surrounding Guangzhou had a trend to affect the concentrations in Guangzhou, but the situation of O3 was opposite, the relatively high concentration of O3 in Guangzhou had tendency to be transported to the surrounding areas. The pollution meteorology conditions in the period of Asian Games were better than the conditions before or after the Asian Games. The decrease in the concentrations during the Asian Games did not only benefit from the emission control by the government, but also from the good meteorological conditions.

  1. Effects of future land use and ecosystem changes on boundary-layer meteorology and air quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tai, A. P. K.; Wang, L.; Sadeke, M.

    2017-12-01

    Land vegetation plays key roles shaping boundary-layer meteorology and air quality via various pathways. Vegetation can directly affect surface ozone via dry deposition and biogenic emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Transpiration from land plants can also influence surface temperature, soil moisture and boundary-layer mixing depth, thereby indirectly affecting surface ozone. Future changes in the distribution, density and physiology of vegetation are therefore expected to have major ramifications for surface ozone air quality. In our study, we examine two aspects of potential vegetation changes using the Community Earth System Model (CESM) in the fully coupled land-atmosphere configuration, and evaluate their implications on meteorology and air quality: 1) land use change, which alters the distribution of plant functional types and total leaf density; and 2) ozone damage on vegetation, which alters leaf density and physiology (e.g., stomatal resistance). We find that, following the RCP8.5 scenario for 2050, global cropland expansion induces only minor changes in surface ozone in tropical and subtropical regions, but statistically significant changes by up to +4 ppbv in midlatitude North America and East Asia, mostly due to higher surface temperature that enhances biogenic VOC emissions, and reduced dry deposition to a lesser degree. These changes are in turn to driven mostly by meteorological changes that include a shift from latent to sensible heat in the surface energy balance and reduced soil moisture, reflecting not only local responses but also a northward expansion of the Hadley Cell. On the other hand, ozone damage on vegetation driven by rising anthropogenic emissions is shown to induce a further enhancement of ozone by up to +6 ppbv in midlatitude regions by 2050. This reflects a strong localized positive feedback, with severe ozone damage in polluted regions generally inducing stomatal closure, which in turn reduces transpiration, increases

  2. Air Modeling - Observational Meteorological Data

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Observed meteorological data for use in air quality modeling consist of physical parameters that are measured directly by instrumentation, and include temperature, dew point, wind direction, wind speed, cloud cover, cloud layer(s), ceiling height,

  3. Modeling the impacts of green infrastructure land use changes on air quality and meteorology case study and sensitivity analysis in Kansas City

    EPA Science Inventory

    Changes in vegetation cover associated with urban planning efforts may affect regional meteorology and air quality. Here we use a comprehensive coupled meteorology-air quality model (WRF-CMAQ) to simulate the influence of planned land use changes from green infrastructure impleme...

  4. Utility of NCEP Operational and Emerging Meteorological Models for Driving Air Quality Prediction

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McQueen, J.; Huang, J.; Huang, H. C.; Shafran, P.; Lee, P.; Pan, L.; Sleinkofer, A. M.; Stajner, I.; Upadhayay, S.; Tallapragada, V.

    2017-12-01

    Operational air quality predictions for the United States (U. S.) are provided at NOAA by the National Air Quality Forecasting Capability (NAQFC). NAQFC provides nationwide operational predictions of ozone and particulate matter twice per day (at 06 and 12 UTC cycles) at 12 km resolution and 1 hour time intervals through 48 hours and distributed at http://airquality.weather.gov. The NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) operational North American Mesoscale (NAM) 12 km weather prediction is used to drive the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. In 2017, the NAM was upgraded in part to reduce a warm 2m temperature bias in Summer (V4). At the same time CMAQ was updated to V5.0.2. Both versions of the models were run in parallel for several months. Therefore the impact of improvements from the atmospheric chemistry model versus upgrades with the weather prediction model could be assessed. . Improvements to CMAQ were related to improvements to improvements in NAM 2 m temperature bias through increasing the opacity of clouds and reducing downward shortwave radiation resulted in reduced ozone photolysis. Higher resolution operational NWP models have recently been introduced as part of the NCEP modeling suite. These include the NAM CONUS Nest (3 km horizontal resolution) run four times per day through 60 hours and the High Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR, 3 km) run hourly out to 18 hours. In addition, NCEP with other NOAA labs has begun to develop and test the Next Generation Global Prediction System (NGGPS) based on the FV3 global model. This presentation also overviews recent developments with operational numerical weather prediction and evaluates the ability of these models for predicting low level temperatures, clouds and capturing boundary layer processes important for driving air quality prediction in complex terrain. The assessed meteorological model errors could help determine the magnitude of possible pollutant errors from CMAQ if used

  5. One multi-media environmental system with linkage between meteorology/ hydrology/ air quality models and water quality model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tang, C.; Lynch, J. A.; Dennis, R. L.

    2016-12-01

    The biogeochemical processing of nitrogen and associated pollutants is driven by meteorological and hydrological processes in conjunction with pollutant loading. There are feedbacks between meteorology and hydrology that will be affected by land-use change and climate change. Changes in meteorology will affect pollutant deposition. It is important to account for those feedbacks and produce internally consistent simulations of meteorology, hydrology, and pollutant loading to drive the (watershed/water quality) biogeochemical models. In this study, the ecological response to emission reductions in streams in the Potomac watershed was evaluated. Firstly, we simulated the deposition by using the fully coupled Weather Research & Forecasting (WRF) model and the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CAMQ) model; secondly, we created the hydrological data by the offline linked Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model and the WRF model. Lastly, we investigated the water quality by one comprehensive/environment model, namely the linkage of CMAQ, WRF, VIC and the Model of Acidification of Groundwater In Catchment (MAGIC) model from 2002 to 2010.The simulated results (such as NO3, SO4, and SBC) fit well to the observed values. The linkage provides a generally accurate, well-tested tool for evaluating sensitivities to varying meteorology and environmental changes on acidification and other biogeochemical processes, with capability to comprehensively explore strategic policy and management design.

  6. Meteorological and urban landscape factors on severe air pollution in Beijing.

    PubMed

    Han, Lijian; Zhou, Weiqi; Li, Weifeng; Meshesha, Derege T; Li, Li; Zheng, Mingqing

    2015-07-01

    Air pollution gained special attention with the rapid development in Beijing. In January 2013, Beijing experienced extreme air pollution, which was not well examined. We thus examine the magnitude of air quality in the particular month by applying the air quality index (AQI), which is based on the newly upgraded Chinese environmental standard. Our finding revealed that (1) air quality has distinct spatial heterogeneity and relatively better air quality was observed in the northwest while worse quality happened in the southeast part of the city; (2) the wind speed is the main determinant of air quality in the city-when wind speed is greater than 4 m/sec, air quality can be significantly improved; and (3) urban impervious surface makes a contribution to the severity of air pollution-that is, with an increase in the fraction of impervious surface in a given area, air pollution is more severe. The results from our study demonstrated the severe pollution in Beijing and its meteorological and landscape factors. Also, the results of this work suggest that very strict air quality management should be conducted when wind speed less than 4 m/sec, especially at places with a large fraction of urban impervious surface. Prevention of air pollution is rare among methods with controls on meteorological and urban landscape conditions. We present research that utilizes the latest air quality index (AQI) to compare air pollution with meteorological and landscape conditions. We found that wind is the major meteorological factor that determines the air quality. For a given wind speed greater than 4 m/sec, the air quality improved significantly. Urban impervious surface also contributes to the severe air pollution: that is, when the fraction of impervious surface increases, there is more severe air pollution. These results suggest that air quality management should be conducted when wind speed is less than 4 m/sec, especially at places with a larger fraction of urban impervious surface.

  7. QUALITY ASSURANCE HANDBOOK FOR AIR POLLUTION MEASUREMENT SYSTEMS: VOLUME IV - METEOROLOGICAL MEASUREMENTS (REVISED - AUGUST 1994)

    EPA Science Inventory

    Procedures on installing, acceptance testing, operating, maintaining and quality assuring three types of ground-based, upper air meteorological measurement systems are described. he limitations and uncertainties in precision and accuracy measurements associated with these systems...

  8. Development of the Next Generation Air Quality Modeling System (20th Joint Conference on the Applications of Air Pollution Meteorology with the A&WMA)

    EPA Science Inventory

    A next generation air quality modeling system is being developed at the U.S. EPA to enable modeling of air quality from global to regional to (eventually) local scales. We envision that the system will have three configurations: 1. Global meteorology with seamless mesh refinemen...

  9. Meteorological and air quality impacts of increased urban albedo and vegetative cover in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Taha, Haider; Hammer, Hillel; Akbari, Hashem

    2002-04-30

    The study described in this report is part of a project sponsored by the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, performed at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, to assess the potential role of surface property modifications on energy, meteorology, and air quality in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Canada. Numerical models were used to establish the possible meteorological and ozone air-quality impacts of increased urban albedo and vegetative fraction, i.e., ''cool-city'' strategies that can mitigate the urban heat island (UHI), significantly reduce urban energy consumption, and improve thermal comfort, particularly during periods of hot weather in summer. Mitigation is even more important duringmore » critical heat wave periods with possible increased heat-related hospitalization and mortality. The evidence suggests that on an annual basis cool-city strategies are beneficial, and the implementation of such measures is currently being investigated in the U.S. and Canada. We simulated possible scenari os for urban heat-island mitigation in the GTA and investigated consequent meteorological changes, and also performed limited air-quality analysis to assess related impacts. The study was based on a combination of mesoscale meteorological modeling, Lagrangian (trajectory), and photochemical trajectory modeling to assess the potential meteorological and ozone air-quality impacts of cool-city strategies. As available air-quality and emissions data are incompatible with models currently in use at LBNL, our air-quality analysis was based on photochemical trajectory modeling. Because of questions as to the accuracy and appropriateness of this approach, in our opinion this aspect of the study can be improved in the future, and the air-quality results discussed in this report should be viewed as relatively qualitative. The MM5 meteorological model predicts a UHI in the order of 2 to 3 degrees C in locations of maxima, and about 1 degree C as a typical value over most of the urban

  10. The Impacts of Urbanization on Meteorology and Air Quality in the Los Angeles Basin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Li, Y.; Zhang, J.; Sailor, D.; Ban-Weiss, G. A.

    2017-12-01

    Urbanization has a profound influence on regional meteorology in mega cities like Los Angeles. This influence is driven by changes in land surface physical properties and urban processes, and their corresponding influence on surface-atmosphere coupling. Changes in meteorology from urbanization in turn influences air quality through weather-dependent chemical reaction, pollutant dispersion, etc. Hence, a real-world representation of the urban land surface properties and urban processes should be accurately resolved in regional climate-chemistry models for better understanding the role of urbanization on changing urban meteorology and associated pollutant dynamics. By incorporating high-resolution land surface data, previous research has improved model-observation comparisons of meteorology in urban areas including the Los Angeles basin, and indicated that historical urbanization has increased urban temperatures and altered wind flows significantly. However, the impact of urban expansion on air quality has been less studied. Thus, in this study, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness of resolving high-resolution heterogeneity in urban land surface properties and processes for regional weather and pollutant concentration predictions. We coupled the Weather Research and Forecasting model with Chemistry to the single-layer Urban Canopy Model to simulate a typical summer period in year 2012 for Southern California. Land cover type and urban fraction were determined from National Land Cover Data. MODIS observations were used to determine satellite-derived albedo, green vegetation fraction, and leaf area index. Urban morphology was determined from GIS datasets of 3D building geometries. An urban irrigation scheme was also implemented in the model. Our results show that the improved model captures the diurnal cycle of 2m air temperature (T2) and Ozone (O3) concentrations. However, it tends to overestimate wind speed and underestimate T2, which leads to an underestimation of O

  11. A NEW COMBINED LOCAL AND NON-LOCAL PBL MODEL FOR METEOROLOGY AND AIR QUALITY MODELING

    EPA Science Inventory

    A new version of the Asymmetric Convective Model (ACM) has been developed to describe sub-grid vertical turbulent transport in both meteorology models and air quality models. The new version (ACM2) combines the non-local convective mixing of the original ACM with local eddy diff...

  12. Traffic and meteorological impacts on near-road air quality: summary of methods and trends from the Raleigh Near-Road Study.

    PubMed

    Baldauf, Richard; Thoma, Eben; Hays, Michael; Shores, Richard; Kinsey, John; Gullett, Brian; Kimbrough, Sue; Isakov, Vlad; Long, Thomas; Snow, Richard; Khlystov, Andrey; Weinstein, Jason; Chen, Fu-Lin; Seila, Robert; Olson, David; Gilmour, Ian; Cho, Seung-Hyun; Watkins, Nealson; Rowley, Patricia; Bang, John

    2008-07-01

    A growing number of epidemiological studies conducted worldwide suggest an increase in the occurrence of adverse health effects in populations living, working, or going to school near major roadways. A study was designed to assess traffic emissions impacts on air quality and particle toxicity near a heavily traveled highway. In an attempt to describe the complex mixture of pollutants and atmospheric transport mechanisms affecting pollutant dispersion in this near-highway environment, several real-time and time-integrated sampling devices measured air quality concentrations at multiple distances and heights from the road. Pollutants analyzed included U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-regulated gases, particulate matter (coarse, fine, and ultrafine), and air toxics. Pollutant measurements were synchronized with real-time traffic and meteorological monitoring devices to provide continuous and integrated assessments of the variation of near-road air pollutant concentrations and particle toxicity with changing traffic and environmental conditions, as well as distance from the road. Measurement results demonstrated the temporal and spatial impact of traffic emissions on near-road air quality. The distribution of mobile source emitted gas and particulate pollutants under all wind and traffic conditions indicated a higher proportion of elevated concentrations near the road, suggesting elevated exposures for populations spending significant amounts of time in this microenvironment. Diurnal variations in pollutant concentrations also demonstrated the impact of traffic activity and meteorology on near-road air quality. Time-resolved measurements of multiple pollutants demonstrated that traffic emissions produced a complex mixture of criteria and air toxic pollutants in this microenvironment. These results provide a foundation for future assessments of these data to identify the relationship of traffic activity and meteorology on air quality concentrations and

  13. Urban air quality, meteorology and traffic linkages: Evidence from a sixteen-day particulate matter pollution event in December 2015, Beijing.

    PubMed

    Hu, Dongmei; Wu, Jianping; Tian, Kun; Liao, Lyuchao; Xu, Ming; Du, Yiman

    2017-09-01

    A heavy 16-day pollution episode occurred in Beijing from December 19, 2015 to January 3, 2016. The mean daily AQI and PM 2.5 were 240.44 and 203.6μg/m 3 . We analyzed the spatiotemporal characteristics of air pollutants, meteorology and road space speed during this period, then extended to reveal the combined effects of traffic restrictions and meteorology on urban air quality with observational data and a multivariate mutual information model. Results of spatiotemporal analysis showed that five pollution stages were identified with remarkable variation patterns based on evolution of PM 2.5 concentration and weather conditions. Southern sites (DX, YDM and DS) experienced heavier pollution than northern ones (DL, CP and WL). Stage P2 exhibited combined functions of meteorology and traffic restrictions which were delayed peak-clipping effects on PM 2.5 . Mutual information values of Air quality-Traffic-Meteorology (ATM-MI) revealed that additive functions of traffic restrictions, suitable relative humidity and temperature were more effective on the removal of fine particles and CO than NO 2 . Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  14. Long-term meteorologically independent trend analysis of ozone air quality at an urban site in the greater Houston area.

    PubMed

    Botlaguduru, Venkata S V; Kommalapati, Raghava R; Huque, Ziaul

    2018-04-19

    The Houston-Galveston-Brazoria (HGB) area of Texas has a history of ozone exceedances and is currently classified under moderate nonattainment status for the 2008 8-hr ozone standard of 75 ppb. The HGB area is characterized by intense solar radiation, high temperature, and humidity, which influence day-to-day variations in ozone concentrations. Long-term air quality trends independent of meteorological influence need to be constructed for ascertaining the effectiveness of air quality management in this area. The Kolmogorov-Zurbenko (KZ) filter technique used to separate different scales of motion in a time series, is applied in the current study for maximum daily 8-hr (MDA8) ozone concentrations at an urban site (EPA AQS Site ID: 48-201-0024, Aldine) in the HGB area. This site located within 10 miles of downtown Houston and the George Bush Intercontinental Airport, was selected for developing long-term meteorologically independent MDA8 ozone trends for the years 1990-2016. Results from this study indicate a consistent decrease in meteorologically independent MDA8 ozone between 2000-2016. This pattern could be partially attributed to a reduction in underlying NO X emissions, particularly that of lowering nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) levels, and a decrease in the release of highly reactive volatile organic compounds (HRVOC). Results also suggest solar radiation to be most strongly correlated to ozone, with temperature being the secondary meteorological control variable. Relative humidity and wind speed have tertiary influence at this site. This study observed that meteorological variability accounts for a high of 61% variability in baseline ozone (low-frequency component, sum of long-term and seasonal components), while 64% of the change in long-term MDA8 ozone post-2000 could be attributed to NO X emissions reduction. Long-term MDA8 ozone trend component was estimated to be decreasing at a linear rate of 0.412 ± 0.007 ppb/yr for the years 2000-2016, and 0.155

  15. Performance assessment of retrospective meteorological inputs for use in air quality modeling during TexAQS 2006

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ngan, Fong; Byun, Daewon; Kim, Hyuncheol; Lee, Daegyun; Rappenglück, Bernhard; Pour-Biazar, Arastoo

    2012-07-01

    To achieve more accurate meteorological inputs than was used in the daily forecast for studying the TexAQS 2006 air quality, retrospective simulations were conducted using objective analysis and 3D/surface analysis nudging with surface and upper observations. Model ozone using the assimilated meteorological fields with improved wind fields shows better agreement with the observation compared to the forecasting results. In the post-frontal conditions, important factors for ozone modeling in terms of wind patterns are the weak easterlies in the morning for bringing in industrial emissions to the city and the subsequent clockwise turning of the wind direction induced by the Coriolis force superimposing the sea breeze, which keeps pollutants in the urban area. Objective analysis and nudging employed in the retrospective simulation minimize the wind bias but are not able to compensate for the general flow pattern biases inherited from large scale inputs. By using an alternative analyses data for initializing the meteorological simulation, the model can re-produce the flow pattern and generate the ozone peak location closer to the reality. The inaccurate simulation of precipitation and cloudiness cause over-prediction of ozone occasionally. Since there are limitations in the meteorological model to simulate precipitation and cloudiness in the fine scale domain (less than 4-km grid), the satellite-based cloud is an alternative way to provide necessary inputs for the retrospective study of air quality.

  16. Meteorological and air pollution modeling for an urban airport

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Swan, P. R.; Lee, I. Y.

    1980-01-01

    Results are presented of numerical experiments modeling meteorology, multiple pollutant sources, and nonlinear photochemical reactions for the case of an airport in a large urban area with complex terrain. A planetary boundary-layer model which predicts the mixing depth and generates wind, moisture, and temperature fields was used; it utilizes only surface and synoptic boundary conditions as input data. A version of the Hecht-Seinfeld-Dodge chemical kinetics model is integrated with a new, rapid numerical technique; both the San Francisco Bay Area Air Quality Management District source inventory and the San Jose Airport aircraft inventory are utilized. The air quality model results are presented in contour plots; the combined results illustrate that the highly nonlinear interactions which are present require that the chemistry and meteorology be considered simultaneously to make a valid assessment of the effects of individual sources on regional air quality.

  17. Meteorological regimes for the classification of aerospace air quality predictions for NASA-Kennedy Space Center

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Stephens, J. B.; Sloan, J. C.

    1976-01-01

    A method is described for developing a statistical air quality assessment for the launch of an aerospace vehicle from the Kennedy Space Center in terms of existing climatological data sets. The procedure can be refined as developing meteorological conditions are identified for use with the NASA-Marshall Space Flight Center Rocket Exhaust Effluent Diffusion (REED) description. Classical climatological regimes for the long range analysis can be narrowed as the synoptic and mesoscale structure is identified. Only broad synoptic regimes are identified at this stage of analysis. As the statistical data matrix is developed, synoptic regimes will be refined in terms of the resulting eigenvectors as applicable to aerospace air quality predictions.

  18. Analyzing historical meteorological data for air quality analyses.

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1979-01-01

    The Research Council, in cooperation with the Data Processing and Environmental Quality Divisions, developed a set of three computer programs for analyzing historical meteorological data. These programs significantly improve the Department's ability ...

  19. Meteorology drives ambient air quality in a valley: a case of Sukinda chromite mine, one among the ten most polluted areas in the world.

    PubMed

    Mishra, Soumya Ranjan; Pradhan, Rudra Pratap; Prusty, B Anjan Kumar; Sahu, Sanjat Kumar

    2016-07-01

    The ambient air quality (AAQ) assessment was undertaken in Sukinda Valley, the chromite hub of India. The possible correlations of meteorological variables with different air quality parameters (PM10, PM2.5, SO2, NO2 and CO) were examined. Being the fourth most polluted area in the globe, Sukinda Valley has always been under attention of researchers, for hexavalent chromium contamination of water. The monitoring was carried out from December 2013 through May 2014 at six strategic locations in the residential and commercial areas around the mining cluster of Sukinda Valley considering the guidelines of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). In addition, meteorological parameters viz., temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction and rainfall, were also monitored. The air quality data were subjected to a general linear model (GLM) coupled with one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test for testing the significant difference in the concentration of various parameters among seasons and stations. Further, a two-tailed Pearson's correlation test helped in understanding the influence of meteorological parameters on dispersion of pollutants in the area. All the monitored air quality parameters varied significantly among the monitoring stations suggesting (i) the distance of sampling location to the mine site and other allied activities, (ii) landscape features and topography and (iii) meteorological parameters to be the forcing functions. The area was highly polluted with particulate matters, and in most of the cases, the PM level exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The meteorological parameters seemed to play a major role in the dispersion of pollutants around the mine clusters. The role of wind direction, wind speed and temperature was apparent in dispersion of the particulate matters from their source of generation to the surrounding residential and commercial areas of the mine.

  20. Meteorological Drivers of Extreme Air Pollution Events

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Horton, D. E.; Schnell, J.; Callahan, C. W.; Suo, Y.

    2017-12-01

    The accumulation of pollutants in the near-surface atmosphere has been shown to have deleterious consequences for public health, agricultural productivity, and economic vitality. Natural and anthropogenic emissions of ozone and particulate matter can accumulate to hazardous concentrations when atmospheric conditions are favorable, and can reach extreme levels when such conditions persist. Favorable atmospheric conditions for pollutant accumulation include optimal temperatures for photochemical reaction rates, circulation patterns conducive to pollutant advection, and a lack of ventilation, dispersion, and scavenging in the local environment. Given our changing climate system and the dual ingredients of poor air quality - pollutants and the atmospheric conditions favorable to their accumulation - it is important to characterize recent changes in favorable meteorological conditions, and quantify their potential contribution to recent extreme air pollution events. To facilitate our characterization, this study employs the recently updated Schnell et al (2015) 1°×1° gridded observed surface ozone and particulate matter datasets for the period of 1998 to 2015, in conjunction with reanalysis and climate model simulation data. We identify extreme air pollution episodes in the observational record and assess the meteorological factors of primary support at local and synoptic scales. We then assess (i) the contribution of observed meteorological trends (if extant) to the magnitude of the event, (ii) the return interval of the meteorological event in the observational record, simulated historical climate, and simulated pre-industrial climate, as well as (iii) the probability of the observed meteorological trend in historical and pre-industrial climates.

  1. FACILITATING ADVANCED URBAN METEOROLOGY AND AIR QUALITY MODELING CAPABILITIES WITH HIGH RESOLUTION URBAN DATABASE AND ACCESS PORTAL TOOLS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Information of urban morphological features at high resolution is needed to properly model and characterize the meteorological and air quality fields in urban areas. We describe a new project called National Urban Database with Access Portal Tool, (NUDAPT) that addresses this nee...

  2. Evaluation of near surface ozone and particulate matter in air quality simulations driven by dynamically downscaled historical meteorological fields

    EPA Science Inventory

    In this study, techniques typically used for future air quality projections are applied to a historical 11-year period to assess the performance of the modeling system when the driving meteorological conditions are obtained using dynamical downscaling of coarse-scale fields witho...

  3. Quality Assurance Guidance for the Collection of Meteorological Data Using Passive Radiometers

    EPA Science Inventory

    This document augments the February 2000 guidance entitled Meteorological Monitoring Guidance for Regulatory Modeling Applications and the March 2008 guidance entitled Quality Assurance Handbook for Air Pollution Measurement Systems Volume IV: Meteorological Measurements Version ...

  4. Evaluation of data assimilation techniques for a mesoscale meteorological model and their effects on air quality model results

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Amicarelli, A.; Gariazzo, C.; Finardi, S.; Pelliccioni, A.; Silibello, C.

    2008-05-01

    Data assimilation techniques are methods to limit the growth of errors in a dynamical model by allowing observations distributed in space and time to force (nudge) model solutions. They have become common for meteorological model applications in recent years, especially to enhance weather forecast and to support air-quality studies. In order to investigate the influence of different data assimilation techniques on the meteorological fields produced by RAMS model, and to evaluate their effects on the ozone and PM10 concentrations predicted by FARM model, several numeric experiments were conducted over the urban area of Rome, Italy, during a summer episode.

  5. 75 FR 71033 - Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-11-22

    .... These include damage to the central nervous system, cardiovascular function, kidneys, immune system, and... growth); (5) Meteorology (weather/transport patterns); (6) Geography/topography (mountain ranges or other... Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY...

  6. Changes in regional meteorology induced by anthropogenic heat and their impacts on air quality in South China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xie, Min; Zhu, Kuanguang; Wang, Tijian; Feng, Wen; Gao, Da; Li, Mengmeng; Li, Shu; Zhuang, Bingliang; Han, Yong; Chen, Pulong; Liao, Jingbiao

    2016-12-01

    Anthropogenic heat (AH) emissions from human activities can change the urban circulation and thereby affect the air pollution in and around cities. Based on statistic data, the spatial distribution of AH flux in South China is estimated. With the aid of the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF/Chem), in which the AH parameterization is developed to incorporate the gridded AH emissions with temporal variation, simulations for January and July in 2014 are performed over South China. By analyzing the differences between the simulations with and without adding AH, the impact of AH on regional meteorology and air quality is quantified. The results show that the regional annual mean AH fluxes over South China are only 0.87 W m-2, but the values for the urban areas of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region can be close to 60 W m-2. These AH emissions can significantly change the urban heat island and urban-breeze circulations in big cities. In the PRD city cluster, 2 m air temperature rises by 1.1° in January and over 0.5° in July, the planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) increases by 120 m in January and 90 m in July, 10 m wind speed is intensified to over 0.35 m s-1 in January and 0.3 m s-1 in July, and accumulative precipitation is enhanced by 20-40 % in July. These changes in meteorological conditions can significantly impact the spatial and vertical distributions of air pollutants. Due to the increases in PBLH, surface wind speed and upward vertical movement, the concentrations of primary air pollutants decrease near the surface and increase in the upper levels. But the vertical changes in O3 concentrations show the different patterns in different seasons. The surface O3 concentrations in big cities increase with maximum values of over 2.5 ppb in January, while O3 is reduced at the lower layers and increases at the upper layers above some megacities in July. This phenomenon can be attributed to the fact that chemical effects can play a

  7. Observed characteristics of dust storm events over the western United States using meteorological, satellite, and air quality measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lei, H.; Wang, J. X. L.

    2014-08-01

    To improve dust storm identification over the western United States, historical dust events measured by air quality and satellite observations are analyzed based on their characteristics in data sets of regular meteorology, satellite-based aerosol optical depth (AOD), and air quality measurements. Based on the prevailing weather conditions associated with dust emission, dust storm events are classified into the following four typical types: (1) The key feature of cold front-induced dust storms is their rapid process with strong dust emissions. (2) Events caused by meso- to small-scale weather systems have the highest levels of emissions. (3) Dust storms caused by tropical disturbances show a stronger air concentration of dust and last longer than those in (1) and (2). (4) Dust storms triggered by cyclogenesis last the longest. In this paper, sample events of each type are selected and examined to explore characteristics observed from in situ and remote-sensing measurements. These characteristics include the lasting period, surface wind speeds, areas affected, average loading on ground-based optical and/or air quality measurements, peak loading on ground-based optical and/or air quality measurements, and loading on satellite-based aerosol optical depth. Based on these analyses, we compare the characteristics of the same dust events captured in different data sets in order to define the dust identification criteria. The analyses show that the variability in mass concentrations captured by in situ measurements is consistent with the variability in AOD from stationary and satellite observations. Our analyses also find that different data sets are capable of identifying certain common characteristics, while each data set also provides specific information about a dust storm event. For example, the meteorological data are good at identifying the lasting period and area impacted by a dust event; the ground-based air quality and optical measurements can capture the peak

  8. AIR QUALITY FORECAST DATABASE AND ANALYSIS

    EPA Science Inventory

    In 2003, NOAA and EPA signed a Memorandum of Agreement to collaborate on the design and implementation of a capability to produce daily air quality modeling forecast information for the U.S. NOAA's ETA meteorological model and EPA's Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model ...

  9. Meteorology program of the National Center for Air Pollution Control

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Ludwig, J.H.; McCormick, R.A.

    1968-08-01

    An attempt is made to discuss the role of the meteorologist in the Federal air pollution programs. There are two types of meteorological activities that have evolved as a result of the Federal air pollution program to aid the states and local agencies in their efforts to control air pollution. They are: research, which has focused on defining and describing meteorological factors of prime importance to air pollution control activities; and application of meteorological principles to the conduct of air pollution control programs. A detailed discussion is presented of the meteorological activities of the National Center for Air Pollution Controlmore » and their close relationships to other phases of the Center's research and operational programs.« less

  10. Interactions of Chemistry and Meteorology: Transforming Air Pollution into Climate Change

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dickerson, R. R.

    2009-05-01

    PThe common goal of understanding and protecting Earth's environment has brought together chemists and meteorologists, despite the once widely held view that these are natural adversaries. Historically, dynamics, physics, chemistry, and biology were explored as isolated aspects of air quality and climate, but nature has proved to be much more interesting than that. Emissions and atmospheric photochemistry create air pollutants, but meteorology drives day to day variability in air quality. Air pollution, no matter how severe, has no substantive impact on global atmospheric composition or climate unless it is transported away from the sources, usually through frontal passage and advection, isentropic lifting or, especially lofting in deep convective clouds and thunderstorms. At higher altitudes, greater actinic flux accelerates photochemistry, stronger winds speed dispersal, and lower temperatures slow losses while amplifying radiative heating of greenhouse forcing substance such as ozone and carbonaceous aerosols. Examples include the transport of reactive nitrogen compounds from one part of North America to another, or on to the remote North Atlantic and Europe. Although measurement of NOy and NHx gases and particles still presents an analytical challenge, these trace species have major impacts on ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. In East Asia chemistry and meteorology conspire to intensify long-range, even intercontinental transport of mineral dust and air pollutants. Recent discovery of a nonlocal dynamical driver to the Urban Heat Island effect shows that the adverse impact of urbanization can cascade to exacerbate heat stress, photochemical smog, and haze well downwind. A balanced consideration of meteorology and chemistry not only helps to identify and understand environmental problems, it can also provide powerful, policy relevant science that has led to success stories such as a regional approach to emissions controls and cleaner air over the eastern US.

  11. Towards the Next Generation Air Quality Modeling System ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The community multiscale air quality (CMAQ) model of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is one of the most widely used air quality model worldwide; it is employed for both research and regulatory applications at major universities and government agencies for improving understanding of the formation and transport of air pollutants. It is noted, however, that air quality issues and climate change assessments need to be addressed globally recognizing the linkages and interactions between meteorology and atmospheric chemistry across a wide range of scales. Therefore, an effort is currently underway to develop the next generation air quality modeling system (NGAQM) that will be based on a global integrated meteorology and chemistry system. The model for prediction across scales-atmosphere (MPAS-A), a global fully compressible non-hydrostatic model with seamlessly refined centroidal Voronoi grids, has been chosen as the meteorological driver of this modeling system. The initial step of adapting MPAS-A for the NGAQM was to implement and test the physics parameterizations and options that are preferred for retrospective air quality simulations (see the work presented by R. Gilliam, R. Bullock, and J. Herwehe at this workshop). The next step, presented herein, would be to link the chemistry from CMAQ to MPAS-A to build a prototype for the NGAQM. Furthermore, the techniques to harmonize transport processes between CMAQ and MPAS-A, methodologies to connect the chemis

  12. EVALUATING THE USE OF OUTPUTS FROM COMPREHENSIVE METEOROLOGICAL MODELS IN AIR QUALITY MODELING APPLICATIONS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Currently used dispersion models, such as the AMS/EPA Regulatory Model (AERMOD), process routinely available meteorological observations to construct model inputs. Thus, model estimates of concentrations depend on the availability and quality of Meteorological observations, as we...

  13. Urban air quality assessment using monitoring data of fractionized aerosol samples, chemometrics and meteorological conditions.

    PubMed

    Yotova, Galina I; Tsitouridou, Roxani; Tsakovski, Stefan L; Simeonov, Vasil D

    2016-01-01

    The present article deals with assessment of urban air by using monitoring data for 10 different aerosol fractions (0.015-16 μm) collected at a typical urban site in City of Thessaloniki, Greece. The data set was subject to multivariate statistical analysis (cluster analysis and principal components analysis) and, additionally, to HYSPLIT back trajectory modeling in order to assess in a better way the impact of the weather conditions on the pollution sources identified. A specific element of the study is the effort to clarify the role of outliers in the data set. The reason for the appearance of outliers is strongly related to the atmospheric condition on the particular sampling days leading to enhanced concentration of pollutants (secondary emissions, sea sprays, road and soil dust, combustion processes) especially for ultra fine and coarse particles. It is also shown that three major sources affect the urban air quality of the location studied-sea sprays, mineral dust and anthropogenic influences (agricultural activity, combustion processes, and industrial sources). The level of impact is related to certain extent to the aerosol fraction size. The assessment of the meteorological conditions leads to defining of four downwind patterns affecting the air quality (Pelagic, Western and Central Europe, Eastern and Northeastern Europe and Africa and Southern Europe). Thus, the present study offers a complete urban air assessment taking into account the weather conditions, pollution sources and aerosol fractioning.

  14. 76 FR 72097 - Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Lead (Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2011-11-22

    ... broad range of adverse health effects. These may include damage to the central nervous system...) Meteorology (weather/transport patterns); (6) Geography/topography (mountain ranges or other air basin... to the EPA's Air Quality System (AQS), or otherwise available to the EPA, and meeting the...

  15. Self-organized classification of boundary layer meteorology and associated characteristics of air quality in Beijing

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liao, Zhiheng; Sun, Jiaren; Yao, Jialin; Liu, Li; Li, Haowen; Liu, Jian; Xie, Jielan; Wu, Dui; Fan, Shaojia

    2018-05-01

    Self-organizing maps (SOMs; a feature-extracting technique based on an unsupervised machine learning algorithm) are used to classify atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) meteorology over Beijing through detecting topological relationships among the 5-year (2013-2017) radiosonde-based virtual potential temperature profiles. The classified ABL types are then examined in relation to near-surface pollutant concentrations to understand the modulation effects of the changing ABL meteorology on Beijing's air quality. Nine ABL types (i.e., SOM nodes) are obtained through the SOM classification technique, and each is characterized by distinct dynamic and thermodynamic conditions. In general, the self-organized ABL types are able to distinguish between high and low loadings of near-surface pollutants. The average concentrations of PM2.5, NO2 and CO dramatically increased from the near neutral (i.e., Node 1) to strong stable conditions (i.e., Node 9) during all seasons except for summer. Since extremely strong stability can isolate the near-surface observations from the influence of elevated SO2 pollution layers, the highest average SO2 concentrations are typically observed in Node 3 (a layer with strong stability in the upper ABL) rather than Node 9. In contrast, near-surface O3 shows an opposite dependence on atmospheric stability, with the lowest average concentration in Node 9. Analysis of three typical pollution months (i.e., January 2013, December 2015 and December 2016) suggests that the ABL types are the primary drivers of day-to-day variations in Beijing's air quality. Assuming a fixed relationship between ABL type and PM2.5 loading for different years, the relative (absolute) contributions of the ABL anomaly to elevated PM2.5 levels are estimated to be 58.3 % (44.4 µg m-3) in January 2013, 46.4 % (22.2 µg m-3) in December 2015 and 73.3 % (34.6 µg m-3) in December 2016.

  16. Impacts of emission reduction and meteorological conditions on air quality improvement during the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Qian; Wang, Tijian; Chen, Pulong; Huang, Xiaoxian; Zhu, Jialei; Zhuang, Bingliang

    2017-11-01

    As the holding city of the 2nd Youth Olympic Games (YOG), Nanjing is highly industrialized and urbanized, and faces several air pollution issues. In order to ensure better air quality during the event, the local government took great efforts to control the emissions from pollutant sources. However, air quality can still be affected by synoptic weather, not only emission. In this paper, the influences of meteorological factors and emission reductions were investigated using observational data and numerical simulations with WRF-CMAQ (Weather Research and Forecasting - Community Multiscale Air Quality). During the month in which the YOG were held (August 2014), the observed hourly mean concentrations of SO2, NO2, PM10, PM2.5, CO and O3 were 11.6 µg m-3, 34.0 µg m-3, 57.8 µg m-3, 39.4 µg m-3, 0.9 mg m-3 and 38.8 µg m-3, respectively, which were below China National Ambient Air Quality Standard (level 2). However, model simulation showed that the weather conditions, such as weaker winds during the YOG, were adverse for better air quality and could increase SO2, NO2, PM10, PM2.5 and CO by 17.5, 16.9, 18.5, 18.8, 7.8 and 0.8 %. Taking account of local emission abatement only, the simulated SO2, NO2, PM10, PM2.5 and CO decreased by 24.6, 12.1, 15.1, 8.1 and 7.2 %. Consequently, stringent emission control measures can reduce the concentrations of air pollutants in the short term, and emission reduction is very important for air quality improvement during the YOG. A good example has been set for air quality protection for important social events.

  17. Effect of horizontal resolution on meteorology and air-quality prediction with a regional scale model

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Varghese, Saji; Langmann, Baerbel; Ceburnis, Darius; O'Dowd, Colin D.

    2011-08-01

    Horizontal resolution sensitivity can significantly contribute to the uncertainty in predictions of meteorology and air-quality from a regional climate model. In the study presented here, a state-of-the-art regional scale atmospheric climate-chemistry-aerosol model REMOTE is used to understand the influence of spatial model resolutions of 1.0°, 0.5° and 0.25° on predicted meteorological and aerosol parameters for June 2003 for the European domain comprising North-east Atlantic and Western Europe. Model precipitation appears to improve with resolution while wind speed has shown best results for 0.25° resolution for most of the stations compared with ECAD data. Low root mean square error and spatial bias for surface pressure, precipitation and surface temperature show that the model is very reliable. Spatial and temporal variation in black carbon, primary organic carbon, sea-salt and sulphate concentrations and their burden are presented. In most cases, chemical species concentrations at the surface show no particular trend or improvement with increase in resolution. There has been a pronounced influence of horizontal resolution on the vertical distribution pattern of some aerosol species. Some of these effects are due to the improvement in topographical details, flow characteristics and associated vertical and horizontal dynamic processes. The different sink processes have contributed very differently to the various aerosol species in terms of deposition (wet and dry) and sedimentation which are strongly linked to the meteorological processes. Overall, considering the performance of meteorological parameters and chemical species concentrations, a horizontal model resolution of 0.5° is suggested to achieve reasonable results within the limitations of this model.

  18. Developing air quality forecasts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lee, Pius; Saylor, Rick; Meagher, James

    2012-05-01

    Third International Workshop on Air Quality Forecasting Research; Potomac, Maryland, 29 November to 1 December 2011 Elevated concentrations of both near-surface ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter smaller than 2.5 micrometers in diameter have been implicated in increased mortality and other human health impacts. In light of these known influences on human health, many governments around the world have instituted air quality forecasting systems to provide their citizens with advance warning of impending poor air quality so that they can take actions to limit exposure. In an effort to improve the performance of air quality forecasting systems and provide a forum for the exchange of the latest research in air quality modeling, the International Workshop on Air Quality Forecasting Research (IWAQFR) was established in 2009 and is cosponsored by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Environment Canada (EC), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The steering committee for IWAQFR's establishment was composed of Véronique Bouchet, Mike Howe, and Craig Stoud (EC); Greg Carmichael (University of Iowa); Paula Davidson and Jim Meagher (NOAA); and Liisa Jalkanen (WMO). The most recent workshop took place in Maryland.

  19. Sensitivity of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Model v4.7 Results for the Eastern United States to MM5 and WRF Meteorological Drivers

    EPA Science Inventory

    This paper presents a comparison of the operational performance of two Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model v4.7 simulations that utilize input data from the 5th generation Mesoscale Model MM5 and the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) meteorological models.

  20. Development of the Next Generation Air Quality Modeling System

    EPA Science Inventory

    A next generation air quality modeling system is being developed at the U.S. EPA to enable modeling of air quality from global to regional to (eventually) local scales. We envision that the system will have three configurations: 1. Global meteorology with seamless mesh refinemen...

  1. The meteorological monitoring system for the Kennedy Space Center/Cape Canaveral Air Station

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dianic, Allan V.

    1994-01-01

    The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Station (CCAS) are involved in many weather-sensitive operations. Manned and unmanned vehicle launches, which occur several times each year, are obvious example of operations whose success and safety are dependent upon favorable meteorological conditions. Other operations involving NASA, Air Force, and contractor personnel, including daily operations to maintain facilities, refurbish launch structures, prepare vehicles for launch, and handle hazardous materials, are less publicized but are no less weather-sensitive. The Meteorological Monitoring System (MMS) is a computer network which acquires, processes, disseminates, and monitors near real-time and forecast meteorological information to assist operational personnel and weather forecasters with the task of minimizing the risk to personnel, materials, and the surrounding population. CLIPS has been integrated into the MMS to provide quality control analysis and data monitoring. This paper describes aspects of the MMS relevant to CLIPS including requirements, actual implementation details, and results of performance testing.

  2. METEOROLOGICAL AND TRANSPORT MODELING

    EPA Science Inventory

    Advanced air quality simulation models, such as CMAQ, as well as other transport and dispersion models, require accurate and detailed meteorology fields. These meteorology fields include primary 3-dimensional dynamical and thermodynamical variables (e.g., winds, temperature, mo...

  3. Impact of socioeconomic and meteorological factors on reservoirs' air quality: a case in the Three Gorges Reservoir of Chongqing (TGRC), China over a 10-year period.

    PubMed

    Peng, Ying; Zhou, Fengwu; Cui, Jian; Du, Ke; Leng, Qiangmei; Yang, Fumo; Chan, Andy; Zhao, Hongting

    2017-07-01

    The Three Gorges Dam's construction and industrial transfer have resulted in a new air pollution pattern with the potential to threaten the reservoir eco-environment. To assess the impact of socioeconomic factors on the pattern of air quality vairation and economical risks, concentrations of SO 2 , NO 2 , and PM 10 , industry genres, and meteorological conditions were selected in the Three Gorges Reservoir of Chongqing (TGRC) during 2006-2015. Results showed that air quality had improved to some extent, but atmospheric NO 2 showed an increased trend during 2011-2015. Spatially, higher atmospheric NO 2 extended to the surrounding area. The primary industry, especially for agriculture, had shown to be responsible for the remarkable increase of atmospheric NO 2 (p < 0.01) due to the direct burning of agricultural straws and the emission of livestock breeding. The improvement of regional industrial structure and industrialization benefited air pollutant reductions, but construction industries had inhibited the improvement of regional air quality. In the tertiary industry, the cargo industry at ports had significantly decreased atmospheric NO 2 as a result of eliminating the obsoleted small ships. Contrarily, the highway transportation had brought more air pollutants. The relative humidity was shown to be the main meteorological factor, which had an extremely remarkable relation with atmospheric SO 2 (p < 0.01) and a significant correlation with atmospheric NO 2 (p < 0.05), respectively. In the future, the development of agriculture and livestock breeding would make regional air quality improvement difficult, and atmospheric SO 2 , NO 2 , and PM 10 deposition would aggravate regional soil and water acidification and reactivate heavy metal in soil and sediment, further to pose a high level of ecological risk in the TGRC and other countries with reservoirs in the world.

  4. Evaluating Regional-Scale Air Quality Models

    EPA Science Inventory

    Numerical air quality models are being used to understand the complex interplay among emission loading meteorology, and atmospheric chemistry leading to the formation and accumulation of pollutants in the atmosphere. A model evaluation framework is presented here that considers ...

  5. Validation of Mode-S Meteorological Routine Air Report aircraft observations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Strajnar, B.

    2012-12-01

    The success of mesoscale data assimilation depends on the availability of three-dimensional observations with high spatial and temporal resolution. This paper describes an example of such observations, available through Mode-S air traffic control system composed of ground radar and transponders on board the aircraft. The meteorological information is provided by interrogation of a dedicated meteorological data register, called Meteorological Routine Air Report (MRAR). MRAR provides direct measurements of temperature and wind, but is only returned by a small fraction of aircraft. The quality of Mode-S MRAR data, collected at the Ljubljana Airport, Slovenia, is assessed by its comparison with AMDAR and high-resolution radiosonde data sets, which enable high- and low-level validation, respectively. The need for temporal smoothing of raw Mode-S MRAR data is also studied. The standard deviation of differences between smoothed Mode-S MRAR and AMDAR is 0.35°C for temperature, 0.8 m/s for wind speed and below 10 degrees for wind direction. The differences with respect to radiosondes are larger, with standard deviations of approximately 1.7°C, 3 m/s and 25 degrees for temperature, wind speed and wind direction, respectively. It is concluded that both wind and temperature observations from Mode-S MRAR are accurate and therefore potentially very useful for data assimilation in numerical weather prediction models.

  6. Analysis of air quality management with emphasis on transportation sources

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    English, T. D.; Divita, E.; Lees, L.

    1980-01-01

    The current environment and practices of air quality management were examined for three regions: Denver, Phoenix, and the South Coast Air Basin of California. These regions were chosen because the majority of their air pollution emissions are related to mobile sources. The impact of auto exhaust on the air quality management process is characterized and assessed. An examination of the uncertainties in air pollutant measurements, emission inventories, meteorological parameters, atmospheric chemistry, and air quality simulation models is performed. The implications of these uncertainties to current air quality management practices is discussed. A set of corrective actions are recommended to reduce these uncertainties.

  7. Air quality assessment of Estarreja, an urban industrialized area, in a coastal region of Portugal.

    PubMed

    Figueiredo, M L; Monteiro, A; Lopes, M; Ferreira, J; Borrego, C

    2013-07-01

    Despite the increasing concern given to air quality in urban and industrial areas in recent years, particular emphasis on regulation, control, and reduction of air pollutant emissions is still necessary to fully characterize the chain emissions-air quality-exposure-dose-health effects, for specific sources. The Estarreja region was selected as a case study because it has one of the largest chemical industrial complexes in Portugal that has been recently expanded, together with a growing urban area with an interesting location in the Portuguese coastland and crossed by important road traffic and rail national networks. This work presents the first air quality assessment for the region concerning pollutant emissions and meteorological and air quality monitoring data analysis, over the period 2000-2009. This assessment also includes a detailed investigation and characterization of past air pollution episodes for the most problematic pollutants: ozone and PM10. The contribution of different emission sources and meteorological conditions to these episodes is investigated. The stagnant meteorological conditions associated with local emissions, namely industrial activity and road traffic, are the major contributors to the air quality degradation over the study region. A set of measures to improve air quality--regarding ozone and PM10 levels--is proposed as an air quality management strategy for the study region.

  8. The Atlanta Urban Heat Island Mitigation and Air Quality Modeling Project: How High-Resoution Remote Sensing Data Can Improve Air Quality Models

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Quattrochi, Dale A.; Estes, Maurice G., Jr.; Crosson, William L.; Khan, Maudood N.

    2006-01-01

    The Atlanta Urban Heat Island and Air Quality Project had its genesis in Project ATLANTA (ATlanta Land use Analysis: Temperature and Air quality) that began in 1996. Project ATLANTA examined how high-spatial resolution thermal remote sensing data could be used to derive better measurements of the Urban Heat Island effect over Atlanta. We have explored how these thermal remote sensing, as well as other imaged datasets, can be used to better characterize the urban landscape for improved air quality modeling over the Atlanta area. For the air quality modeling project, the National Land Cover Dataset and the local scale Landpro99 dataset at 30m spatial resolutions have been used to derive land use/land cover characteristics for input into the MM5 mesoscale meteorological model that is one of the foundations for the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model to assess how these data can improve output from CMAQ. Additionally, land use changes to 2030 have been predicted using a Spatial Growth Model (SGM). SGM simulates growth around a region using population, employment and travel demand forecasts. Air quality modeling simulations were conducted using both current and future land cover. Meteorological modeling simulations indicate a 0.5 C increase in daily maximum air temperatures by 2030. Air quality modeling simulations show substantial differences in relative contributions of individual atmospheric pollutant constituents as a result of land cover change. Enhanced boundary layer mixing over the city tends to offset the increase in ozone concentration expected due to higher surface temperatures as a result of urbanization.

  9. Spatial and temporal analysis of Air Pollution Index and its timescale-dependent relationship with meteorological factors in Guangzhou, China, 2001-2011.

    PubMed

    Li, Li; Qian, Jun; Ou, Chun-Quan; Zhou, Ying-Xue; Guo, Cui; Guo, Yuming

    2014-07-01

    There is an increasing interest in spatial and temporal variation of air pollution and its association with weather conditions. We presented the spatial and temporal variation of Air Pollution Index (API) and examined the associations between API and meteorological factors during 2001-2011 in Guangzhou, China. A Seasonal-Trend Decomposition Procedure Based on Loess (STL) was used to decompose API. Wavelet analyses were performed to examine the relationships between API and several meteorological factors. Air quality has improved since 2005. APIs were highly correlated among five monitoring stations, and there were substantial temporal variations. Timescale-dependent relationships were found between API and a variety of meteorological factors. Temperature, relative humidity, precipitation and wind speed were negatively correlated with API, while diurnal temperature range and atmospheric pressure were positively correlated with API in the annual cycle. Our findings should be taken into account when determining air quality forecasts and pollution control measures. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Evaluation of air quality in a megacity using statistics tools

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ventura, Luciana Maria Baptista; de Oliveira Pinto, Fellipe; Soares, Laiza Molezon; Luna, Aderval Severino; Gioda, Adriana

    2018-06-01

    Local physical characteristics (e.g., meteorology and topography) associate to particle concentrations are important to evaluate air quality in a region. Meteorology and topography affect air pollutant dispersions. This study used statistics tools (PCA, HCA, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney's test and others) to a better understanding of the relationship between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels and seasons, meteorological conditions and air basins. To our knowledge, it is one of the few studies performed in Latin America involving all parameters together. PM2.5 samples were collected in six sampling sites with different emission sources (industrial, vehicular, soil dust) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The PM2.5 daily concentrations ranged from 1 to 61 µg m-3, with averages higher than the annual limit (15 µg m-3) for some of the sites. The results of the statistics evaluation showed that PM2.5 concentrations were not influenced by seasonality. Furthermore, air basins defined previously were not confirmed, because some sites presented similar emission sources. Therefore, new redefinitions of air basins need to be done, once they are important to air quality management.

  11. Evaluation of air quality in a megacity using statistics tools

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ventura, Luciana Maria Baptista; de Oliveira Pinto, Fellipe; Soares, Laiza Molezon; Luna, Aderval Severino; Gioda, Adriana

    2017-03-01

    Local physical characteristics (e.g., meteorology and topography) associate to particle concentrations are important to evaluate air quality in a region. Meteorology and topography affect air pollutant dispersions. This study used statistics tools (PCA, HCA, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney's test and others) to a better understanding of the relationship between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels and seasons, meteorological conditions and air basins. To our knowledge, it is one of the few studies performed in Latin America involving all parameters together. PM2.5 samples were collected in six sampling sites with different emission sources (industrial, vehicular, soil dust) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The PM2.5 daily concentrations ranged from 1 to 61 µg m-3, with averages higher than the annual limit (15 µg m-3) for some of the sites. The results of the statistics evaluation showed that PM2.5 concentrations were not influenced by seasonality. Furthermore, air basins defined previously were not confirmed, because some sites presented similar emission sources. Therefore, new redefinitions of air basins need to be done, once they are important to air quality management.

  12. Effects of ozone-vegetation coupling on surface ozone air quality via biogeochemical and meteorological feedbacks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sadiq, Mehliyar; Tai, Amos P. K.; Lombardozzi, Danica; Martin, Maria Val

    2017-02-01

    Tropospheric ozone is one of the most hazardous air pollutants as it harms both human health and plant productivity. Foliage uptake of ozone via dry deposition damages photosynthesis and causes stomatal closure. These foliage changes could lead to a cascade of biogeochemical and biogeophysical effects that not only modulate the carbon cycle, regional hydrometeorology and climate, but also cause feedbacks onto surface ozone concentration itself. In this study, we implement a semi-empirical parameterization of ozone damage on vegetation in the Community Earth System Model to enable online ozone-vegetation coupling, so that for the first time ecosystem structure and ozone concentration can coevolve in fully coupled land-atmosphere simulations. With ozone-vegetation coupling, present-day surface ozone is simulated to be higher by up to 4-6 ppbv over Europe, North America and China. Reduced dry deposition velocity following ozone damage contributes to ˜ 40-100 % of those increases, constituting a significant positive biogeochemical feedback on ozone air quality. Enhanced biogenic isoprene emission is found to contribute to most of the remaining increases, and is driven mainly by higher vegetation temperature that results from lower transpiration rate. This isoprene-driven pathway represents an indirect, positive meteorological feedback. The reduction in both dry deposition and transpiration is mostly associated with reduced stomatal conductance following ozone damage, whereas the modification of photosynthesis and further changes in ecosystem productivity are found to play a smaller role in contributing to the ozone-vegetation feedbacks. Our results highlight the need to consider two-way ozone-vegetation coupling in Earth system models to derive a more complete understanding and yield more reliable future predictions of ozone air quality.

  13. Investigating the influence of photocatalytic cool wall adoption on meteorology and air quality in the Los Angeles basin

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, J.; Tang, X.; Levinson, R.; Destaillats, H.; Mohegh, A.; Li, Y.; Tao, W.; Liu, J.; Ban-Weiss, G. A.

    2017-12-01

    Solar reflective "cool materials" can be used to lower urban temperatures, useful for mitigating the urban heat island effect and adapting to the local impacts of climate change. While numerous past studies have investigated the climate impacts of cool surfaces, few studies have investigated their effects on air pollution. Meteorological changes from increases in surface albedo can lead to temperature and transport induced modifications in air pollutant concentrations. In an effort to maintain high albedos in polluted environments, cool surfaces can also be made using photocatalytic "self-cleaning" materials. These photocatalytic materials can also remove NOx from ambient air, with possible consequences on ambient gas and particle phase pollutant concentrations. In this research, we investigate the impact of widespread deployment of cool walls on urban meteorology and air pollutant concentrations in the Los Angeles basin. Both photocatalytic and standard (not photocatalytic) high albedo wall materials are investigated. Simulations using a coupled meteorology-chemistry model (WRF-Chem) show that cool walls could effectively decrease urban temperatures in the Los Angeles basin. Preliminary results indicate that meteorology-induced changes from adopting standard cool walls could lead to ozone concentration reductions of up to 0.5 ppb. NOx removal induced by photocatalytic materials was modeled by modifying the WRF-Chem dry deposition scheme, with deposition rates informed by laboratory measurements of various commercially available materials. Simulation results indicate that increased deposition of NOx by photocatalytic materials could increase ozone concentrations, analogous to the ozone "weekend effect" in which reduced weekend NOx emissions can lead to increases in ozone. The impacts of cool walls on particulate matter concentrations are also discussed. Changes in particulate matter concentrations are found to be driven by albedo-induced changes in air pollutant

  14. Assessing the impacts of seasonal and vertical atmospheric conditions on air quality over the Pearl River Delta region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tong, Cheuk Hei Marcus; Yim, Steve Hung Lam; Rothenberg, Daniel; Wang, Chien; Lin, Chuan-Yao; Chen, Yongqin David; Lau, Ngar Cheung

    2018-05-01

    Air pollution is an increasingly concerning problem in many metropolitan areas due to its adverse public health and environmental impacts. Vertical atmospheric conditions have strong effects on vertical mixing of air pollutants, which directly affects surface air quality. The characteristics and magnitude of how vertical atmospheric conditions affect surface air quality, which are critical to future air quality projections, have not yet been fully understood. This study aims to enhance understanding of the annual and seasonal sensitivities of air pollution to both surface and vertical atmospheric conditions. Based on both surface and vertical meteorological characteristics provided by 1994-2003 monthly dynamic downscaling data from the Weather and Research Forecast Model, we develop generalized linear models (GLMs) to study the relationships between surface air pollutants (ozone, respirable suspended particulates, and sulfur dioxide) and atmospheric conditions in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. Applying Principal Component Regression (PCR) to address multi-collinearity, we study the contributions of various meteorological variables to pollutants' concentration levels based on the loading and model coefficient of major principal components. Our results show that relatively high pollutant concentration occurs under relatively low mid-level troposphere temperature gradients, low relative humidity, weak southerly wind (or strong northerly wind) and weak westerly wind (or strong easterly wind). Moreover, the correlations vary among pollutant species, seasons, and meteorological variables at various altitudes. In general, pollutant sensitivity to meteorological variables is found to be greater in winter than in other seasons, and the sensitivity of ozone to meteorology differs from that of the other two pollutants. Applying our GLMs to anomalous air pollution episodes, we find that meteorological variables up to mid troposphere (∼700 mb) play an important role in

  15. Application of data mining to the analysis of meteorological data for air quality prediction: A case study in Shenyang

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Chang; Song, Guojun

    2017-08-01

    Air pollution is one of the important reasons for restricting the current economic development. PM2.5 which is a vital factor in the measurement of air pollution is defined as a kind of suspended particulate matter with its equivalent diameter less than 25μm, which may enter the alveoli and therefore make a great impact on the human body. Meteorological factors are also one of the main factors affecting the production of PM2.5, therefore, it is essential to establish the model between meteorological factors and PM2.5 for the prediction. Data mining is a promising approach to model PM2.5 change, Shenyang which is one of the most important industrial city in Northeast China with severe air pollutions is set as the case city. Meteorological data (wind direction, wind speed, temperature, humidity, rainfall, etc.) from 2013 to 2015 and PM2.5 concentration data are used for this prediction. As to the requirements of the World Health Organization (WHO), three data mining models, whereby the predictions of PM2.5 are directly generated by the meteorological data. After assessment, the random forest model is appeared to offer better prediction performance than the other two. At last, the accuracy of the generated models are analysed.

  16. 75 FR 78602 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Minnesota

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-12-16

    ... Treatment Plant, considering all permit limitations, are reduced from 184.9 tpy to 47.8 tpy. Air Quality... 10 emissions, MCES Metropolitan Wastewater Treatment Plant provided an air quality analysis to... used five years of surface meteorological data from the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport and upper air data...

  17. Rural southeast Texas air quality measurements during the 2006 Texas Air Quality Study.

    PubMed

    Schade, Gunnar W; Khan, Siraj; Park, Changhyoun; Boedeker, Ian

    2011-10-01

    The authors conducted air quality measurements of the criteria pollutants carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and ozone together with meteorological measurements at a park site southeast of College Station, TX, during the 2006 Texas Air Quality Study II (TexAQS). Ozone, a primary focus of the measurements, was above 80 ppb during 3 days and above 75 ppb during additional 8 days in summer 2006, suggestive of possible violations of the ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) in this area. In concordance with other air quality measurements during the TexAQS II, elevated ozone mixing ratios coincided with northerly flows during days after cold front passages. Ozone background during these days was as high as 80 ppb, whereas southerly air flows generally provided for an ozone background lower than 40 ppb. Back trajectory analysis shows that local ozone mixing ratios can also be strongly affected by the Houston urban pollution plume, leading to late afternoon ozone increases of as high as 50 ppb above background under favorable transport conditions. The trajectory analysis also shows that ozone background increases steadily the longer a southern air mass resides over Texas after entering from the Gulf of Mexico. In light of these and other TexAQS findings, it appears that ozone air quality is affected throughout east Texas by both long-range and regional ozone transport, and that improvements therefore will require at least a regionally oriented instead of the current locally oriented ozone precursor reduction policies.

  18. Analysis of air quality in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia.

    PubMed

    Kasim, Oluwasinaayomi Faith; Woldetisadik Abshare, Muluneh; Agbola, Samuel Babatunde

    2017-12-07

    Ambient air quality was monitored and analyzed to develop air quality index and its implications for livability and climate change in Dire Dawa, Ethiopia. Using survey research design, 16 georeferenced locations, representing different land uses, were randomly selected and assessed for sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), carbon monoxide (CO),volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and meteorological parameters (temperature and relative humidity). The study found mean concentrations across all land uses for SO 2 of 0.37 ± 0.08 ppm, NO 2 of 0.13 ± 0.17 ppm, CO 2 of 465.65 ± 28.63 ppm, CO of 3.35 ± 2.04 ppm, and VOCs of 1850.67 ± 402 ppm. An air quality index indicated that ambient air quality for SO 2 was very poor, NO 2 ranged from moderate to very poor, whereas CO rating was moderate. Significant positive correlations existed between temperature and NO 2 , CO 2 , and CO and between humidity and VOCs. Significant relationships were also recorded between CO 2 and NO 2 and between CO and CO 2 . Poor urban planning, inadequate pollution control measure, and weak capacity to monitor air quality have implications for energy usage, air quality, and local meteorological parameters, with subsequent feedback into global climate change. Implementation of programs to monitor and control emissions in order to reduce air pollution will provide health, economic, and environmental benefits to the city. The need to develop and implement emission control programs to reduce air pollution in Dire Dawa City is urgent. This will provide enormous economic, health, and environmental benefits. It is expected that economic effects of air quality improvement will offset the expenditures for pollution control. Also, strategies that focus on air quality and climate change present a unique opportunity to engage different stakeholders in providing inclusive and sustainable development agenda for Dire Dawa.

  19. Development and testing of meteorology and air dispersion models for Mexico City

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Williams, M. D.; Brown, M. J.; Cruz, X.; Sosa, G.; Streit, G.

    Los Alamos National Laboratory and Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo are completing a joint study of options for improving air quality in Mexico City. We have modified a three-dimensional, prognostic, higher-order turbulence model for atmospheric circulation (HOTMAC) and a Monte Carlo dispersion and transport model (RAPTAD) to treat domains that include an urbanized area. We used the meteorological model to drive models which describe the photochemistry and air transport and dispersion. The photochemistry modeling is described in a separate paper. We tested the model against routine measurements and those of a major field program. During the field program, measurements included: (1) lidar measurements of aerosol transport and dispersion, (2) aircraft measurements of winds, turbulence, and chemical species aloft, (3) aircraft measurements of skin temperatures, and (4) Tethersonde measurements of winds and ozone. We modified the meteorological model to include provisions for time-varying synoptic-scale winds, adjustments for local wind effects, and detailed surface-coverage descriptions. We developed a new method to define mixing-layer heights based on model outputs. The meteorology and dispersion models were able to provide reasonable representations of the measurements and to define the sources of some of the major uncertainties in the model-measurement comparisons.

  20. PLAM - a meteorological pollution index for air quality and its applications in fog-haze forecasts in north China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Y.; Wang, J.; Gong, S.; Zhang, X.; Wang, H.; Wang, Y.; Wang, J.; Li, D.; Guo, J.

    2015-03-01

    Using surface meteorological observation and high resolution emission data, this paper discusses the application of PLAM/h Index (Parameter Linking Air-quality to Meteorological conditions/haze) in the prediction of large-scale low visibility and fog-haze events. Based on the two-dimensional probability density function diagnosis model for emissions, the study extends the diagnosis and prediction of the meteorological pollution index PLAM to the regional visibility fog-haze intensity. The results show that combining the influence of regular meteorological conditions and emission factors together in the PLAM/h parameterization scheme is very effective in improving the diagnostic identification ability of the fog-haze weather in North China. The correlation coefficients for four seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter) between PLAM/h and visibility observation are 0.76, 0.80, 0.96 and 0.86 respectively and all their significance levels exceed 0.001, showing the ability of PLAM/h to predict the seasonal changes and differences of fog-haze weather in the North China region. The high-value correlation zones are respectively located in Jing-Jin-Ji (Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei), Bohai Bay rim and the southern Hebei-northern Henan, indicating that the PLAM/h index has relations with the distribution of frequent heavy fog-haze weather in North China and the distribution of emission high-value zone. Comparatively analyzing the heavy fog-haze events and large-scale fine weather processes in winter and summer, it is found that PLAM/h index 24 h forecast is highly correlated to the visibility observation. Therefore, PLAM/h index has better capability of doing identification, analysis and forecasting.

  1. PLAM - a meteorological pollution index for air quality and its applications in fog-haze forecasts in North China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yang, Y. Q.; Wang, J. Z.; Gong, S. L.; Zhang, X. Y.; Wang, H.; Wang, Y. Q.; Wang, J.; Li, D.; Guo, J. P.

    2016-02-01

    Using surface meteorological observation and high-resolution emission data, this paper discusses the application of the PLAM/h index (Parameter Linking Air-quality to Meteorological conditions/haze) in the prediction of large-scale low visibility and fog-haze events. Based on the two-dimensional probability density function diagnosis model for emissions, the study extends the diagnosis and prediction of the meteorological pollution index PLAM to the regional visibility fog-haze intensity. The results show that combining the influence of regular meteorological conditions and emission factors together in the PLAM/h parameterization scheme is very effective in improving the diagnostic identification ability of the fog-haze weather in North China. The determination coefficients for four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, and winter) between PLAM/h and visibility observation are 0.76, 0.80, 0.96, and 0.86, respectively, and all of their significance levels exceed 0.001, showing the ability of PLAM/h to predict the seasonal changes and differences of fog-haze weather in the North China region. The high-value correlation zones are located in Jing-Jin-Ji (Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei), Bohai Bay rim, and southern Hebei-northern Henan, indicating that the PLAM/h index is related to the distribution of frequent heavy fog-haze weather in North China and the distribution of emission high-value zone. Through comparative analysis of the heavy fog-haze events and large-scale clear-weather processes in winter and summer, it is found that PLAM/h index 24 h forecast is highly correlated with the visibility observation. Therefore, the PLAM/h index has good capability in identification, analysis, and forecasting.

  2. BOREAS AES Five-Day Averaged Surface Meteorological and Upper Air Data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Hall, Forrest G. (Editor); Strub, Richard; Newcomer, Jeffrey A.

    2000-01-01

    The Canadian Atmospheric Environment Service (AES) provided BOREAS with hourly and daily surface meteorological data from 23 of the AES meteorological stations located across Canada and upper air data from 1 station at The Pas, Manitoba. Due to copyright restrictions on the full resolution surface meteorological data, this data set contains 5-day average values for the surface parameters. The upper air data are provided in their full resolution form. The 5-day averaging was performed in order to create a data set that could be publicly distributed at no cost. Temporally, the surface meteorological data cover the period of January 1975 to December 1996 and the upper air data cover the period of January 1961 to November 1996. The data are provided in tabular ASCII files, and are classified as AFM-staff data. The data files are available on a CD-ROM (see document number 20010000884), or from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC).

  3. Comparative analysis of meteorological performance of coupled chemistry-meteorology models in the context of AQMEII phase 2

    EPA Science Inventory

    Air pollution simulations critically depend on the quality of the underlying meteorology. In phase 2 of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII-2), thirteen modeling groups from Europe and four groups from North America operating eight different regional...

  4. APPLICATION OF BIAS AND ADJUSTMENT TECHNIQUES TO THE ETA-CMAQ AIR QUALITY FORECAST

    EPA Science Inventory

    The current air quality forecast system, based on linking NOAA's Eta meteorological model with EPA's Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, consistently overpredicts surface ozone concentrations, but simulates its day-to-day variability quite well. The ability of bias cor...

  5. Meteorological Processors and Accessory Programs

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Surface and upper air data, provided by NWS, are important inputs for air quality models. Before these data are used in some of the EPA dispersion models, meteorological processors are used to manipulate the data.

  6. Diagnostic Analysis of Ozone Concentrations Simulated by Two Regional-Scale Air Quality Models

    EPA Science Inventory

    Since the Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system (CMAQ) and the Weather Research and Forecasting with Chemistry model (WRF/Chem) use different approaches to simulate the interaction of meteorology and chemistry, this study compares the CMAQ and WRF/Chem air quality simu...

  7. Hydrologic, water-quality, and meteorologic data for Newberry Volcano and vicinity, Deschutes County, Oregon, 1991-93

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Crumrine, Milo D.; Morgan, David S.

    1994-01-01

    This report is a compilation of hydrologic, water- quality, and meteorologic data collected in the vicinity of Newberry Volcano near Bend, Oregon. These data were collected, in cooperation with the Bonneville Power Administration, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management, to provide baseline data for identifying and assessing the effects of proposed geothermal development in the vicinity of Newberry Volcano. Types of data collected include ground-water levels, lake levels, streamflow, water quality, and meteorologic measurements. Sites that were monitored include: (1) two thermal wells in the caldera, (2) several nonthermal wells in the caldera, (3) four wells outside of the caldera, (4) Paulina Creek, (5) Paulina and East Lakes, (6) hot springs that discharge into Paulina and East Lakes, and (7) meteorologic conditions near Paulina Lake. Data are presented for the period summer 1991 through fall 1993. Water-quality data collected include concentrations of common anions and cations, nutrients, trace elements, radiochemicals, and isotopes. Meteorologic data collected include wind velocity, air temperature, humidity, solar radiation, and precipitation.

  8. Summarising climate and air quality (ozone) data on self-organising maps: a Sydney case study.

    PubMed

    Jiang, Ningbo; Betts, Alan; Riley, Matt

    2016-02-01

    This paper explores the classification and visualisation utility of the self-organising map (SOM) method in the context of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, using gridded NCEP/NCAR geopotential height reanalysis for east Australia, together with multi-site meteorological and air quality data for Sydney from the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage Air Quality Monitoring Network. A twice-daily synoptic classification has been derived for east Australia for the period of 1958-2012. The classification has not only reproduced the typical synoptic patterns previously identified in the literature but also provided an opportunity to visualise the subtle, non-linear change in the eastward-migrating synoptic systems influencing NSW (including Sydney). The summarisation of long-term, multi-site air quality/meteorological data from the Sydney basin on the SOM plane has identified a set of typical air pollution/meteorological spatial patterns in the region. Importantly, the examination of these patterns in relation to synoptic weather types has provided important visual insights into how local and synoptic meteorological conditions interact with each other and affect the variability of air quality in tandem. The study illustrates that while synoptic circulation types are influential, the within-type variability in mesoscale flows plays a critical role in determining local ozone levels in Sydney. These results indicate that the SOM can be a useful tool for assessing the impact of weather and climatic conditions on air quality in the regional airshed. This study further promotes the use of the SOM method in environmental research.

  9. Building a Quality Controlled Database of Meteorological Data from NASA Kennedy Space Center and the United States Air Force's Eastern Range

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Brenton, James C.; Barbre. Robert E., Jr.; Decker, Ryan K.; Orcutt, John M.

    2018-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Natural Environments Branch (EV44) has provided atmospheric databases and analysis in support of space vehicle design and day-of-launch operations for NASA and commercial launch vehicle programs launching from the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC), co-located on the United States Air Force's Eastern Range (ER) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The ER complex is one of the most heavily instrumented sites in the United States with over 31 towers measuring various atmospheric parameters on a continuous basis. An inherent challenge with large sets of data consists of ensuring erroneous data is removed from databases, and thus excluded from launch vehicle design analyses. EV44 has put forth great effort in developing quality control (QC) procedures for individual meteorological instruments, however no standard QC procedures for all databases currently exists resulting in QC databases that have inconsistencies in variables, methodologies, and periods of record. The goal of this activity is to use the previous efforts by EV44 to develop a standardized set of QC procedures from which to build meteorological databases from KSC and the ER, while maintaining open communication with end users from the launch community to develop ways to improve, adapt and grow the QC database. Details of the QC procedures will be described. As the rate of launches increases with additional launch vehicle programs, it is becoming more important that weather databases are continually updated and checked for data quality before use in launch vehicle design and certification analyses.

  10. Meteorological Modeling of Wintertime Cold Air Pool Stagnation Episodes in the Uintah and Salt Lake Basins

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Crosman, E.; Horel, J.; Blaylock, B. K.; Foster, C.

    2014-12-01

    High wintertime ozone concentrations in rural areas associated with oil and gas development and high particulate concentrations in urban areas have become topics of increasing concern in the Western United States, as both primary and secondary pollutants become trapped within stable wintertime boundary layers. While persistent cold air pools that enable such poor wintertime air quality are typically associated with high pressure aloft and light winds, the complex physical processes that contribute to the formation, maintenance, and decay of persistent wintertime temperature inversions are only partially understood. In addition, obtaining sufficiently accurate numerical weather forecasts and meteorological simulations of cold air pools for input into chemical models remains a challenge. This study examines the meteorological processes associated with several wintertime pollution episodes in Utah's Uintah and Salt Lake Basins using numerical Weather Research and Forecasting model simulations and observations collected from the Persistent Cold Air Pool and Uintah Basin Ozone Studies. The temperature, vertical structure, and winds within these cold air pools was found to vary as a function of snow cover, snow albedo, land use, cloud cover, large-scale synoptic flow, and episode duration. We evaluate the sensitivity of key atmospheric features such as stability, planetary boundary layer depth, local wind flow patterns and transport mechanisms to variations in surface forcing, clouds, and synoptic flow. Finally, noted deficiencies in the meteorological models of cold air pools and modifications to the model snow and microphysics treatment that have resulted in improved cold pool simulations will be presented.

  11. THE SCIENTIFIC BASIS OF NOAA'S AIR QUALITY FORECASTING PROGRAM

    EPA Science Inventory

    For many years, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has conducted atmospheric research, including chemical and physical measurements, process studies, and the development and evaluation of experimental meteorological and photochemical air quality models. ...

  12. The temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of air pollution index and meteorological elements in Beijing, Tianjin and Shijiazhuang, China.

    PubMed

    Huading, Shi; Critto, Andrea; Torresan, Silvia; Qingxian, Gao

    2018-06-13

    With the rapid economic development and the continuous population growth, several important cities in China suffer serious air pollution, especially in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei economic developing area. Based on the daily air pollution index (API) and surface meteorological elements in Beijing, Tianjin and Shijiazhuang from 2001 to 2010, the relationships between API and meteorological elements were analyzed. The statistical analysis focused on the relationships at seasonal and monthly average scales, on different air pollution grades and air pollution processes. The results revealed that the air pollution conditions in the three areas gradually improved from 2001 to 2010, especially during summer; and the worst conditions in air quality were recorded in Beijing in spring due to the influences of dust, while in Tianjin and Shijiazhuang in winter due to household heating. Meteorological elements exhibited different influences on air pollution, showing similar relationships between API in monthly averages and four meteorological elements (i.e., the average, maximum and minimum temperatures, maximum air pressure, vapor pressure, and maximum wind speed); while the relationships on a seasonal average scale demonstrated significant differences. Compared with seasonal and monthly average scales of API, the relation coefficients based on different air pollution grades were significatively lower; while the relationship between API and meteorological elements based on air pollution process reduced the smoothing effect due to the average processing of seasonal and monthly API and improved the accuracy of the results based on different air pollution grades. Finally, statistical analysis of the distribution of pollution days in different wind directions indicated the directions of extreme and maximum wind speeds that mainly influence air pollution; representing a valuable information that could support the definition of air pollution control strategies through the

  13. SAMOS - A Decade of High-Quality, Underway Meteorological and Oceanographic Data from Research Vessels

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Smith, S. R.; Rolph, J.; Briggs, K.; Elya, J. L.; Bourassa, M. A.

    2016-02-01

    The authors will describe the successes and lessons learned from the Shipboard Automated Meteorological and Oceanographic System (SAMOS) initiative. Over the past decade, SAMOS has acquired, quality controlled, and distributed underway surface meteorological and oceanographic observations from nearly 40 oceanographic research vessels. Research vessels provide underway observations at high-temporal frequency (1-minute sampling interval) that include navigational (position, course, heading, and speed), meteorological (air temperature, humidity, wind, surface pressure, radiation, rainfall), and oceanographic (surface sea temperature and salinity) samples. Vessels recruited to the SAMOS initiative collect a high concentration of data within the U.S. continental shelf, around Hawaii and the islands of the tropical Pacific, and frequently operate well outside routine shipping lanes, capturing observations in extreme ocean environments (Southern, Arctic, South Atlantic, and South Pacific oceans) desired by the air-sea exchange, modeling, and satellite remote sensing communities. The presentation will highlight the data stewardship practices of the SAMOS initiative. Activities include routine automated and visual data quality evaluation, feedback to vessel technicians and operators regarding instrumentation errors, best practices for instrument siting and exposure on research vessels, and professional development activities for research vessel technicians. Best practices for data, metadata, and quality evaluation will be presented. We will discuss ongoing efforts to expand data services to enhance interoperability between marine data centers. Data access and archival protocols will also be presented, including how these data may be referenced and accessed via NCEI.

  14. Hybrid Air Quality Modeling Approach For Use in the Near ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Near-road EXposures to Urban air pollutant Study (NEXUS) investigated whether children with asthma living in close proximity to major roadways in Detroit, MI, (particularly near roadways with high diesel traffic) have greater health impacts associated with exposure to air pollutants than those living farther away. A major challenge in such health and exposure studies is the lack of information regarding pollutant exposure characterization. Air quality modeling can provide spatially and temporally varying exposure estimates for examining relationships between traffic-related air pollutants and adverse health outcomes. This paper presents a hybrid air quality modeling approach and its application in NEXUS in order to provide spatial and temporally varying exposure estimates and identification of the mobile source contribution to the total pollutant exposure. Model-based exposure metrics, associated with local variations of emissions and meteorology, were estimated using a combination of the AERMOD and R-LINE dispersion models, local emission source information from the National Emissions Inventory, detailed road network locations and traffic activity, and meteorological data from the Detroit City Airport. The regional background contribution was estimated using a combination of the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model and the Space/Time Ordinary Kriging (STOK) model. To capture the near-road pollutant gradients, refined “mini-grids” of model recep

  15. Dynamic Evaluation of Long-Term Air Quality Model Simulations Over the Northeastern U.S.

    EPA Science Inventory

    Dynamic model evaluation assesses a modeling system's ability to reproduce changes in air quality induced by changes in meteorology and/or emissions. In this paper, we illustrate various approaches to dynamic mode evaluation utilizing 18 years of air quality simulations perform...

  16. Spatial and temporal characteristics of air quality and air pollutants in 2013 in Beijing.

    PubMed

    Yan, Shujun; Cao, Hui; Chen, Ying; Wu, Chengzhen; Hong, Tao; Fan, Hailan

    2016-07-01

    Air pollution has become an ever more critical issue in Beijing in more recent years. In this study, we use the air quality index (AQI), corresponding primary pollutant types and meteorological data which are collected at 16 monitoring stations in Beijing between January 2013 and December, 2013 studying the spatial and temporal variations of air quality and air pollutants. The results show that PM2.5 was the most serious pollutant, followed by O3. The average PM2.5 mass concentration was 119.5 ± 13.8 μg m(-3) in Beijing. In addition, the air quality varies across different seasons. More specifically, winter season showed the worst air quality. Moreover, while particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) concentrations were relatively higher in the spring and winter seasons, gaseous pollutants (O3 and NO2) were more serious in the summer and autumn. In terms of spatial heterogeneity, the findings showed that AQI and PM2.5 concentrations were higher in south and lower in the north of the city, and the O3 showed exactly a pattern with the opposite direction-higher in the north and lower in the south. NO2 was found to have a greater impact on the central region compared with that in other regions. Furthermore, PM2.5 was found to be positively correlated with the relative humidity, but negatively correlated with wind speed and atmospheric pressure (P < 0.01). However, the dominant meteorological factors that influence the PM2.5 concentrations varied in different seasons. The results in this paper provide additional information for the effective control of the air pollution in Beijing.

  17. Multi-pollutant surface objective analyses and mapping of air quality health index over North America.

    PubMed

    Robichaud, Alain; Ménard, Richard; Zaïtseva, Yulia; Anselmo, David

    2016-01-01

    Air quality, like weather, can affect everyone, but responses differ depending on the sensitivity and health condition of a given individual. To help protect exposed populations, many countries have put in place real-time air quality nowcasting and forecasting capabilities. We present in this paper an optimal combination of air quality measurements and model outputs and show that it leads to significant improvements in the spatial representativeness of air quality. The product is referred to as multi-pollutant surface objective analyses (MPSOAs). Moreover, based on MPSOA, a geographical mapping of the Canadian Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is also presented which provides users (policy makers, public, air quality forecasters, and epidemiologists) with a more accurate picture of the health risk anytime and anywhere in Canada and the USA. Since pollutants can also behave as passive atmospheric tracers, they provide information about transport and dispersion and, hence, reveal synoptic and regional meteorological phenomena. MPSOA could also be used to build air pollution climatology, compute local and national trends in air quality, and detect systematic biases in numerical air quality (AQ) models. Finally, initializing AQ models at regular time intervals with MPSOA can produce more accurate air quality forecasts. It is for these reasons that the Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC) in collaboration with the Air Quality Research Division (AQRD) of Environment Canada has recently implemented MPSOA in their daily operations.

  18. Roles of Meteorology in Changes of Air Pollutants Concentrations in China from 2010 to 2015

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, P.; Kota, S. H.; Hu, J.; Ying, Q.; Zhang, H.

    2017-12-01

    Tremendous efforts have been made to control the severe air pollution in China in recent years. However, no significant improvement was observed according to annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations and the concentrations in severe air pollution events in winter. This is partially due to the role of meteorology, which affects the emission, transport, transformation, and deposition of air pollutants. In this study, simulation of air pollutants over China was conducted for six years from 2010 to 2015 with constant anthropogenic emissions to verify the changes of air pollutants due to meteorology changes only. Model performance was validated by comparing with meteorological observations and air pollutants measures from various sources. Four different regions/cities were selected to understand the changes in wind, mixing layer height, temperature, and relative humanity at different seasons. The changes in concentrations of pollutants including PM2.5 and its chemical components and ozone were analyzed and associated with meteorological changes. This study would provide information for designing effective control strategies in different areas with the consideration of meteorological and climate changes.

  19. Comprehensive evaluation of multi-year real-time air quality forecasting using an online-coupled meteorology-chemistry model over southeastern United States

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Yang; Hong, Chaopeng; Yahya, Khairunnisa; Li, Qi; Zhang, Qiang; He, Kebin

    2016-08-01

    An online-coupled meteorology-chemistry model, WRF/Chem-MADRID, has been deployed for real time air quality forecast (RT-AQF) in southeastern U.S. since 2009. A comprehensive evaluation of multi-year RT-AQF shows overall good performance for temperature and relative humidity at 2-m (T2, RH2), downward surface shortwave radiation (SWDOWN) and longwave radiation (LWDOWN), and cloud fraction (CF), ozone (O3) and fine particles (PM2.5) at surface, tropospheric ozone residuals (TOR) in O3 seasons (May-September), and column NO2 in winters (December-February). Moderate-to-large biases exist in wind speed at 10-m (WS10), precipitation (Precip), cloud optical depth (COT), ammonium (NH4+), sulfate (SO42-), and nitrate (NO3-) from the IMPROVE and SEARCH networks, organic carbon (OC) at IMPROVE, and elemental carbon (EC) and OC at SEARCH, aerosol optical depth (AOD) and column carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and formaldehyde (HCHO) in both O3 and winter seasons, column nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in O3 seasons, and TOR in winters. These biases indicate uncertainties in the boundary layer and cloud process treatments (e.g., surface roughness, microphysics cumulus parameterization), emissions (e.g., O3 and PM precursors, biogenic, mobile, and wildfire emissions), upper boundary conditions for all major gases and PM2.5 species, and chemistry and aerosol treatments (e.g., winter photochemistry, aerosol thermodynamics). The model shows overall good skills in reproducing the observed multi-year trends and inter-seasonal variability in meteorological and radiative variables such as T2, WS10, Precip, SWDOWN, and LWDOWN, and relatively well in reproducing the observed trends in surface O3 and PM2.5, but relatively poor in reproducing the observed column abundances of CO, NO2, SO2, HCHO, TOR, and AOD. The sensitivity simulations using satellite-constrained boundary conditions for O3 and CO show substantial improvement for both spatial distribution and domain-mean performance

  20. Likelihood of achieving air quality targets under model uncertainties.

    PubMed

    Digar, Antara; Cohan, Daniel S; Cox, Dennis D; Kim, Byeong-Uk; Boylan, James W

    2011-01-01

    Regulatory attainment demonstrations in the United States typically apply a bright-line test to predict whether a control strategy is sufficient to attain an air quality standard. Photochemical models are the best tools available to project future pollutant levels and are a critical part of regulatory attainment demonstrations. However, because photochemical models are uncertain and future meteorology is unknowable, future pollutant levels cannot be predicted perfectly and attainment cannot be guaranteed. This paper introduces a computationally efficient methodology for estimating the likelihood that an emission control strategy will achieve an air quality objective in light of uncertainties in photochemical model input parameters (e.g., uncertain emission and reaction rates, deposition velocities, and boundary conditions). The method incorporates Monte Carlo simulations of a reduced form model representing pollutant-precursor response under parametric uncertainty to probabilistically predict the improvement in air quality due to emission control. The method is applied to recent 8-h ozone attainment modeling for Atlanta, Georgia, to assess the likelihood that additional controls would achieve fixed (well-defined) or flexible (due to meteorological variability and uncertain emission trends) targets of air pollution reduction. The results show that in certain instances ranking of the predicted effectiveness of control strategies may differ between probabilistic and deterministic analyses.

  1. Urban Landscape Characterization Using Remote Sensing Data For Input into Air Quality Modeling

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Quattrochi, Dale A.; Estes, Maurice G., Jr.; Crosson, William; Khan, Maudood

    2005-01-01

    The urban landscape is inherently complex and this complexity is not adequately captured in air quality models that are used to assess whether urban areas are in attainment of EPA air quality standards, particularly for ground level ozone. This inadequacy of air quality models to sufficiently respond to the heterogeneous nature of the urban landscape can impact how well these models predict ozone pollutant levels over metropolitan areas and ultimately, whether cities exceed EPA ozone air quality standards. We are exploring the utility of high-resolution remote sensing data and urban growth projections as improved inputs to meteorological and air quality models focusing on the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area as a case study. The National Land Cover Dataset at 30m resolution is being used as the land use/land cover input and aggregated to the 4km scale for the MM5 mesoscale meteorological model and the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling schemes. Use of these data have been found to better characterize low density/suburban development as compared with USGS 1 km land use/land cover data that have traditionally been used in modeling. Air quality prediction for future scenarios to 2030 is being facilitated by land use projections using a spatial growth model. Land use projections were developed using the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan developed by the Atlanta Regional Commission. This allows the State Environmental Protection agency to evaluate how these transportation plans will affect future air quality.

  2. Quality Control of Meteorological Observations

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Collins, William; Dee, Dick; Rukhovets, Leonid

    1999-01-01

    For the first time, a problem of the meteorological observation quality control (QC) was formulated by L.S. Gandin at the Main Geophysical Observatory in the 70's. Later in 1988 L.S. Gandin began adapting his ideas in complex quality control (CQC) to the operational environment at the National Centers for Environmental Prediction. The CQC was first applied by L.S.Gandin and his colleagues to detection and correction of errors in rawinsonde heights and temperatures using a complex of hydrostatic residuals.Later, a full complex of residuals, vertical and horizontal optimal interpolations and baseline checks were added for the checking and correction of a wide range of meteorological variables. some other of Gandin's ideas were applied and substantially developed at other meteorological centers. A new statistical QC was recently implemented in the Goddard Data Assimilation System. The central component of any quality control is a buddy check which is a test of individual suspect observations against available nearby non-suspect observations. A novel feature of this test is that the error variances which are used for QC decision are re-estimated on-line. As a result, the allowed tolerances for suspect observations can depend on local atmospheric conditions. The system is then better able to accept extreme values observed in deep cyclones, jet streams and so on. The basic statements of this adaptive buddy check are described. Some results of the on-line QC including moisture QC are presented.

  3. 77 FR 48062 - Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans and Designation of Areas for Air Quality...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-08-13

    ... emission controls rather than to changes in meteorology, economic conditions, temporary, or voluntary (not... observed improvement in air quality is due to an economic recession, changes in meteorology, or temporary... improvement is due to the economic downturn, temporary changes in meteorology, or voluntary emission...

  4. Relationship between meteorological phenomena and air pollution in an urbanized and industrialized coastal area in northern France

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gengembre, Cyril; Zhang, Shouwen; Dieudonné, Elsa; Sokolov, Anton; Augustin, Patrick; Riffault, Véronique; Dusanter, Sébastien; Fourmentin, Marc; Delbarre, Hervé

    2016-04-01

    Impacts of global climate evolution are quite uncertain at regional and local scales, especially on air pollution. Air quality is associated with local atmospheric dynamics at a time scale shorter than a few weeks, while the climate change time scale is on the order of fifty years. To infer consequences of climate evolution on air pollution, it is necessary to fill the gap between these different scales. Another challenge is to understand the effect of global warming on the frequency of meteorological phenomena that influence air pollution. In this work, we classified meteorological events related to air pollution during a one-year long field campaign in Dunkirk (northern France). Owing to its coastal location under urban and industrial exposures, the Dunkirk agglomeration is an interesting area for studying gaseous and aerosols pollutants and their relationship with weather events such as sea breezes, fogs, storms and fronts. The air quality in the northern region of France is also greatly influenced by highly populated and industrialized cities along the coast of the North Sea, and by London and Paris agglomerations. During a field campaign, we used simultaneously a three-dimensional sonic anemometer and a weather station network, along with a scanning Doppler Lidar system to analyse the vertical structure of the atmosphere. An Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor enabled investigating the PM1 behaviour during the studied events. Air contaminants such as NOx (NO and NO2) were also measured by the regional pollution monitoring network ATMO Nord Pas-de-Calais. The events were identified by finding specific criteria from meteorological and turbulent parameters. Over a hundred cases of sea breezes, fog periods, stormy days and atmospheric front passages were investigated. Variations of turbulent parameters (vertical sensible heat flux and momentum flux) give estimations on the transport and the dispersal of pollutants. As the fluxes are weak during fogs, an increase

  5. Meteorological factors had more impact on airborne bacterial communities than air pollutants.

    PubMed

    Zhen, Quan; Deng, Ye; Wang, Yaqing; Wang, Xiaoke; Zhang, Hongxing; Sun, Xu; Ouyang, Zhiyun

    2017-12-01

    Airborne bacteria have gained increasing attention because they affect ecological balance and pose potential risks on human health. Recently, some studies have focused on the abundance and composition of airborne bacteria under heavy, hazy polluted weather in China, but they reached different conclusions about the comparisons with non-polluted days. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that meteorological factors could have a higher impact on shaping airborne bacterial communities than air pollutants by systematically monitoring the communities for 1year. Total suspended particles in Beijing were sampled for 20 consecutive days in each season of 2015. Bacterial abundance varied from 8.71×10 3 to 2.14×10 7 ribosomal operons per cubic meter according to the quantitative PCR analysis. There were relatively higher bacterial counts in spring and in autumn than in winter and summer. Airborne bacterial communities displayed a strong seasonality, according to the hierarchical cluster analysis. Only two exceptions overtook the seasonal trend, and both occurred in or after violent meteorological changes (sandstorm or rain). Aggregated boosted tree analysis performed on bacterial abundance showed that the dominant factors shaping bacterial communities were meteorological. They were air pressure in winter, air temperature and relative humidity in spring, RH in summer, and vapor pressure in autumn. Variation partition analysis on community structure showed that meteorological factors explained more variations than air pollutants. Therefore, both of the two models verified our hypothesis that the differences in airborne bacterial communities in polluted days or non-polluted days were mainly driven by the discrepancies of meteorological factors rather than by the presence of air pollutants. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Classroom Exercises Concerning the Effect of Weather Conditions on Air Quality in Illinois.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kohler, Fred

    This paper contains sample exercises that investigate weather and air quality relationships for use in college-level introductory courses in climatology and meteorology. The exercises will provide students with an opportunity to apply meteorological principles to a specific geographic location, in an effort to better understand the significant…

  7. Preparing the Model for Prediction Across Scales (MPAS) for global retrospective air quality modeling

    EPA Science Inventory

    The US EPA has a plan to leverage recent advances in meteorological modeling to develop a "Next-Generation" air quality modeling system that will allow consistent modeling of problems from global to local scale. The meteorological model of choice is the Model for Predic...

  8. Some principles governing the establishment of meteorological stations along air routes

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Aujames, P

    1922-01-01

    The organization of a meteorological service for an air route involves the solution of two distinct problems: distribution and grouping of meteorological stations and communications. Experience gained in the establishment of two lines, Paris-Warsaw and Constantinople-Bucharest enables us to establish certain principles, which may be of interest to note here.

  9. A joint modelling exercise designed to assess the respective impact of emission changes and meteorological variability on the observed air quality trends in major urban hotspots.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Colette, Augustin; Bessagnet, Bertrand; Dangiola, Ariela; D'Isidoro, Massimo; Gauss, Michael; Granier, Claire; Hodnebrog, Øivind; Jakobs, Hermann; Kanakidou, Maria; Khokhar, Fahim; Law, Kathy; Maurizi, Alberto; Meleux, Frederik; Memmesheimer, Michael; Nyiri, Agnes; Rouil, Laurence; Stordal, Frode; Tampieri, Francesco

    2010-05-01

    With the growth of urban agglomerations, assessing the drivers of variability of air quality in and around the main anthropogenic emission hotspots has become a major societal concern as well as a scientific challenge. These drivers include emission changes and meteorological variability; both of them can be investigated by means of numerical modelling of trends over the past few years. A collaborative effort has been developed in the framework of the CityZen European project to address this question. Several chemistry and transport models (CTMs) are deployed in this activity: four regional models (BOLCHEM, CHIMERE, EMEP and EURAD) and three global models (CTM2, MOZART, and TM4). The period from 1998 to 2007 has been selected for the historic reconstruction. The focus for the present preliminary presentation is Europe. A consistent set of emissions is used by all partners (EMEP for the European domain and IPCC-AR5 beyond) while a variety of meteorological forcing is used to gain robustness in the ensemble spread amongst models. The results of this experiment will be investigated to address the following questions: - Is the envelope of models able to reproduce the observed trends of the key chemical constituents? - How the variability amongst models changes in time and space and what does it tell us about the processes driving the observed trends? - Did chemical regimes and aerosol formation processes changed in selected hotspots? Answering the above questions will contribute to fulfil the ultimate goal of the present study: distinguishing the respective contribution of meteorological variability and emissions changes on air quality trends in major anthropogenic emissions hotspots.

  10. An Overview of Atmospheric Chemistry and Air Quality Modeling

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Johnson, Matthew S.

    2017-01-01

    This presentation will include my personal research experience and an overview of atmospheric chemistry and air quality modeling to the participants of the NASA Student Airborne Research Program (SARP 2017). The presentation will also provide examples on ways to apply airborne observations for chemical transport (CTM) and air quality (AQ) model evaluation. CTM and AQ models are important tools in understanding tropospheric-stratospheric composition, atmospheric chemistry processes, meteorology, and air quality. This presentation will focus on how NASA scientist currently apply CTM and AQ models to better understand these topics. Finally, the importance of airborne observation in evaluating these topics and how in situ and remote sensing observations can be used to evaluate and improve CTM and AQ model predictions will be highlighted.

  11. Effects of Meteorological Data Quality on Snowpack Modeling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Havens, S.; Marks, D. G.; Robertson, M.; Hedrick, A. R.; Johnson, M.

    2017-12-01

    Detailed quality control of meteorological inputs is the most time-intensive component of running the distributed, physically-based iSnobal snow model, and the effect of data quality of the inputs on the model is unknown. The iSnobal model has been run operationally since WY2013, and is currently run in several basins in Idaho and California. The largest amount of user input during modeling is for the quality control of precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, wind speed and wind direction inputs. Precipitation inputs require detailed user input and are crucial to correctly model the snowpack mass. This research applies a range of quality control methods to meteorological input, from raw input with minimal cleaning, to complete user-applied quality control. The meteorological input cleaning generally falls into two categories. The first is global minimum/maximum and missing value correction that could be corrected and/or interpolated with automated processing. The second category is quality control for inputs that are not globally erroneous, yet are still unreasonable and generally indicate malfunctioning measurement equipment, such as temperature or relative humidity that remains constant, or does not correlate with daily trends observed at nearby stations. This research will determine how sensitive model outputs are to different levels of quality control and guide future operational applications.

  12. INTERCOMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVE VEGETATION DATABASES FOR REGIONAL AIR QUALITY MODELING

    EPA Science Inventory

    Vegetation cover data are used to characterize several regional air quality modeling processes, including the calculation of heat, moisture, and momentum fluxes with the Mesoscale Meteorological Model (MM5) and the estimate of biogenic volatile organic compound and nitric oxide...

  13. Assessment of air quality benefits from national air pollution control policies in China. Part II: Evaluation of air quality predictions and air quality benefits assessment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wang, Litao; Jang, Carey; Zhang, Yang; Wang, Kai; Zhang, Qiang; Streets, David; Fu, Joshua; Lei, Yu; Schreifels, Jeremy; He, Kebin; Hao, Jiming; Lam, Yun-Fat; Lin, Jerry; Meskhidze, Nicholas; Voorhees, Scott; Evarts, Dale; Phillips, Sharon

    2010-09-01

    Following the meteorological evaluation in Part I, this Part II paper presents the statistical evaluation of air quality predictions by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA)'s Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (Models-3/CMAQ) model for the four simulated months in the base year 2005. The surface predictions were evaluated using the Air Pollution Index (API) data published by the China Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) for 31 capital cities and daily fine particulate matter (PM 2.5, particles with aerodiameter less than or equal to 2.5 μm) observations of an individual site in Tsinghua University (THU). To overcome the shortage in surface observations, satellite data are used to assess the column predictions including tropospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO 2) column abundance and aerosol optical depth (AOD). The result shows that CMAQ gives reasonably good predictions for the air quality. The air quality improvement that would result from the targeted sulfur dioxide (SO 2) and nitrogen oxides (NO x) emission controls in China were assessed for the objective year 2010. The results show that the emission controls can lead to significant air quality benefits. SO 2 concentrations in highly polluted areas of East China in 2010 are estimated to be decreased by 30-60% compared to the levels in the 2010 Business-As-Usual (BAU) case. The annual PM 2.5 can also decline by 3-15 μg m -3 (4-25%) due to the lower SO 2 and sulfate concentrations. If similar controls are implemented for NO x emissions, NO x concentrations are estimated to decrease by 30-60% as compared with the 2010 BAU scenario. The annual mean PM 2.5 concentrations will also decline by 2-14 μg m -3 (3-12%). In addition, the number of ozone (O 3) non-attainment areas in the northern China is projected to be much lower, with the maximum 1-h average O 3 concentrations in the summer reduced by 8-30 ppb.

  14. Impact of fine particulate fluctuation and other variables on Beijing's air quality index.

    PubMed

    Chen, Bo; Lu, Shaowei; Li, Shaoning; Wang, Bing

    2015-04-01

    We analyzed fluctuation in Beijing's air quality over 328 days, based on air quality grades and air quality data from 35 atmospheric monitoring stations. Our results show the air over Beijing is subject to pollution 152 days of the year, or 46.34%. Among all pollutants, fine particulates, solid or liquid, 2.5 μm or less in size (PM2.5), appeared most frequently as the primary pollutant: 249 days, or 76% of the sample year (328 days). Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and coarse particulates (PM10) cause the least pollution, appearing only 7 and 3 days, or 2 and 1% of the sample year, respectively. In Beijing, fine particulates like PM2.5 vary seasonally: 154.54 ± 18.60 in winter > 145.22 ± 18.61 in spring > 140.16 ± 20.76 in autumn > 122.37 ± 13.42 in summer. Air quality is best in August and worst in December, while various districts in Beijing experience different air quality. To be specific, from south to north and from west to east, air quality tends to improve. Meteorological elements have a constraining effect on air pollutants, which means there is a linear correlation between the air quality index and humidity, rainfall, wind speed, and temperature. Under a typical pollution scenario, the higher the air quality index (AQI) value, the lower the wind speed and the greater the relative humidity; the lower the AQI value, the higher the wind speed and lower the relative humidity. Analysis of influencing factors reveals that the air pollution is mainly particulate matter produced by burning coal, vehicle emissions, volatile oils and gas, fast development of food services, emissions from the surrounding region, and natural dust clouds formed in arid areas to the northwest. Topography affects the distribution of meteorological conditions, in turn varying air quality over the region from one location to another. Human activities also exercise impact on urban air quality with dual functions.

  15. Resilience of urban ambulance services under future climate, meteorology and air pollution scenarios

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pope, Francis; Chapman, Lee; Fisher, Paul; Mahmood, Marliyyah; Sangkharat, Kamolrat; Thomas, Neil; Thornes, John

    2017-04-01

    Ambulances are an integral part of a country's infrastructure ensuring its citizens and visitors are kept healthy. The impact of weather, climate and climate change on ambulance services around the world has received increasing attention in recent years but most studies have been area specific and there is a need to establish basic relationships between ambulance data (both response and illness data) and meteorological parameters. In this presentation, the effects of temperature, other meteorological and air pollution variables on ambulance call out rates for different medical categories will be investigated. We use ambulance call out obtained from various ambulance services worldwide which have significantly different meteorologies, climatologies and pollution conditions. A time-series analysis is utilized to understand the relation between meteorological conditions, air pollutants and different call out categories. We will present findings that support the opinion that ambulance attendance call outs records are an effective and well-timed source of data and can be used for health early warning systems. Furthermore the presented results can much improve our understanding of the relationships between meteorology, climate, air pollution and human health thereby allowing for better prediction of ambulance use through the application of long and short-term weather, climate and pollution forecasts.

  16. Developing and Transitioning Numerical Air Quality Models to Improve Air Quality and Public Health Decision-Making in El Salvador and Costa Rica As Part of the Servir Applied Sciences Team

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thomas, A.; Huff, A. K.; Gomori, S. G.; Sadoff, N.

    2014-12-01

    In order to enhance the capacity for air quality modeling and improve air quality monitoring and management in the SERVIR Mesoamerica region, members of SERVIR's Applied Sciences Team (AST) are developing national numerical air quality models for El Salvador and Costa Rica. We are working with stakeholders from the El Salvador Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (MARN); National University of Costa Rica (UNA); the Costa Rica Ministry of the Environment, Energy, and Telecommunications (MINAET); and Costa Rica National Meteorological Institute (IMN), who are leaders in air quality monitoring and management in the Mesoamerica region. Focusing initially on these institutions will build sustainability in regional modeling activities by developing air quality modeling capability that can be shared with other countries in Mesoamerica. The air quality models are based on the Community Multi-scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model and incorporate meteorological inputs from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, as well as national emissions inventories from El Salvador and Costa Rica. The models are being optimized for urban air quality, which is a priority of decision-makers in Mesoamerica. Once experimental versions of the modeling systems are complete, they will be transitioned to servers run by stakeholders in El Salvador and Costa Rica. The numerical air quality models will provide decision support for stakeholders to identify 1) high-priority areas for expanding national ambient air monitoring networks, 2) needed revisions to national air quality regulations, and 3) gaps in national emissions inventories. This project illustrates SERVIR's goal of the transition of science to support decision-making through capacity building in Mesoamerica, and it aligns with the Group on Earth Observations' health societal benefit theme. This presentation will describe technical aspects of the development of the models and outline key steps in our successful

  17. Evolution of Air Quality Model at the US EPA

    EPA Science Inventory

    At the US EPA, we have developed an air quality model, CMAQ, in the past 20+ years. Throughout the years, the model has been upgraded with respect to advancement of science. We have extended the model from regional to hemispheric. We have coupled it with meteorological model, WR...

  18. 33 CFR 334.1290 - In Bering Sea, Shemya Island Area, Alaska; meteorological rocket launching facility, Alaskan Air...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ..., Alaska; meteorological rocket launching facility, Alaskan Air Command, U.S. Air Force. 334.1290 Section...; meteorological rocket launching facility, Alaskan Air Command, U.S. Air Force. (a) The danger zone. An arc of a...) Rockets will normally be launched one each day Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Rocket...

  19. 33 CFR 334.1290 - In Bering Sea, Shemya Island Area, Alaska; meteorological rocket launching facility, Alaskan Air...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ..., Alaska; meteorological rocket launching facility, Alaskan Air Command, U.S. Air Force. 334.1290 Section...; meteorological rocket launching facility, Alaskan Air Command, U.S. Air Force. (a) The danger zone. An arc of a...) Rockets will normally be launched one each day Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Rocket...

  20. 33 CFR 334.1290 - In Bering Sea, Shemya Island Area, Alaska; meteorological rocket launching facility, Alaskan Air...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ..., Alaska; meteorological rocket launching facility, Alaskan Air Command, U.S. Air Force. 334.1290 Section...; meteorological rocket launching facility, Alaskan Air Command, U.S. Air Force. (a) The danger zone. An arc of a...) Rockets will normally be launched one each day Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Rocket...

  1. 33 CFR 334.1290 - In Bering Sea, Shemya Island Area, Alaska; meteorological rocket launching facility, Alaskan Air...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ..., Alaska; meteorological rocket launching facility, Alaskan Air Command, U.S. Air Force. 334.1290 Section...; meteorological rocket launching facility, Alaskan Air Command, U.S. Air Force. (a) The danger zone. An arc of a...) Rockets will normally be launched one each day Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Rocket...

  2. 33 CFR 334.1290 - In Bering Sea, Shemya Island Area, Alaska; meteorological rocket launching facility, Alaskan Air...

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ..., Alaska; meteorological rocket launching facility, Alaskan Air Command, U.S. Air Force. 334.1290 Section...; meteorological rocket launching facility, Alaskan Air Command, U.S. Air Force. (a) The danger zone. An arc of a...) Rockets will normally be launched one each day Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. Rocket...

  3. Global Air Quality and Climate

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Fiore, Arlene M.; Naik, Vaishali; Steiner, Allison; Unger, Nadine; Bergmann, Dan; Prather, Michael; Righi, Mattia; Rumbold, Steven T.; Shindell, Drew T.; Skeie, Ragnhild B.; hide

    2012-01-01

    Emissions of air pollutants and their precursors determine regional air quality and can alter climate. Climate change can perturb the long-range transport, chemical processing, and local meteorology that influence air pollution. We review the implications of projected changes in methane (CH4), ozone precursors (O3), and aerosols for climate (expressed in terms of the radiative forcing metric or changes in global surface temperature) and hemispheric-to-continental scale air quality. Reducing the O3 precursor CH4 would slow near-term warming by decreasing both CH4 and tropospheric O3. Uncertainty remains as to the net climate forcing from anthropogenic nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions, which increase tropospheric O3 (warming) but also increase aerosols and decrease CH4 (both cooling). Anthropogenic emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) and non-CH4 volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) warm by increasing both O3 and CH4. Radiative impacts from secondary organic aerosols (SOA) are poorly understood. Black carbon emission controls, by reducing the absorption of sunlight in the atmosphere and on snow and ice, have the potential to slow near-term warming, but uncertainties in coincident emissions of reflective (cooling) aerosols and poorly constrained cloud indirect effects confound robust estimates of net climate impacts. Reducing sulfate and nitrate aerosols would improve air quality and lessen interference with the hydrologic cycle, but lead to warming. A holistic and balanced view is thus needed to assess how air pollution controls influence climate; a first step towards this goal involves estimating net climate impacts from individual emission sectors. Modeling and observational analyses suggest a warming climate degrades air quality (increasing surface O3 and particulate matter) in many populated regions, including during pollution episodes. Prior Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios (SRES) allowed unconstrained growth, whereas the Representative

  4. Global air quality and climate.

    PubMed

    Fiore, Arlene M; Naik, Vaishali; Spracklen, Dominick V; Steiner, Allison; Unger, Nadine; Prather, Michael; Bergmann, Dan; Cameron-Smith, Philip J; Cionni, Irene; Collins, William J; Dalsøren, Stig; Eyring, Veronika; Folberth, Gerd A; Ginoux, Paul; Horowitz, Larry W; Josse, Béatrice; Lamarque, Jean-François; MacKenzie, Ian A; Nagashima, Tatsuya; O'Connor, Fiona M; Righi, Mattia; Rumbold, Steven T; Shindell, Drew T; Skeie, Ragnhild B; Sudo, Kengo; Szopa, Sophie; Takemura, Toshihiko; Zeng, Guang

    2012-10-07

    Emissions of air pollutants and their precursors determine regional air quality and can alter climate. Climate change can perturb the long-range transport, chemical processing, and local meteorology that influence air pollution. We review the implications of projected changes in methane (CH(4)), ozone precursors (O(3)), and aerosols for climate (expressed in terms of the radiative forcing metric or changes in global surface temperature) and hemispheric-to-continental scale air quality. Reducing the O(3) precursor CH(4) would slow near-term warming by decreasing both CH(4) and tropospheric O(3). Uncertainty remains as to the net climate forcing from anthropogenic nitrogen oxide (NO(x)) emissions, which increase tropospheric O(3) (warming) but also increase aerosols and decrease CH(4) (both cooling). Anthropogenic emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) and non-CH(4) volatile organic compounds (NMVOC) warm by increasing both O(3) and CH(4). Radiative impacts from secondary organic aerosols (SOA) are poorly understood. Black carbon emission controls, by reducing the absorption of sunlight in the atmosphere and on snow and ice, have the potential to slow near-term warming, but uncertainties in coincident emissions of reflective (cooling) aerosols and poorly constrained cloud indirect effects confound robust estimates of net climate impacts. Reducing sulfate and nitrate aerosols would improve air quality and lessen interference with the hydrologic cycle, but lead to warming. A holistic and balanced view is thus needed to assess how air pollution controls influence climate; a first step towards this goal involves estimating net climate impacts from individual emission sectors. Modeling and observational analyses suggest a warming climate degrades air quality (increasing surface O(3) and particulate matter) in many populated regions, including during pollution episodes. Prior Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenarios (SRES) allowed unconstrained growth, whereas

  5. Impacts of Lowered Urban Air Temperatures on Precursor Emission and Ozone Air Quality.

    PubMed

    Taha, Haider; Konopacki, Steven; Akbari, Hashem

    1998-09-01

    Meteorological, photochemical, building-energy, and power plant simulations were performed to assess the possible precursor emission and ozone air quality impacts of decreased air temperatures that could result from implementing the "cool communities" concept in California's South Coast Air Basin (SoCAB). Two pathways are considered. In the direct pathway, a reduction in cooling energy use translates into reduced demand for generation capacity and, thus, reduced precursor emissions from electric utility power plants. In the indirect pathway, reduced air temperatures can slow the atmospheric production of ozone as well as precursor emission from anthropogenic and biogenic sources. The simulations suggest small impacts on emissions following implementation of cool communities in the SoCAB. In summer, for example, there can be reductions of up to 3% in NO x emissions from in-basin power plants. The photochemical simulations suggest that the air quality impacts of these direct emission reductions are small. However, the indirect atmospheric effects of cool communities can be significant. For example, ozone peak concentrations can decrease by up to 11% in summer and population-weighted exceedance exposure to ozone above the California and National Ambient Air Quality Standards can decrease by up to 11 and 17%, respectively. The modeling suggests that if these strategies are combined with others, such as mobile-source emission control, the improvements in ozone air quality can be substantial.

  6. Preliminary Evaluation of Air Quality Model Performance Utilizing Measurements at the University of Houston Moody Tower and others during the TexAQS-II

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Byun, D. W.; Rappenglueck, B.; Lefer, B.

    2007-12-01

    Accurate meteorological and photochemical modeling efforts are necessary to understand the measurements made during the Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS-II). The main objective of the study is to understand the meteorological and chemical processes of high ozone and regional haze events in the Eastern Texas, including the Houston-Galveston metropolitan area. Real-time and retrospective meteorological and photochemical model simulations were performed to study key physical and chemical processes in the Houston Galveston Area. In particular, the Vertical Mixing Experiment (VME) at the University of Houston campus was performed on selected days during the TexAQS-II. Results of the MM5 meteorological model and CMAQ air quality model simulations were compared with the VME and other TexAQS-II measurements to understand the interaction of the boundary layer dynamics and photochemical evolution affecting Houston air quality.

  7. Evaluating and improving the results of air quality models in Texas using TES, AIRS and other satellite data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Osterman, G.; Harper, C.; Estes, M.; Zhao, W.; Bowman, K.; Pierce, B.; Irion, B.; Kahn, B.; Al-Saadi, J.

    2008-05-01

    The Houston/Galveston/Brazoria (HGB) area of Texas has been classified as in moderate nonattainment of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 8-hour standard for ground level ozone since April 30, 2004. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality uses photochemical model results as one of its primary tools to develop strategies to bring the HGB area into attainment with the EPA standard. The state of Texas then includes the strategies into a revised version of its State Implementation Plan (SIP). We will discuss efforts that have been or soon will be underway to use satellite data to evaluate and improve the meteorological and photochemical modeling efforts at TCEQ. In particular we will show the use of GOES, AIRS and TES data to improve the ability to model, using the MM5 model, the meteorological conditions over Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. The meteorological fields are then used as one of the inputs to the CAMx air quality model used at TCEQ. We will discuss the use of chemical transport model results as initial and boundary conditions which are a key uncertainty in the modeling of the air above Houston. We will also discuss the use of TES data to assist in the evaluation of preliminary model results generated by TCEQ for time periods in 2005. The satellite data will provide key information on ozone and carbon monoxide concentrations away from surface monitors in the troposphere. We will show how satellite data is becoming a key tool in the effort to improve air quality in the HGB area and one that can easily applied for use in other regions of the country.

  8. The Economic Value of Air Quality Forecasting

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Anderson-Sumo, Tasha

    bad air quality warning and forecast air quality forecasts. There is a difficulty presented with evaluating the economic utility of the forecasts. All may not comply and even with a low compliance rate of 5% and 72% as the average probability of detection of poor air quality days by the air quality models, we estimate that the forecasting program saves 412 lives or 412 million dollars per year for the region. The totals we found are great or greater than other typical yearly meteorological hazard programs such as tornado or hurricane forecasting and it is clear that the economic value of air quality forecasting in the Baltimore/Washington region is vital.

  9. Modeling of the anthropogenic heat flux and its effect on regional meteorology and air quality over the Yangtze River Delta region, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Xie, Min; Liao, Jingbiao; Wang, Tijian; Zhu, Kuanguang; Zhuang, Bingliang; Han, Yong; Li, Mengmeng; Li, Shu

    2016-05-01

    Anthropogenic heat (AH) emissions from human activities caused by urbanization can affect the city environment. Based on the energy consumption and the gridded demographic data, the spatial distribution of AH emission over the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region is estimated. Meanwhile, a new method for the AH parameterization is developed in the WRF/Chem model, which incorporates the gridded AH emission data with the seasonal and diurnal variations into the simulations. By running this upgraded WRF/Chem for 2 typical months in 2010, the impacts of AH on the meteorology and air quality over the YRD region are studied. The results show that the AH fluxes over the YRD have been growing in recent decades. In 2010, the annual-mean values of AH over Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are 14.46, 2.61 and 1.63 W m-2, respectively, with the high value of 113.5 W m-2 occurring in the urban areas of Shanghai. These AH emissions can significantly change the urban heat island and urban-breeze circulations in the cities of the YRD region. In Shanghai, 2 m air temperature increases by 1.6 °C in January and 1.4 °C in July, the PBLH (planetary boundary layer height) rises up by 140 m in January and 160 m in July, and 10 m wind speed is enhanced by 0.7 m s-1 in January and 0.5 m s-1 in July, with a higher increment at night. The enhanced vertical movement can transport more moisture to higher levels, which causes the decrease in water vapor at ground level and the increase in the upper PBL (planetary boundary layer), and thereby induces the accumulative precipitation to increase by 15-30 % over the megacities in July. The adding of AH can impact the spatial and vertical distributions of the simulated pollutants as well. The concentrations of primary air pollutants decrease near the surface and increase at the upper levels, due mainly to the increases in PBLH, surface wind speed and upward air vertical movement. But surface O3 concentrations increase in the urban areas, with maximum

  10. Reduced-form air quality modeling for community-scale ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Transportation plays an important role in modern society, but its impact on air quality has been shown to have significant adverse effects on public health. Numerous reviews (HEI, CDC, WHO) summarizing findings of hundreds of studies conducted mainly in the last decade, conclude that exposures to traffic emissions near roads are a public health concern. The Community LINE Source Model (C-LINE) is a web-based model designed to inform the community user of local air quality impacts due to roadway vehicles in their region of interest using a simplified modeling approach. Reduced-form air quality modeling is a useful tool for examining what-if scenarios of changes in emissions, such as those due to changes in traffic volume, fleet mix, or vehicle speed. Examining various scenarios of air quality impacts in this way can identify potentially at-risk populations located near roadways, and the effects that a change in traffic activity may have on them. C-LINE computes dispersion of primary mobile source pollutants using meteorological conditions for the region of interest and computes air-quality concentrations corresponding to these selected conditions. C-LINE functionality has been expanded to model emissions from port-related activities (e.g. ships, trucks, cranes, etc.) in a reduced-form modeling system for local-scale near-port air quality analysis. This presentation describes the Community modeling tools C-LINE and C-PORT that are intended to be used by local gove

  11. Assessing the Impacts of Atmospheric Conditions under Climate Change on Air Quality Profile over Hong Kong

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hei Tong, Cheuk

    2017-04-01

    Small particulates can cause long term impairment to human health as they can penetrate deep and deposit on the wall of the respiratory system. Under the projected climate change as reported by literature, atmospheric stability, which has strong effects on vertical mixing of air pollutants and thus air quality Hong Kong, is also varying from near to far future. In addition to domestic emission, Hong Kong receives also significant concentration of cross-boundary particulates that their natures and movements are correlated with atmospheric condition. This study aims to study the relation of atmospheric conditions with air quality over Hong Kong. Past meteorological data is based on Modern Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA) reanalysis data. Radiosonde data provided from HKO are also adopted in testing and validating the data. Future meteorological data is simulated by the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF), which dynamically downscaled the past and future climate under the A1B scenario simulated by ECHAM5/MPIOM. Air quality data is collected on one hand from the ground station data provided by Environment Protection Department, with selected stations revealing local emission and trans-boundary emission respectively. On the other hand, an Atmospheric Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), which operates using the radar principle to detect Rayleigh and Mie scattering from atmospheric gas and aerosols, has also been adopted to measure vertical aerosol profile, which has been observed tightly related to the high level meteorology. Data from scattered signals are collected, averaged or some episode selected for characteristic comparison with the atmospheric stability indices and other meteorological factors. The relation between atmospheric conditions and air quality is observed by statistical analysis, and statistical models are built based on the stability indices to project the changes in sulphur dioxide, ozone and particulate

  12. Definition of air quality measurements for monitoring space shuttle launches

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Thorpe, R. D.

    1978-01-01

    A description of a recommended air quality monitoring network to characterize the impact on ambient air quality in the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) (area) of space shuttle launch operations is given. Analysis of ground cloud processes and prevalent meteorological conditions indicates that transient HCl depositions can be a cause for concern. The system designed to monitor HCl employs an extensive network of inexpensive detectors combined with a central analysis device. An acid rain network is also recommended. A quantitative measure of projected minimal long-term impact involves the limited monitoring of NOx and particulates. All recommended monitoring is confined ti KSC property.

  13. Twelve Months of Air Quality Monitoring at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Southwestern Rural Nevada, U.S.A (EMSI April 2007)

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Engelbrecht, Johann P; Shafer, David S; Campbell, Dave

    The one year of air quality monitoring data collected at the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) was the final part of the air quality "Scoping Studies" for the Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative (EMSI) in southern and central Nevada. The objective of monitoring at Ash Meadows was to examine aerosol and meteorological data, seasonal trends in aerosol and meteorological parameters as well as to examine evidence for long distance transport of some constituents. The 9,307 hectare refuge supports more than 50 springs and 24 endemic species, including the only population of the federally listed endangered Devil’s Hole pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis)more » (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1990). Ash Meadows NWR is located in a Class II air quality area, and the aerosol measurements collected with this study are compared to those of Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) sites. Measurements taken at Ash Meadows NWR over a period of 12 months provide new baseline air quality and meteorological information for rural southwestern Nevada, specifically Nye County and the Amargosa Valley.« less

  14. IMPACTS OF CLIMATE-INDUCED CHANGES IN EXTREME EVENTS ON OZONE AND PARTICULATE MATTER AIR QUALITY

    EPA Science Inventory

    Historical data records of air pollution meteorology from multiple datasets will be compiled and analyzed to identify possible trends in extreme events. Changes in climate and air quality between 2010 and 2050 will be simulated with a suite of models. The consequential effe...

  15. Monitoring and analysis of air quality in Riga

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ubelis, Arnolds; Leitass, Andris; Vitols, Maris

    1995-09-01

    Riga, the capital of Latvia is a city with nearly 900,000 inhabitants and various highly concentrated industries. Air pollution in Riga is a serious problem affecting health and damaging valuable buildings of historical importance, as acid rain and smog take their toll. Therefore the Air Quality Management System with significant assistance from Swedish Government and persistent efforts from Riga City Council was arranged in Riga. It contains INDIC AIRVIRO system which simulates and evaluates air pollution levels at various locations. It then processes the data in order to predict air quality based on a number of criteria and parameters, measured by OPSIS differential absorption instruments, as well as data from the Meteorological Service and results of episodic measurements. The analysis of the results provided by Riga Air Quality Management System for the first time allows us to start comprehensive supervision of troposphere physical, chemical, and photochemical processes in the air of Riga as well as to appreciate the influence of lcoal pollution and transboundary transfer. The report contains the actual results of this work and first attempts of analysis as well as overview about activities towards research and teaching in the fields of spectroscopy and photochemistry of polluted atmospheres.

  16. Letter Report: Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative - Air Quality Scoping Study for Caliente, Lincoln County, Nevada

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    J. Englebrecht; I. Kavouras; D. Campbell

    2008-08-01

    The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is performing a scoping study as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative (EMSI). The main objective is to obtain baseline air quality information for Yucca Mountain and an area surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Air quality and meteorological monitoring and sampling equipment housed in a mobile trailer (shelter) is collecting data at eight sites outside the NTS, including Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Beatty, Sarcobatus Flats, Rachel, Caliente, Pahranagat NWR, Crater Flat, and Tonopah Airport, and at four sites on the NTS (Engelbrecht et al., 2007a-d).more » The trailer is stationed at any one site for approximately eight weeks at a time. This letter report provides a summary of air quality and meteorological data, on completion of the site's sampling program.« less

  17. Observations and modeling of air quality trends over 1990-2010 across the northern hemisphere: China, the United States and Europe

    EPA Science Inventory

    Trends in air quality across the Northern Hemisphere over a 21-year period (1990–2010) were simulated using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) multiscale chemical transport model driven by meteorology from Weather Research and Forecasting WRF) simulations and internally ...

  18. High-Density, High-Resolution, Low-Cost Air Quality Sensor Networks for Urban Air Monitoring

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Mead, M. I.; Popoola, O. A.; Stewart, G.; Bright, V.; Kaye, P.; Saffell, J.

    2012-12-01

    Monitoring air quality in highly granular environments such as urban areas which are spatially heterogeneous with variable emission sources, measurements need to be made at appropriate spatial and temporal scales. Current routine air quality monitoring networks generally are either composed of sparse expensive installations (incorporating e.g. chemiluminescence instruments) or higher density low time resolution systems (e.g. NO2 diffusion tubes). Either approach may not accurately capture important effects such as pollutant "hot spots" or adequately capture spatial (or temporal) variability. As a result, analysis based on data from traditional low spatial resolution networks, such as personal exposure, may be inaccurate. In this paper we present details of a sophisticated, low-cost, multi species (gas phase, speciated PM, meteorology) air quality measurement network methodology incorporating GPS and GPRS which has been developed for high resolution air quality measurements in urban areas. Sensor networks developed in the Centre for Atmospheric Science (University of Cambridge) incorporated electrochemical gas sensors configured for use in urban air quality studies operating at parts-per-billion (ppb) levels. It has been demonstrated that these sensors can be used to measure key air quality gases such as CO, NO and NO2 at the low ppb mixing ratios present in the urban environment (estimated detection limits <4ppb for CO and NO and <1ppb for NO2. Mead et al (submitted Aug., 2012)). Based on this work, a state of the art multi species instrument package for deployment in scalable sensor networks has been developed which has general applicability. This is currently being employed as part of a major 3 year UK program at London Heathrow airport (the Sensor Networks for Air Quality (SNAQ) Heathrow project). The main project outcome is the creation of a calibrated, high spatial and temporal resolution data set for O3, NO, NO2, SO2, CO, CO2, VOCstotal, size-speciated PM

  19. The role of meteorological conditions and pollution control strategies in reducing air pollution in Beijing during APEC 2014 and Victory Parade 2015

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liang, Pengfei; Zhu, Tong; Fang, Yanhua; Li, Yingruo; Han, Yiqun; Wu, Yusheng; Hu, Min; Wang, Junxia

    2017-11-01

    To control severe air pollution in China, comprehensive pollution control strategies have been implemented throughout the country in recent years. To evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies, the influence of meteorological conditions on levels of air pollution needs to be determined. Using the intensive air pollution control strategies implemented during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in 2014 (APEC 2014) and the 2015 China Victory Day Parade (Victory Parade 2015) as examples, we estimated the role of meteorological conditions and pollution control strategies in reducing air pollution levels in Beijing. Atmospheric particulate matter of aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm (PM2.5) samples were collected and gaseous pollutants (SO2, NO, NOx, and O3) were measured online at a site in Peking University (PKU). To determine the influence of meteorological conditions on the levels of air pollution, we first compared the air pollutant concentrations during days with stable meteorological conditions. However, there were few days with stable meteorological conditions during the Victory Parade. As such, we were unable to estimate the level of emission reduction efforts during this period. Finally, a generalized linear regression model (GLM) based only on meteorological parameters was built to predict air pollutant concentrations, which could explain more than 70 % of the variation in air pollutant concentration levels, after incorporating the nonlinear relationships between certain meteorological parameters and the concentrations of air pollutants. Evaluation of the GLM performance revealed that the GLM, even based only on meteorological parameters, could be satisfactory to estimate the contribution of meteorological conditions in reducing air pollution and, hence, the contribution of control strategies in reducing air pollution. Using the GLM, we found that the meteorological conditions and pollution control strategies contributed 30 and 28 % to the reduction

  20. AQA - Air Quality model for Austria - Evaluation and Developments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hirtl, M.; Krüger, B. C.; Baumann-Stanzer, K.; Skomorowski, P.

    2009-04-01

    The regional weather forecast model ALADIN of the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) is used in combination with the chemical transport model CAMx (www.camx.com) to conduct forecasts of gaseous and particulate air pollution over Europe. The forecasts which are done in cooperation with the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences in Vienna (BOKU) are supported by the regional governments since 2005 with the main interest on the prediction of tropospheric ozone. The daily ozone forecasts are evaluated for the summer 2008 with the observations of about 150 air quality stations in Austria. In 2008 the emission-model SMOKE was integrated into the modelling system to calculate the biogenic emissions. The anthropogenic emissions are based on the newest EMEP data set as well as on regional inventories for the core domain. The performance of SMOKE is shown for a summer period in 2007. In the frame of the COST-action 728 „Enhancing mesoscale meteorological modelling capabilities for air pollution and dispersion applications", multi-model ensembles are used to conduct an international model evaluation. The model calculations of meteorological- and concentration fields are compared to measurements on the ensemble platform at the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Ispra. The results for 2 episodes in 2006 show the performance of the different models as well as of the model ensemble.

  1. Comprehensive national database of tree effects on air quality and human health in the United States

    Treesearch

    Satoshi Hirabayashi; David J. Nowak

    2016-01-01

    Trees remove air pollutants through dry deposition processes depending upon forest structure, meteorology, and air quality that vary across space and time. Employing nationally available forest, weather, air pollution and human population data for 2010, computer simulations were performed for deciduous and evergreen trees with varying leaf area index for rural and...

  2. Assessment of the MACC reanalysis and its influence as chemical boundary conditions for regional air quality modeling in AQMEII-2

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII) has now reached its second phase which is dedicated to the evaluation of online coupled chemistry-meteorology models. Sixteen modeling groups from Europe and five from North America have run regional air quality m...

  3. Meteorological conditions are associated with physical activities performed in open-air settings

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suminski, Richard R.; Poston, Walker C.; Market, Patrick; Hyder, Melissa; Sara, Pyle A.

    2008-01-01

    Meteorological conditions (MC) are believed to modify physical activity. However, studies in this area are limited and none have looked at the associations between MC and physical activity in open-air settings. Therefore, we examined the relationships between MC and physical activities performed on sidewalks/streets and outdoor oval tracks. Observation techniques were used to count individuals walking to school, exercising on oval tracks and walking/jogging/biking on sidewalks/streets. Meteorological conditions were obtained from an Automated Surface Observing System located at a nearby airport for the same time periods physical activities were observed. On weekdays, fewer children were seen walking to school and more bicyclists were observed on sidewalks/streets as wind speed increased ( p < 0.05). Ambient and apparent temperatures were positively ( p < 0.05) and humidity and barometric pressure negatively ( p < 0.005) related to the number of individuals walking on the track. Meteorological conditions were not significantly associated with physical activities observed on weekends. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that apparent temperature (+), barometric pressure (-) and dew point (-) accounted for 58.0% of the variance in the number of walkers on the track. A significant proportion of the variance (>30%) in the number of joggers and the length of time they jogged was accounted for by apparent temperature (+) and dew point (-). We found that meteorological conditions are related to physical activity in open-air settings. The results embellish the context in which environmental-physical activity relationships should be interpreted and provide important information for researchers applying the observation method in open-air settings.

  4. Application of Kolomogorov-Zurbenko Filter and the decoupled direct 3D method for the dynamic evaluation of a regional air quality model

    EPA Science Inventory

    Regional air quality models are being used in a policy-setting to estimate the response of air pollutant concentrations to changes in emissions and meteorology. Dynamic evaluation entails examination of a retrospective case(s) to assess whether an air quality model has properly p...

  5. The Influence of Urban Planning Affected Static and Stable Meteorological Field on Air Pollution

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Yue; Zhang, Liyuan; Zhang, Yunwei

    2018-02-01

    Accompany with the rapid urbanized and industrialized process, the built-up area and the number of high-rise buildings increased fast. Urban air quality is facing with the challenge caused by the rapid increase in energy consumption, motor vehicles owned, and the city construction. Long term high precision analysis on Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region has been conducted in this article, so as to explore the influence of rapid increase in urban size and tall building amount on occurrence frequency of urban static and stable meteorological conditions as well as the contribution to urban PM2.5 pollution.

  6. Characterizing the impact of projected changes in climate and air quality on human exposures to ozone

    EPA Science Inventory

    The impact of climate change on human and environmental health is of critical concern. Population exposures to air pollutants both indoors and outdoors are influenced by a wide range of air quality, meteorological, behavioral, and housing-related factors, many of which are also i...

  7. Evidence of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation driving multi-decadal variability of summertime surface air quality in the eastern United States: Implications for air quality management in the coming decades

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Shen, L.; Mickley, L. J.

    2016-12-01

    Atlantic sea surface temperatures have a significant influence on the summertime meteorology and air quality in the eastern United States. In this study, we investigate the effect of the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) on two key air pollutants, surface ozone and PM2.5, over the eastern United States. The shift of AMO from cold to warm phase increases surface air temperatures by 0.5 K across the East and reduces precipitation, resulting in a warmer and drier summer. By applying observed, present-day relationships between these pollutants and meteorological variables to a variety of observations and historical reanalysis datasets, we calculate the impacts of AMO on U.S. air quality. Our study reveals a multidecadal variability in mean summertime (JJA) maximum daily 8-hour (MDA8) ozone and surface PM2.5 concentrations in the eastern United States. In one-half cycle ( 30 years) of the AMO from negative to positive phase with constant anthropogenic emissions, JJA MDA8 ozone concentrations increase by 1-3 ppbv in the Northeast and 2-5 ppbv in the Great Plains; JJA PM2.5 concentrations increase by 0.8-1.2 μg m-3 in the Northeast and Southeast. The resulting impact on mortality rates is 4000 excess deaths per half cycle of AMO. We suggest that a complete picture of air quality management in coming decades requires consideration of the AMO influence.

  8. Air temperature sensors: dependence of radiative errors on sensor diameter in precision metrology and meteorology

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Podesta, Michael; Bell, Stephanie; Underwood, Robin

    2018-04-01

    In both meteorological and metrological applications, it is well known that air temperature sensors are susceptible to radiative errors. However, it is not widely known that the radiative error measured by an air temperature sensor in flowing air depends upon the sensor diameter, with smaller sensors reporting values closer to true air temperature. This is not a transient effect related to sensor heat capacity, but a fluid-dynamical effect arising from heat and mass flow in cylindrical geometries. This result has been known historically and is in meteorology text books. However, its significance does not appear to be widely appreciated and, as a consequence, air temperature can be—and probably is being—widely mis-estimated. In this paper, we first review prior descriptions of the ‘sensor size’ effect from the metrological and meteorological literature. We develop a heat transfer model to describe the process for cylindrical sensors, and evaluate the predicted temperature error for a range of sensor sizes and air speeds. We compare these predictions with published predictions and measurements. We report measurements demonstrating this effect in two laboratories at NPL in which the air flow and temperature are exceptionally closely controlled. The results are consistent with the heat-transfer model, and show that the air temperature error is proportional to the square root of the sensor diameter and that, even under good laboratory conditions, it can exceed 0.1 °C for a 6 mm diameter sensor. We then consider the implications of this result. In metrological applications, errors of the order of 0.1 °C are significant, representing limiting uncertainties in dimensional and mass measurements. In meteorological applications, radiative errors can easily be much larger. But in both cases, an understanding of the diameter dependence allows assessment and correction of the radiative error using a multi-sensor technique.

  9. Temporal distribution of air quality related to meteorology and road traffic in Madrid.

    PubMed

    Perez-Martinez, Pedro J; Miranda, Regina M

    2015-04-01

    The impact of climatology--air temperature, precipitation and wind speed--and road traffic--volume, vehicle speed and percentage of heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs)--on air quality in Madrid was studied by estimating the effect for each explanatory variable using generalized linear regression models controlling for monthly variations, days of week and parameter levels. Every 1 m/s increase in wind speed produced a decrease in PM10 concentrations by 10.3% (95% CI 12.6-8.6) for all weekdays and by 12.4% (95% CI 14.9-9.8) for working days (up to the cut-off of 2.4 m/s). Increases of PM10 concentrations due to air temperature (7.2% (95% CI 6.2-8.3)) and traffic volume (3.3% (95% CI 2.9-3.8)) were observed at every 10 °C and 1 million vehicle-km increases for all weekdays; oppositely, slight decreases of PM10 concentrations due to percentage of HDVs (3.2% (95% CI 2.7-3.7)) and vehicle speed (0.7% (95% CI 0.6-0.8)) were observed at every 1% and 1 km/h increases. Stronger effects of climatology on air quality than traffic parameters were found.

  10. A photosynthesis-based two-leaf canopy stomatal conductance model for meteorology and air quality modeling with WRF/CMAQ PX LSM

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ran, Limei; Pleim, Jonathan; Song, Conghe; Band, Larry; Walker, John T.; Binkowski, Francis S.

    2017-02-01

    A coupled photosynthesis-stomatal conductance model with single-layer sunlit and shaded leaf canopy scaling is implemented and evaluated in a diagnostic box model with the Pleim-Xiu land surface model (PX LSM) and ozone deposition model components taken directly from the meteorology and air quality modeling system - WRF/CMAQ (Weather Research and Forecast model and Community Multiscale Air Quality model). The photosynthesis-based model for PX LSM (PX PSN) is evaluated at a FLUXNET site for implementation against different parameterizations and the current PX LSM approach with a simple Jarvis function (PX Jarvis). Latent heat flux (LH) from PX PSN is further evaluated at five FLUXNET sites with different vegetation types and landscape characteristics. Simulated ozone deposition and flux from PX PSN are evaluated at one of the sites with ozone flux measurements. Overall, the PX PSN simulates LH as well as the PX Jarvis approach. The PX PSN, however, shows distinct advantages over the PX Jarvis approach for grassland that likely result from its treatment of C3 and C4 plants for CO2 assimilation. Simulations using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) leaf area index (LAI) rather than LAI measured at each site assess how the model would perform with grid averaged data used in WRF/CMAQ. MODIS LAI estimates degrade model performance at all sites but one site having exceptionally old and tall trees. Ozone deposition velocity and ozone flux along with LH are simulated especially well by the PX PSN compared to significant overestimation by the PX Jarvis for a grassland site.

  11. 2. SOUTH FACE OF METEOROLOGICAL SHED (BLDG. 756) WITH METEOROLOGICAL ...

    Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

    2. SOUTH FACE OF METEOROLOGICAL SHED (BLDG. 756) WITH METEOROLOGICAL DATA ACQUISITION TERMINAL (MDAT) INSIDE BUILDING - Vandenberg Air Force Base, Space Launch Complex 3, Meteorological Shed & Tower, Napa & Alden Roads, Lompoc, Santa Barbara County, CA

  12. Human-model hybrid Korean air quality forecasting system.

    PubMed

    Chang, Lim-Seok; Cho, Ara; Park, Hyunju; Nam, Kipyo; Kim, Deokrae; Hong, Ji-Hyoung; Song, Chang-Keun

    2016-09-01

    The Korean national air quality forecasting system, consisting of the Weather Research and Forecasting, the Sparse Matrix Operator Kernel Emissions, and the Community Modeling and Analysis (CMAQ), commenced from August 31, 2013 with target pollutants of particulate matters (PM) and ozone. Factors contributing to PM forecasting accuracy include CMAQ inputs of meteorological field and emissions, forecasters' capacity, and inherent CMAQ limit. Four numerical experiments were conducted including two global meteorological inputs from the Global Forecast System (GFS) and the Unified Model (UM), two emissions from the Model Intercomparison Study Asia (MICS-Asia) and the Intercontinental Chemical Transport Experiment (INTEX-B) for the Northeast Asia with Clear Air Policy Support System (CAPSS) for South Korea, and data assimilation of the Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate (MACC). Significant PM underpredictions by using both emissions were found for PM mass and major components (sulfate and organic carbon). CMAQ predicts PM2.5 much better than PM10 (NMB of PM2.5: -20~-25%, PM10: -43~-47%). Forecasters' error usually occurred at the next day of high PM event. Once CMAQ fails to predict high PM event the day before, forecasters are likely to dismiss the model predictions on the next day which turns out to be true. The best combination of CMAQ inputs is the set of UM global meteorological field, MICS-Asia and CAPSS 2010 emissions with the NMB of -12.3%, the RMSE of 16.6μ/m(3) and the R(2) of 0.68. By using MACC data as an initial and boundary condition, the performance skill of CMAQ would be improved, especially in the case of undefined coarse emission. A variety of methods such as ensemble and data assimilation are considered to improve further the accuracy of air quality forecasting, especially for high PM events to be comparable to for all cases. The growing utilization of the air quality forecast induced the public strongly to demand that the accuracy of the

  13. Real-time dissemination of air quality information using data streams and Web technologies: linking air quality to health risks in urban areas.

    PubMed

    Davila, Silvije; Ilić, Jadranka Pečar; Bešlić, Ivan

    2015-06-01

    This article presents a new, original application of modern information and communication technology to provide effective real-time dissemination of air quality information and related health risks to the general public. Our on-line subsystem for urban real-time air quality monitoring is a crucial component of a more comprehensive integrated information system, which has been developed by the Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health. It relies on a StreamInsight data stream management system and service-oriented architecture to process data streamed from seven monitoring stations across Zagreb. Parameters that are monitored include gases (NO, NO2, CO, O3, H2S, SO2, benzene, NH3), particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5), and meteorological data (wind speed and direction, temperature and pressure). Streamed data are processed in real-time using complex continuous queries. They first go through automated validation, then hourly air quality index is calculated for every station, and a report sent to the Croatian Environment Agency. If the parameter values exceed the corresponding regulation limits for three consecutive hours, the web service generates an alert for population groups at risk. Coupled with the Common Air Quality Index model, our web application brings air pollution information closer to the general population and raises awareness about environmental and health issues. Soon we intend to expand the service to a mobile application that is being developed.

  14. EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON REGIONAL AIR QUALITY OVER THE UNITED STATES

    EPA Science Inventory

    This presentation summarizes recent results produced in support of the assessment of climate change impacts on ozone and particulate matter over the continental United States. Preliminary findings of climate scenario, meteorologically-drive emissions and air quality simulation a...

  15. Air quality impacts of transit improvement, preferential lane, and carpool/vanpool programs. Final report

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    DiRenzo, J.F.; Rubin, R.B.

    1978-03-01

    The report was prepared in accordance with Section 108(f) of the Clean Air Act, as amended, August 1977. It is intended to assist urban areas in developing State Implementation Plans and integrating their transportation system management and air quality planning programs as required by FHWA, UMTA, and EPA. The report analyzes the air quality, travel, energy consumption, economic, and cost impacts of three types of transportation programs: priority treatment for high occupancy vehicles on freeways and arterials; areawide carpool and vanpool programs; and transit fare reductions and service improvements. Important factors (e.g., meteorological conditions, traffic volumes and speeds, and changesmore » in modal choice) likely to influence air quality and emissions for the above programs are also analyzed.« less

  16. Letter Report Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative - Air Quality Scoping Study for Tonopah Airport, Nye County, Nevada

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    J. Engelbrecht; I. Kavouras; D. Campbell

    2009-04-02

    The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is performing a scoping study as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative (EMSI). The main objective is to obtain baseline air quality information for Yucca Mountain and an area surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Air quality and meteorological monitoring and sampling equipment housed in a mobile trailer (shelter) is collecting data at eight sites outside the NTS, including Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Tonopah Airport, Beatty, Rachel, Caliente, Pahranagat NWR, Crater Flat, and the Tonopah Airport, and at four sites on the NTS (Engelbrecht et al.,more » 2007a-d). The trailer is stationed at any one site for approximately eight weeks at a time. This letter report provides a summary of air quality and meteorological data, on completion of the site's sampling program.« less

  17. Letter Report: Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative - Air Quality Scoping Study for Tonopah Airport, Nye County, Nevada

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    J. Engelbrecht; I. Kavouras; D Campbell

    2008-08-01

    The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is performing a scoping study as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative (EMSI). The main objective is to obtain baseline air quality information for Yucca Mountain and an area surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Air quality and meteorological monitoring and sampling equipment housed in a mobile trailer (shelter) is collecting data at eight sites outside the NTS, including Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Tonopah Airport, Beatty, Rachel, Caliente, Pahranagat NWR, Crater Flat, and the Tonopah Airport, and at four sites on the NTS (Engelbrecht et al.,more » 2007a-d). The trailer is stationed at any one site for approximately eight weeks at a time. This letter report provides a summary of air quality and meteorological data, on completion of the site's sampling program.« less

  18. THE ATMOSPHERIC MODEL EVALUATION (AMET): METEOROLOGY MODULE

    EPA Science Inventory

    An Atmospheric Model Evaluation Tool (AMET), composed of meteorological and air quality components, is being developed to examine the error and uncertainty in the model simulations. AMET matches observations with the corresponding model-estimated values in space and time, and the...

  19. Development of visibility forecasting modeling framework for the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia using Canada's Regional Air Quality Deterministic Prediction System.

    PubMed

    So, Rita; Teakles, Andrew; Baik, Jonathan; Vingarzan, Roxanne; Jones, Keith

    2018-05-01

    Visibility degradation, one of the most noticeable indicators of poor air quality, can occur despite relatively low levels of particulate matter when the risk to human health is low. The availability of timely and reliable visibility forecasts can provide a more comprehensive understanding of the anticipated air quality conditions to better inform local jurisdictions and the public. This paper describes the development of a visibility forecasting modeling framework, which leverages the existing air quality and meteorological forecasts from Canada's operational Regional Air Quality Deterministic Prediction System (RAQDPS) for the Lower Fraser Valley of British Columbia. A baseline model (GM-IMPROVE) was constructed using the revised IMPROVE algorithm based on unprocessed forecasts from the RAQDPS. Three additional prototypes (UMOS-HYB, GM-MLR, GM-RF) were also developed and assessed for forecast performance of up to 48 hr lead time during various air quality and meteorological conditions. Forecast performance was assessed by examining their ability to provide both numerical and categorical forecasts in the form of 1-hr total extinction and Visual Air Quality Ratings (VAQR), respectively. While GM-IMPROVE generally overestimated extinction more than twofold, it had skill in forecasting the relative species contribution to visibility impairment, including ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate. Both statistical prototypes, GM-MLR and GM-RF, performed well in forecasting 1-hr extinction during daylight hours, with correlation coefficients (R) ranging from 0.59 to 0.77. UMOS-HYB, a prototype based on postprocessed air quality forecasts without additional statistical modeling, provided reasonable forecasts during most daylight hours. In terms of categorical forecasts, the best prototype was approximately 75 to 87% correct, when forecasting for a condensed three-category VAQR. A case study, focusing on a poor visual air quality yet low Air Quality Health Index episode

  20. Remote Sensing Characterization of the Urban Landscape for Improvement of Air Quality Modeling

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Quattrochi, Dale A.; Estes, Maurice G., Jr.; Khan, Maudood

    2005-01-01

    The urban landscape is inherently complex and this complexity is not adequately captured in air quality models, particularly the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model that is used to assess whether urban areas are in attainment of EPA air quality standards, primarily for ground level ozone. This inadequacy of the CMAQ model to sufficiently respond to the heterogeneous nature of the urban landscape can impact how well the model predicts ozone pollutant levels over metropolitan areas and ultimately, whether cities exceed EPA ozone air quality standards. We are exploring the utility of high-resolution remote sensing data and urban growth projections as improved inputs to the meteorology component of the CMAQ model focusing on the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area as a case study. These growth projections include "business as usual" and "smart growth" scenarios out to 2030. The growth projections illustrate the effects of employing urban heat island mitigation strategies, such as increasing tree canopy and albedo across the Atlanta metro area, in moderating ground-level ozone and air temperature, compared to "business as usual" simulations in which heat island mitigation strategies are not applied. The National Land Cover Dataset at 30m resolution is being used as the land use/land cover input and aggregated to the 4km scale for the MM5 mesoscale meteorological model and the (CMAQ) modeling schemes. Use of these data has been found to better characterize low densityhburban development as compared with USGS 1 km land use/land cover data that have traditionally been used in modeling. Air quality prediction for fiture scenarios to 2030 is being facilitated by land use projections using a spatial growth model. Land use projections were developed using the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan developed by the Atlanta Regional Commission, the regional planning agency for the area. This allows the state Environmental Protection agency to evaluate how these

  1. Evaluation of near surface ozone and particulate matter in air ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    In this study, techniques typically used for future air quality projections are applied to a historical 11-year period to assess the performance of the modeling system when the driving meteorological conditions are obtained using dynamical downscaling of coarse-scale fields without correcting toward higher-resolution observations. The Weather Research and Forecasting model and the Community Multiscale Air Quality model are used to simulate regional climate and air quality over the contiguous United States for 2000–2010. The air quality simulations for that historical period are then compared to observations from four national networks. Comparisons are drawn between defined performance metrics and other published modeling results for predicted ozone, fine particulate matter, and speciated fine particulate matter. The results indicate that the historical air quality simulations driven by dynamically downscaled meteorology are typically within defined modeling performance benchmarks and are consistent with results from other published modeling studies using finer-resolution meteorology. This indicates that the regional climate and air quality modeling framework utilized here does not introduce substantial bias, which provides confidence in the method’s use for future air quality projections. This paper shows that if emissions inputs and coarse-scale meteorological inputs are reasonably accurate, then air quality can be simulated with acceptable accuracy even wi

  2. Air Quality Modeling | Air Quality Planning & Standards | US ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    2016-06-08

    The basic mission of the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards is to preserve and improve the quality of our nation's air. One facet of accomplishing this goal requires that new and existing air pollution sources be modeled for compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).

  3. Evaluation of CMAQ and CAMx Ensemble Air Quality Forecasts during the 2015 MAPS-Seoul Field Campaign

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kim, E.; Kim, S.; Bae, C.; Kim, H. C.; Kim, B. U.

    2015-12-01

    The performance of Air quality forecasts during the 2015 MAPS-Seoul Field Campaign was evaluated. An forecast system has been operated to support the campaign's daily aircraft route decisions for airborne measurements to observe long-range transporting plume. We utilized two real-time ensemble systems based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-Sparse Matrix Operator Kernel Emissions (SMOKE)-Comprehensive Air quality Model with extensions (CAMx) modeling framework and WRF-SMOKE- Community Multi_scale Air Quality (CMAQ) framework over northeastern Asia to simulate PM10 concentrations. Global Forecast System (GFS) from National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) was used to provide meteorological inputs for the forecasts. For an additional set of retrospective simulations, ERA Interim Reanalysis from European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) was also utilized to access forecast uncertainties from the meteorological data used. Model Inter-Comparison Study for Asia (MICS-Asia) and National Institute of Environment Research (NIER) Clean Air Policy Support System (CAPSS) emission inventories are used for foreign and domestic emissions, respectively. In the study, we evaluate the CMAQ and CAMx model performance during the campaign by comparing the results to the airborne and surface measurements. Contributions of foreign and domestic emissions are estimated using a brute force method. Analyses on model performance and emissions will be utilized to improve air quality forecasts for the upcoming KORUS-AQ field campaign planned in 2016.

  4. A modeling study on the effect of urban land surface forcing to regional meteorology and air quality over South China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, Kuanguang; Xie, Min; Wang, Tijian; Cai, Junxiong; Li, Songbing; Feng, Wen

    2017-03-01

    The change of land-use from natural to artificial surface induced by urban expansion can deeply impact the city environment. In this paper, the model WRF/Chem is applied to explore the effect of this change on regional meteorology and air quality over South China, where people have witnessed a rapid rate of urbanization. Two sets of urban maps are adopted to stand for the pre-urbanization and the present urban land-use distributions. Month-long simulations are conducted for January and July, 2014. The results show that urban expansion can obviously change the weather conditions around the big cities of South China. Especially in the Pearl River Delta region (PRD), the urban land-use change can increase the sensible heat flux by 40 W/m2 in January and 80 W/m2 in July, while decrease the latent heat flux about -50 W/m2 in January and -120 W/m2 in July. In the consequent, 2-m air temperature (T2) increases as much as 1 °C and 2 °C (respective to January and July), planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) rises up by 100-150 m and 300 m, 10-m wind speed (WS10) decreases by -1.2 m/s and -0.3 m/s, and 2-m specific humidity is reduced by -0.8 g/kg and -1.5 g/kg. Also, the precipitation in July can be increased as much as 120 mm, with more heavy rains and rainstorms. These variations of meteorological factors can significantly impact the spatial and vertical distribution of air pollutants as well. In PRD, the enhanced updraft can reduce the surface concentrations of PM10 by -40 μg/m3 (30%) in January and -80 μg/m3 (50%) in July, but produce a correlating increase in the concentrations at higher atmospheric layers. However, according to the increase in T2 and the decrease in surface NO, the surface concentrations of O3 in PRD can increase by 2-6 ppb in January and 8-12 ppb in July. Meanwhile, there is a significant increase in the O3 concentrations at upper layers above PRD, which should be attributed to the increase in air temperature and the enhanced upward transport of

  5. Real-Time Bias-Adjusted O3 and PM2.5 Air Quality Index Forecasts and their Performance Evaluations over the Continental United States

    EPA Science Inventory

    The National Air Quality Forecast Capacity (NAQFC) system, which links NOAA's North American Mesoscale (NAM) meteorological model with EPA's Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model, provided operational ozone (O3) and experimental fine particular matter (PM2...

  6. Assessment of the natural sources of particulate matter on the opencast mines air quality.

    PubMed

    Huertas, J I; Huertas, M E; Cervantes, G; Díaz, J

    2014-09-15

    Particulate matter is the main air pollutant in open pit mining areas. Preferred models that simulate the dispersion of the particles have been used to assess the environmental impact of the mining activities. Results obtained through simulation have been compared with the particle concentration measured in several sites and a coefficient of determination R(2)<0.78 has been reported. This result indicates that in the open pit mining areas there may be additional sources of particulate matter that have not been considered in the modeling process. This work proposes that the unconsidered sources of emissions are of regional scope such as the re-suspension particulate matter due to the wind action over uncovered surfaces. Furthermore, this work proposes to estimate the impact of such emissions on air quality as a function of the present and past meteorological conditions. A statistical multiple regression model was implemented in one of the world's largest open pit coal mining regions which is located in northern Colombia. Data from 9 particle-concentration monitoring stations and 3 meteorological stations obtained from 2009 to 2012 were statistically compared. Results confirmed the existence of a high linear relation (R(2)>0.95) between meteorological variables and particulate matter concentration being humidity, humidity of the previous day and temperature, the meteorological variables that contributed most significantly in the variance of the particulate matter concentration measured in the mining area while the contribution of the AERMOD estimations to the short term TSP (Total Suspended Particles) measured concentrations was negligible (<5%). The multiple regression model was used to identify the meteorological condition that leads to pollution episodes. It was found that conditions drier than 54% lead to pollution episodes while humidities greater than 70% maintain safe air quality conditions in the mining region in northern Colombia. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier

  7. RAQ–A Random Forest Approach for Predicting Air Quality in Urban Sensing Systems

    PubMed Central

    Yu, Ruiyun; Yang, Yu; Yang, Leyou; Han, Guangjie; Move, Oguti Ann

    2016-01-01

    Air quality information such as the concentration of PM2.5 is of great significance for human health and city management. It affects the way of traveling, urban planning, government policies and so on. However, in major cities there is typically only a limited number of air quality monitoring stations. In the meantime, air quality varies in the urban areas and there can be large differences, even between closely neighboring regions. In this paper, a random forest approach for predicting air quality (RAQ) is proposed for urban sensing systems. The data generated by urban sensing includes meteorology data, road information, real-time traffic status and point of interest (POI) distribution. The random forest algorithm is exploited for data training and prediction. The performance of RAQ is evaluated with real city data. Compared with three other algorithms, this approach achieves better prediction precision. Exciting results are observed from the experiments that the air quality can be inferred with amazingly high accuracy from the data which are obtained from urban sensing. PMID:26761008

  8. Meteorology, Emissions, and Grid Resolution: Effects on Discrete and Probabilistic Model Performance

    EPA Science Inventory

    In this study, we analyze the impacts of perturbations in meteorology and emissions and variations in grid resolution on air quality forecast simulations. The meteorological perturbations con-sidered in this study introduce a typical variability of ~1°C, 250 - 500 m, 1 m/s, and 1...

  9. VERIFICATION OF SURFACE LAYER OZONE FORECASTS IN THE NOAA/EPA AIR QUALITY FORECAST SYSTEM IN DIFFERENT REGIONS UNDER DIFFERENT SYNOPTIC SCENARIOS

    EPA Science Inventory

    An air quality forecast (AQF) system has been established at NOAA/NCEP since 2003 as a collaborative effort of NOAA and EPA. The system is based on NCEP's Eta mesoscale meteorological model and EPA's CMAQ air quality model (Davidson et al, 2004). The vision behind this system is ...

  10. Letter Report: Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative - Air Quality Scoping Study for Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, Lincoln County, Nevada

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    J. Englebrecht; I. Kavouras; D. Campbell

    2008-08-01

    The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is performing a scoping study as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative (EMSI). The main objective is to obtain baseline air quality information for Yucca Mountain and an area surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Air quality and meteorological monitoring and sampling equipment housed in a mobile trailer (shelter) is collecting data at eight sites outside the NTS, including Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Pahranagat NWR, Beatty, Rachel, Caliente, Crater Flat, and Tonopah Airport, and at four sites on the NTS (Engelbrecht et al., 2007a-d). The trailermore » is stationed at any one site for approximately eight weeks at a time. This letter report provides a summary of air quality and meteorological data on completion of the site's sampling program.« less

  11. Letter Report Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative - Air Quality Scoping Study for Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, Lincoln County, Nevada

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    J. Engelbrecht; I. Kavouras; D. Campbell

    2009-04-02

    The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is performing a scoping study as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative (EMSI). The main objective is to obtain baseline air quality information for Yucca Mountain and an area surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Air quality and meteorological monitoring and sampling equipment housed in a mobile trailer (shelter) is collecting data at eight sites outside the NTS, including Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Pahranagat NWR, Beatty, Rachel, Caliente, Crater Flat, and Tonopah Airport, and at four sites on the NTS (Engelbrecht et al., 2007a-d). The trailermore » is stationed at any one site for approximately eight weeks at a time. This letter report provides a summary of air quality and meteorological data on completion of the site's sampling program.« less

  12. How Will Air Quality Change in South Asia by 2050?

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kumar, Rajesh; Barth, Mary C.; Pfister, G. G.; Delle Monache, L.; Lamarque, J. F.; Archer-Nicholls, S.; Tilmes, S.; Ghude, S. D.; Wiedinmyer, C.; Naja, M.; Walters, S.

    2018-02-01

    Exposure to unhealthy air causes millions of premature deaths and damages crops sufficient to feed a large portion of the South Asian population every year. However, little is known about how future air quality in South Asia will respond to changing human activities. Here we examine the combined effect of changes in climate and air pollutant emissions projected by the Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) 8.5 and RCP6.0 on air quality of South Asia in 2050 using a state-of-the-science Nested Regional Climate model with Chemistry (NRCM-Chem). RCP8.5 and RCP6.0 are selected to represent scenarios of highest and lowest air pollution in South Asia by 2050. NRCM-Chem shows the ability to capture observed key features of variability in meteorological parameters, ozone and related gases, and aerosols. NRCM-Chem results show that surface ozone and particulate matter of less than 2.5 μm in diameter will increase significantly by midcentury in South Asia under the RCP8.5 but remain similar to present day under RCP6.0. No RCP suggest an improvement in air pollution in South Asia by midcentury. Under RCP8.5, the frequency of air pollution events is predicted to increase by 20-120 days per year in 2050 compared to the present-day conditions, with particulate matter of less than 2.5 μm in diameter predicted to breach the World Health Organization ambient air quality guidelines on an almost daily basis in many parts of South Asia. These results indicate that while the RCP scenarios project a global improvement in air quality, they generally result in degrading air quality in South Asia.

  13. Mapping Air Quality Index of Carbon Monoxide (CO) in Medan City

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Suryati, I.; Khair, H.

    2017-03-01

    This study aims to map and analyze air quality index of carbon monoxide (CO) in Medan City. This research used 12 (twelve) sampling points around in Medan with an hour duration each point. CO concentration was analyzed using the NDIR CO Analyzer sampling tool. The concentration CO was obtained between 1 ppm - 23 ppm, with an average concentration was 9.5 ppm. This condition is still below the national ambient air quality standard set by Government Regulation of Indonesian Republic Number 41-1999 amounted to 29 ppm. The result of CO concentration measurements was converted into air pollutant standard index, obtained the index value of 58 - 204. Surfer 10 was used to create map of air pollutant standard index for CO. The map illustrates very unhealthy area where located in the Medan Belawan district. The main factors affecting the concentration of CO are from transportation and meteorological factors.

  14. Random forest meteorological normalisation models for Swiss PM10 trend analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grange, Stuart K.; Carslaw, David C.; Lewis, Alastair C.; Boleti, Eirini; Hueglin, Christoph

    2018-05-01

    Meteorological normalisation is a technique which accounts for changes in meteorology over time in an air quality time series. Controlling for such changes helps support robust trend analysis because there is more certainty that the observed trends are due to changes in emissions or chemistry, not changes in meteorology. Predictive random forest models (RF; a decision tree machine learning technique) were grown for 31 air quality monitoring sites in Switzerland using surface meteorological, synoptic scale, boundary layer height, and time variables to explain daily PM10 concentrations. The RF models were used to calculate meteorologically normalised trends which were formally tested and evaluated using the Theil-Sen estimator. Between 1997 and 2016, significantly decreasing normalised PM10 trends ranged between -0.09 and -1.16 µg m-3 yr-1 with urban traffic sites experiencing the greatest mean decrease in PM10 concentrations at -0.77 µg m-3 yr-1. Similar magnitudes have been reported for normalised PM10 trends for earlier time periods in Switzerland which indicates PM10 concentrations are continuing to decrease at similar rates as in the past. The ability for RF models to be interpreted was leveraged using partial dependence plots to explain the observed trends and relevant physical and chemical processes influencing PM10 concentrations. Notably, two regimes were suggested by the models which cause elevated PM10 concentrations in Switzerland: one related to poor dispersion conditions and a second resulting from high rates of secondary PM generation in deep, photochemically active boundary layers. The RF meteorological normalisation process was found to be robust, user friendly and simple to implement, and readily interpretable which suggests the technique could be useful in many air quality exploratory data analysis situations.

  15. Downscaling a Global Climate Model to Simulate Climate Change Impacts on U.S. Regional and Urban Air Quality

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Trail, M.; Tsimpidi, A. P.; Liu, P.; Tsigaridis, K.; Hu, Y.; Nenes, A.; Russell, A. G.

    2013-01-01

    Climate change can exacerbate future regional air pollution events by making conditions more favorable to form high levels of ozone. In this study, we use spectral nudging with WRF to downscale NASA earth system GISS modelE2 results during the years 2006 to 2010 and 2048 to 2052 over the continental United States in order to compare the resulting meteorological fields from the air quality perspective during the four seasons of five-year historic and future climatological periods. GISS results are used as initial and boundary conditions by the WRF RCM to produce hourly meteorological fields. The downscaling technique and choice of physics parameterizations used are evaluated by comparing them with in situ observations. This study investigates changes of similar regional climate conditions down to a 12km by 12km resolution, as well as the effect of evolving climate conditions on the air quality at major U.S. cities. The high resolution simulations produce somewhat different results than the coarse resolution simulations in some regions. Also, through the analysis of the meteorological variables that most strongly influence air quality, we find consistent changes in regional climate that would enhance ozone levels in four regions of the U.S. during fall (Western U.S., Texas, Northeastern, and Southeastern U.S), one region during summer (Texas), and one region where changes potentially would lead to better air quality during spring (Northeast). We also find that daily peak temperatures tend to increase in most major cities in the U.S. which would increase the risk of health problems associated with heat stress. Future work will address a more comprehensive assessment of emissions and chemistry involved in the formation and removal of air pollutants.

  16. Mapping air quality zones for coastal urban centers.

    PubMed

    Freeman, Brian; Gharabaghi, Bahram; Thé, Jesse; Munshed, Mohammad; Faisal, Shah; Abdullah, Meshal; Al Aseed, Athari

    2017-05-01

    This study presents a new method that incorporates modern air dispersion models allowing local terrain and land-sea breeze effects to be considered along with political and natural boundaries for more accurate mapping of air quality zones (AQZs) for coastal urban centers. This method uses local coastal wind patterns and key urban air pollution sources in each zone to more accurately calculate air pollutant concentration statistics. The new approach distributes virtual air pollution sources within each small grid cell of an area of interest and analyzes a puff dispersion model for a full year's worth of 1-hr prognostic weather data. The difference of wind patterns in coastal and inland areas creates significantly different skewness (S) and kurtosis (K) statistics for the annually averaged pollutant concentrations at ground level receptor points for each grid cell. Plotting the S-K data highlights grouping of sources predominantly impacted by coastal winds versus inland winds. The application of the new method is demonstrated through a case study for the nation of Kuwait by developing new AQZs to support local air management programs. The zone boundaries established by the S-K method were validated by comparing MM5 and WRF prognostic meteorological weather data used in the air dispersion modeling, a support vector machine classifier was trained to compare results with the graphical classification method, and final zones were compared with data collected from Earth observation satellites to confirm locations of high-exposure-risk areas. The resulting AQZs are more accurate and support efficient management strategies for air quality compliance targets effected by local coastal microclimates. A novel method to determine air quality zones in coastal urban areas is introduced using skewness (S) and kurtosis (K) statistics calculated from grid concentrations results of air dispersion models. The method identifies land-sea breeze effects that can be used to manage local air

  17. Identifying pollution sources and predicting urban air quality using ensemble learning methods

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Singh, Kunwar P.; Gupta, Shikha; Rai, Premanjali

    2013-12-01

    In this study, principal components analysis (PCA) was performed to identify air pollution sources and tree based ensemble learning models were constructed to predict the urban air quality of Lucknow (India) using the air quality and meteorological databases pertaining to a period of five years. PCA identified vehicular emissions and fuel combustion as major air pollution sources. The air quality indices revealed the air quality unhealthy during the summer and winter. Ensemble models were constructed to discriminate between the seasonal air qualities, factors responsible for discrimination, and to predict the air quality indices. Accordingly, single decision tree (SDT), decision tree forest (DTF), and decision treeboost (DTB) were constructed and their generalization and predictive performance was evaluated in terms of several statistical parameters and compared with conventional machine learning benchmark, support vector machines (SVM). The DT and SVM models discriminated the seasonal air quality rendering misclassification rate (MR) of 8.32% (SDT); 4.12% (DTF); 5.62% (DTB), and 6.18% (SVM), respectively in complete data. The AQI and CAQI regression models yielded a correlation between measured and predicted values and root mean squared error of 0.901, 6.67 and 0.825, 9.45 (SDT); 0.951, 4.85 and 0.922, 6.56 (DTF); 0.959, 4.38 and 0.929, 6.30 (DTB); 0.890, 7.00 and 0.836, 9.16 (SVR) in complete data. The DTF and DTB models outperformed the SVM both in classification and regression which could be attributed to the incorporation of the bagging and boosting algorithms in these models. The proposed ensemble models successfully predicted the urban ambient air quality and can be used as effective tools for its management.

  18. Ensemble and Bias-Correction Techniques for Air-Quality Model Forecasts of Surface O3 and PM2.5 during the TEXAQS-II Experiment of 2006

    EPA Science Inventory

    Several air quality forecasting ensembles were created from seven models, running in real-time during the 2006 Texas Air Quality (TEXAQS-II) experiment. These multi-model ensembles incorporated a diverse set of meteorological models, chemical mechanisms, and emission inventories...

  19. Assessment of air quality microsensors versus reference methods: The EuNetAir joint exercise

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Borrego, C.; Costa, A. M.; Ginja, J.; Amorim, M.; Coutinho, M.; Karatzas, K.; Sioumis, Th.; Katsifarakis, N.; Konstantinidis, K.; De Vito, S.; Esposito, E.; Smith, P.; André, N.; Gérard, P.; Francis, L. A.; Castell, N.; Schneider, P.; Viana, M.; Minguillón, M. C.; Reimringer, W.; Otjes, R. P.; von Sicard, O.; Pohle, R.; Elen, B.; Suriano, D.; Pfister, V.; Prato, M.; Dipinto, S.; Penza, M.

    2016-12-01

    The 1st EuNetAir Air Quality Joint Intercomparison Exercise organized in Aveiro (Portugal) from 13th-27th October 2014, focused on the evaluation and assessment of environmental gas, particulate matter (PM) and meteorological microsensors, versus standard air quality reference methods through an experimental urban air quality monitoring campaign. The IDAD-Institute of Environment and Development Air Quality Mobile Laboratory was placed at an urban traffic location in the city centre of Aveiro to conduct continuous measurements with standard equipment and reference analysers for CO, NOx, O3, SO2, PM10, PM2.5, temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, solar radiation and precipitation. The comparison of the sensor data generated by different microsensor-systems installed side-by-side with reference analysers, contributes to the assessment of the performance and the accuracy of microsensor-systems in a real-world context, and supports their calibration and further development. The overall performance of the sensors in terms of their statistical metrics and measurement profile indicates significant differences in the results depending on the platform and on the sensors considered. In terms of pollutants, some promising results were observed for O3 (r2: 0.12-0.77), CO (r2: 0.53-0.87), and NO2 (r2: 0.02-0.89). For PM (r2: 0.07-0.36) and SO2 (r2: 0.09-0.20) the results show a poor performance with low correlation coefficients between the reference and microsensor measurements. These field observations under specific environmental conditions suggest that the relevant microsensor platforms, if supported by the proper post processing and data modelling tools, have enormous potential for new strategies in air quality control.

  20. LINKING ETA MODEL WITH THE COMMUNITY MULTISCALE AIR QUALITY (CMAQ) MODELING SYSTEM: OZONE BOUNDARY CONDITIONS

    EPA Science Inventory

    A prototype surface ozone concentration forecasting model system for the Eastern U.S. has been developed. The model system is consisting of a regional meteorological and a regional air quality model. It demonstrated a strong prediction dependence on its ozone boundary conditions....

  1. Development of risk-based air quality management strategies under impacts of climate change.

    PubMed

    Liao, Kuo-Jen; Amar, Praveen; Tagaris, Efthimios; Russell, Armistead G

    2012-05-01

    Climate change is forecast to adversely affect air quality through perturbations in meteorological conditions, photochemical reactions, and precursor emissions. To protect the environment and human health from air pollution, there is an increasing recognition of the necessity of developing effective air quality management strategies under the impacts of climate change. This paper presents a framework for developing risk-based air quality management strategies that can help policy makers improve their decision-making processes in response to current and future climate change about 30-50 years from now. Development of air quality management strategies under the impacts of climate change is fundamentally a risk assessment and risk management process involving four steps: (1) assessment of the impacts of climate change and associated uncertainties; (2) determination of air quality targets; (3) selections of potential air quality management options; and (4) identification of preferred air quality management strategies that minimize control costs, maximize benefits, or limit the adverse effects of climate change on air quality when considering the scarcity of resources. The main challenge relates to the level of uncertainties associated with climate change forecasts and advancements in future control measures, since they will significantly affect the risk assessment results and development of effective air quality management plans. The concept presented in this paper can help decision makers make appropriate responses to climate change, since it provides an integrated approach for climate risk assessment and management when developing air quality management strategies. Development of climate-responsive air quality management strategies is fundamentally a risk assessment and risk management process. The risk assessment process includes quantification of climate change impacts on air quality and associated uncertainties. Risk management for air quality under the impacts of

  2. Visibility characteristics and the impacts of air pollutants and meteorological conditions over Shanghai, China.

    PubMed

    Xue, Dan; Li, Chengfan; Liu, Qian

    2015-06-01

    In China, visibility condition has become an important issue that concerns both society and the scientific community. In order to study visibility characteristics and its influencing factors, visibility data, air pollutants, and meteorological data during the year 2013 were obtained over Shanghai. The temporal variation of atmospheric visibility was analyzed. The mean value of daily visibility of Shanghai was 19.1 km. Visibility exhibited an obvious seasonal cycle. The maximum and minimum visibility occurred in September and December with the values of 27.5 and 7.7 km, respectively. The relationships between the visibility and air pollutant data were calculated. The visibility had negative correlation with NO2, CO, PM2.5, PM10, and SO2 and weak positive correlation with O3. Meteorological data were clustered into four groups to reveal the joint contribution of meteorological variables to the daily average visibility. Usually, under the meteorological condition of high temperature and wind speed, the visibility of Shanghai reached about 25 km, while visibility decreased to 16 km under the weather type of low wind speed and temperature and high relative humid. Principle component analysis was also applied to identify the main cause of visibility variance. The results showed that the low visibility over Shanghai was mainly due to the high air pollution concentrations associated with low wind speed, which explained the total variance of 44.99 %. These results provide new knowledge for better understanding the variations of visibility and have direct implications to supply sound policy on visibility improvement in Shanghai.

  3. Uncertainty, ensembles and air quality dispersion modeling: applications and challenges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dabberdt, Walter F.; Miller, Erik

    The past two decades have seen significant advances in mesoscale meteorological modeling research and applications, such as the development of sophisticated and now widely used advanced mesoscale prognostic models, large eddy simulation models, four-dimensional data assimilation, adjoint models, adaptive and targeted observational strategies, and ensemble and probabilistic forecasts. Some of these advances are now being applied to urban air quality modeling and applications. Looking forward, it is anticipated that the high-priority air quality issues for the near-to-intermediate future will likely include: (1) routine operational forecasting of adverse air quality episodes; (2) real-time high-level support to emergency response activities; and (3) quantification of model uncertainty. Special attention is focused here on the quantification of model uncertainty through the use of ensemble simulations. Application to emergency-response dispersion modeling is illustrated using an actual event that involved the accidental release of the toxic chemical oleum. Both surface footprints of mass concentration and the associated probability distributions at individual receptors are seen to provide valuable quantitative indicators of the range of expected concentrations and their associated uncertainty.

  4. Urban compaction or dispersion? An air quality modelling study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Martins, Helena

    2012-07-01

    Urban sprawl is altering the landscape, with current trends pointing to further changes in land use that will, in turn, lead to changes in population, energy consumption, atmospheric emissions and air quality. Urban planners have debated on the most sustainable urban structure, with arguments in favour and against urban compaction and dispersion. However, it is clear that other areas of expertise have to be involved. Urban air quality and human exposure to atmospheric pollutants as indicators of urban sustainability can contribute to the discussion, namely through the study of the relation between urban structure and air quality. This paper addresses the issue by analysing the impacts of alternative urban growth patterns on the air quality of Porto urban region in Portugal, through a 1-year simulation with the MM5-CAMx modelling system. This region has been experiencing one of the highest European rates of urban sprawl, and at the same time presents a poor air quality. As part of the modelling system setup, a sensitivity study was conducted regarding different land use datasets and spatial distribution of emissions. Two urban development scenarios were defined, SPRAWL and COMPACT, together with their new land use and emission datasets; then meteorological and air quality simulations were performed. Results reveal that SPRAWL land use changes resulted in an average temperature increase of 0.4 °C, with local increases reaching as high as 1.5 °C. SPRAWL results also show an aggravation of PM10 annual average values and an increase in the exceedances to the daily limit value. For ozone, differences between scenarios were smaller, with SPRAWL presenting larger concentration differences than COMPACT. Finally, despite the higher concentrations found in SPRAWL, population exposure to the pollutants is higher for COMPACT because more inhabitants are found in areas of highest concentration levels.

  5. 77 FR 14712 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Massachusetts; Determination of...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-03-13

    ... Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection performed a missing data analysis for each site with low... Massachusetts missing data analysis used a combination of meteorology and air quality data for ozone monitors... with missing ozone data, the ozone levels, if captured, would have been below the 1997 8-hour ozone...

  6. Detecting the causality influence of individual meteorological factors on local PM2.5 concentration in the Jing-Jin-Ji region

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Ziyue; Cai, Jun; Gao, Bingbo; Xu, Bing; Dai, Shuang; He, Bin; Xie, Xiaoming

    2017-01-01

    Due to complicated interactions in the atmospheric environment, quantifying the influence of individual meteorological factors on local PM2.5 concentration remains challenging. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (short for Jing-Jin-Ji) region is infamous for its serious air pollution. To improve regional air quality, characteristics and meteorological driving forces for PM2.5 concentration should be better understood. This research examined seasonal variations of PM2.5 concentration within the Jing-Jin-Ji region and extracted meteorological factors strongly correlated with local PM2.5 concentration. Following this, a convergent cross mapping (CCM) method was employed to quantify the causality influence of individual meteorological factors on PM2.5 concentration. The results proved that the CCM method was more likely to detect mirage correlations and reveal quantitative influences of individual meteorological factors on PM2.5 concentration. For the Jing-Jin-Ji region, the higher PM2.5 concentration, the stronger influences meteorological factors exert on PM2.5 concentration. Furthermore, this research suggests that individual meteorological factors can influence local PM2.5 concentration indirectly by interacting with other meteorological factors. Due to the significant influence of local meteorology on PM2.5 concentration, more emphasis should be given on employing meteorological means for improving local air quality.

  7. Air quality perception of pedestrians in an urban outdoor Mediterranean environment: A field survey approach.

    PubMed

    Pantavou, Katerina; Lykoudis, Spyridon; Psiloglou, Basil

    2017-01-01

    Perception plays a significant role on people's response to preventive measures. In the view of public awareness, the aim of this study was to explore factors that affect air quality perception and to reveal its potential patterns. Air quality perception of individuals, in terms of dust and overall air quality, was examined in relation to air pollutants concentrations, meteorological variables, personal characteristics as well as their thermal sensation and health condition. The data used were obtained from environmental measurements, in situ and from stations, and questionnaire surveys conducted in an outdoor urban Mediterranean area, Athens, Greece. The participants were asked to report their air quality perception and thermal sensation based on predefined scales. A thermal index, Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET), was estimated to obtain an objective measure of thermal sensation. Particulate matter (PM 10 ) and nitrogen oxide (NO) were associated with dust perception. Nitrogen oxides (NO x ) and carbon monoxide (CO) were associated to air quality perception. Age, area of residence, health symptoms and thermal sensation also affected the perception of air quality. Dusty or poor air quality conditions were more likely to be reported when pollutants' concentrations were increased. Younger people, participants residing in the city center, experiencing health symptoms or warm thermal sensation showed a trend towards reporting more unfavorable air quality conditions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Meteorological Data Quality from Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Sensors on Commercial Vehicles

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chang, C. H.; Pietras, J.; Heppner, P.; Evans, J. D.; Wang, J.

    2016-12-01

    The Mobile Platform Environmental Data (MoPED) system acquires real-time data on weather conditions from commercial fleet providers and provides them to the National Weather Service (NWS) for use in operations and numerical models. The MoPED system assesses the quality of these data by comparing them to observations from airport weather stations when the mobile platforms are in sufficiently close proximity (in space and time). We have devised a set of quality control algorithms that are applied to vehicle observation datasets to qualify them for dissemination to NWS. Commercial vehicles participating in MoPED have a third-party suite of sensors for ambient air temperature, relative humidity, light level, precipitation intensity, atmospheric pressure, ozone, and road temperature. In addition, some vehicles also generate meteorological data from sensors built into the vehicles themselves (original equipment manufacturer (OEM) sensors) which conform to the SAE J1939 standard for onboard vehicle networking. These sensors, known as OEM J-data sensors, measure numerous parameters associated with emissions control and engine performance - including ambient air temperature and atmospheric pressure. Time-tagged and transmitted to the MoPED system, these OEM J-data measurements can be a tremendous source of weather data for NWS if they can be extracted and communicated in real-time from the vehicles. We are working with a commercial fleet (who have OEM J-data available) to determine suitability of these data for NWS. To ensure the overall quality of the data, we have developed a methodology for assessing the suitability of classes of vehicles and sensors for inclusion in the MoPED dissemination, for the continued assessment of individual vehicles once their class has been accepted into MoPED, and for identifying corrective measures (such as adjusting measurements to correct for individual sensor offsets). A byproduct of that methodology is a multi-component model for sources

  9. 77 FR 3220 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Massachusetts; Determination of...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-01-23

    ... of Environmental Protection performed a missing data analysis for this site in accordance with the regulatory requirements of 40 CFR part 50, Appendix I. The Massachusetts missing data analysis used a combination of meteorology and air quality data for ozone monitors near the Adams site for the missing days to...

  10. The covariance of air quality conditions in six cities in Southern Germany - The role of meteorology.

    PubMed

    Dimitriou, Konstantinos; Kassomenos, Pavlos

    2017-01-01

    This paper analyzed air quality in six cities in Southern Germany (Ulm, Augsburg, Konstanz, Freiburg, Stuttgart and Munich), in conjunction with the prevailing synoptic conditions. Air quality was estimated through the calculation of a daily Air Stress Index (ASI) constituted by five independent components, each one expressing the contribution of one of the five main pollutants (PM 10 , O 3 , SO 2 , NO 2 and CO) to the total air stress. As it was deduced from ASI components, PM 10 from combustion sources and photochemically produced tropospheric O 3 are the most hazardous pollutants at the studied sites, throughout cold and warm periods respectively, yet PM 10 contribute substantially to the overall air stress during both seasons. The influence of anticyclonic high pressure systems, leading to atmospheric stagnation, was associated with increased ASI values, mainly due to the entrapment of PM 10 . Moderate air stress was generally estimated in all cities however a cleaner atmosphere was detected principally in Freiburg when North Europe was dominated by low pressure systems. Daily events of notably escalated ASI values were further analyzed with backward air mass trajectories. Throughout cold period, ASI episodes were commonly related to eastern airflows carrying exogenous PM 10 originated from eastern continental Europe. During warm period, ASI episodes were connected to the arrival of regionally circulated air parcels reflecting lack of dispersion and accumulation of pollutants in accordance with the synoptic analysis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Improved meteorology from an updated WRF/CMAQ modeling system with MODIS vegetation and albedo

    EPA Science Inventory

    Realistic vegetation characteristics and phenology from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products improve the simulation for the meteorology and air quality modeling system WRF/CMAQ (Weather Research and Forecasting model and Community Multiscale Air Qual...

  12. Influence of Boundary Conditions on Regional Air Quality Simulations-Analysis of AQMEII Phase 3 Results

    EPA Science Inventory

    This presentation focuses on the dynamic evaluation of the CMAQ model over the continental United States using multi-decadal simulations for the period from 1990 to 2010 to examine how well the changes in observed ozone air quality induced by variations in meteorology and/or emis...

  13. A method to estimate spatiotemporal air quality in an urban traffic corridor.

    PubMed

    Singh, Nongthombam Premananda; Gokhale, Sharad

    2015-12-15

    Air quality exposure assessment using personal exposure sampling or direct measurement of spatiotemporal air pollutant concentrations has difficulty and limitations. Most statistical methods used for estimating spatiotemporal air quality do not account for the source characteristics (e.g. emissions). In this study, a prediction method, based on the lognormal probability distribution of hourly-average-spatial concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) obtained by a CALINE4 model, has been developed and validated in an urban traffic corridor. The data on CO concentrations were collected at three locations and traffic and meteorology within the urban traffic corridor.(1) The method has been developed with the data of one location and validated at other two locations. The method estimated the CO concentrations reasonably well (correlation coefficient, r≥0.96). Later, the method has been applied to estimate the probability of occurrence [P(C≥Cstd] of the spatial CO concentrations in the corridor. The results have been promising and, therefore, may be useful to quantifying spatiotemporal air quality within an urban area. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  14. Stratospheric Intrusion-Influenced Ozone Air Quality Exceedences Investigated in MERRA-2

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Knowland, K. Emma; Ott, Lesley; Duncan, Bryan; Wargan, Krzysztof

    2017-01-01

    Ozone near the surface is harmful to human health and is a result of the photochemical reaction with both man-made and natural precursor pollutant sources. Therefore, in order to reduce near surface ozone concentrations, communities must reduce anthropogenic pollution sources. However, the injection of stratospheric ozone into the troposphere, known as a stratospheric intrusion, can also lead to concentrations of ground-level ozone exceeding air quality standards. Stratospheric intrusions are dynamical atmospheric features, however, these intrusions have been misrepresented in models and reanalyses until recently, as the features of a stratospheric intrusion are best identified in horizontal resolutions of approximately 50 km or smaller. NASA's Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications Version-2 (MERRA-2) reanalysis is a publicly-available high-resolution dataset (50 km) with assimilated ozone that characterizes stratospheric ozone on the same spatiotemporal resolution as the meteorology. We show that stratospheric intrusions that impact surface air quality are well represented in the MERRA-2 reanalysis. This is demonstrated through a case study analysis of stratospheric intrusion events which were identified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to impact surface ozone air quality in spring 2012 in Colorado. The stratospheric intrusions are identified in MERRA-2 by the folding of the dynamical tropopause under the jet stream and subsequent isentropic descent of dry, O3-rich stratospheric air towards the surface where ozone air quality exceedences were observed. The MERRA-2 reanalysis can support air quality agencies for more rapid identification of the impact of stratospheric air on ground-level ozone.

  15. Comprehensive national database of tree effects on air quality and human health in the United States.

    PubMed

    Hirabayashi, Satoshi; Nowak, David J

    2016-08-01

    Trees remove air pollutants through dry deposition processes depending upon forest structure, meteorology, and air quality that vary across space and time. Employing nationally available forest, weather, air pollution and human population data for 2010, computer simulations were performed for deciduous and evergreen trees with varying leaf area index for rural and urban areas in every county in the conterminous United States. The results populated a national database of annual air pollutant removal, concentration changes, and reductions in adverse health incidences and costs for NO2, O3, PM2.5 and SO2. The developed database enabled a first order approximation of air quality and associated human health benefits provided by trees with any forest configurations anywhere in the conterminous United States over time. Comprehensive national database of tree effects on air quality and human health in the United States was developed. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Air quality remote sensing over alpine regions with METEOSAT SEVIRI

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Emili, E.; Popp, C.; Petitta, M.; Riffler, M.; Wunderle, S.

    2009-04-01

    It is well demonstrated that small aerosol particles or particulate matter (PM10 and PM2.5) affect air quality and can have severe effects on human's health. Hence, it is of great interest for public institutions to have an efficient PM monitoring network. In the last decades this data has been provided from ground-based instruments. Moreover, due to the fast development of space-borne remote sensing instruments, we can now be able to take advantage of air pollution measurements from space, which bears the potential to fill up the gap of spatial coverage from ground-based networks. This also improves the capability to assess air pollutants transport properties together with a better implementation in forecasting data assimilation procedures. In this study we examine the possibility of using data from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI), on-board of the geostationary Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) platform, to provide PM concentrations values over Switzerland. SEVIRI's high temporal resolution (15 minutes) could be very useful in investigating the daily behaviour of air pollutants and therefore be a good complement to measurements from polar orbiting sensors (e.g. MODIS). Switzerland is of particular interest because of its mountainous orography that hampers pollutants dispersion. Further, major transalpine connection routes, often characterised by high traffic load, act as a significant air pollution source. The south of Switzerland is also occasionally influenced by pollutants transported from the highly industrialised Po Valley in northern Italy. We investigate the existence of a linear relation between the SEVIRI retrieved AOD (Aerosol Optical Depth) and the PM concentration obtained from the ground-based air quality network NABEL (Nationales Beobachtungsnetz fuer Luftfremdstoffe). The temporal trend of this two quantities shows a significant relationship over various locations. The correlation coefficient is in some cases higher than 0

  17. Meteorological controls on atmospheric particulate pollution during hazard reduction burns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Di Virgilio, Giovanni; Hart, Melissa Anne; Jiang, Ningbo

    2018-05-01

    Internationally, severe wildfires are an escalating problem likely to worsen given projected changes to climate. Hazard reduction burns (HRBs) are used to suppress wildfire occurrences, but they generate considerable emissions of atmospheric fine particulate matter, which depend upon prevailing atmospheric conditions, and can degrade air quality. Our objectives are to improve understanding of the relationships between meteorological conditions and air quality during HRBs in Sydney, Australia. We identify the primary meteorological covariates linked to high PM2.5 pollution (particulates < 2.5 µm in diameter) and quantify differences in their behaviours between HRB days when PM2.5 remained low versus HRB days when PM2.5 was high. Generalised additive mixed models were applied to continuous meteorological and PM2.5 observations for 2011-2016 at four sites across Sydney. The results show that planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) and total cloud cover were the most consistent predictors of elevated PM2.5 during HRBs. During HRB days with low pollution, the PBLH between 00:00 and 07:00 LT (local time) was 100-200 m higher than days with high pollution. The PBLH was similar during 10:00-17:00 LT for both low and high pollution days, but higher after 18:00 LT for HRB days with low pollution. Cloud cover, temperature and wind speed reflected the above pattern, e.g. mean temperatures and wind speeds were 2 °C cooler and 0.5 m s-1 lower during mornings and evenings of HRB days when air quality was poor. These cooler, more stable morning and evening conditions coincide with nocturnal westerly cold air drainage flows in Sydney, which are associated with reduced mixing height and vertical dispersion, leading to the build-up of PM2.5. These findings indicate that air pollution impacts may be reduced by altering the timing of HRBs by conducting them later in the morning (by a matter of hours). Our findings support location-specific forecasts of the air quality impacts of HRBs

  18. Particulate matter air quality assessment over southeast United States using satellite and ground measurements

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gupta, Pawan

    Fine particles (PM2.5, particles with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 mum) can penetrate deep inside the human lungs and recent scientific studies have shown thousands of deaths occur each year around the world, prematurely, due to a high concentration of particulate matter. Therefore, monitoring and forecasting of surface level fine particulate matter air quality is very important. Typically air quality measurements are made from ground stations. In recent years, linear regression relationships between satellite derived aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and surface measured PM2.5 mass concentration are formed and used to estimate PM2.5 in the areas where surface measurements are not available. This type of simple linear relationships varies with regions and seasons, and does not provide accurate enough estimation of surface level pollution and many studies have shown that AOT alone is not sufficient for PM2.5 mass concentration estimations. Furthermore, AOT represents aerosol loading in the entire column of the atmosphere whereas PM2.5 is measured at the surface; hence, the knowledge of vertical distribution of aerosols coupled with meteorology becomes critical in PM2.5 estimations. In this dissertation I used three years (2004-2006) of coincident hourly PM2.5, MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) derived AOT, and Rapid Update Cycle (RUC) analyzed meteorological fields to assess PM2.5 air quality in the Southeast United States. I explored the use of two-variate (TVM), multi-variate (MVM) and artificial neural network (ANN) methods for estimating PM2.5 over 85 stations in the region. First, satellite data were analyzed for sampling biases, quality, and impact of clouds. Results show that MODIS-Terra AOT data was available only about 50% of the days in any given month due to cloud over and unfavorable surface conditions, but this produced a sampling bias of less than 2 mugm-3. Results indicate that there is up to three fold improvements in the

  19. Indoor to outdoor air quality associations with self-pollution implications inside passenger car cabins

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abi-Esber, L.; El-Fadel, M.

    2013-12-01

    In this study, in-vehicle and out-vehicle concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO) are measured to assess commuter's exposure in a commercial residential area and on a highway, under three popular ventilation modes namely, one window half opened, air conditioning on fresh air intake, and air conditioning on recirculation and examine its relationship to scarcely studied parameters including self pollution, out-vehicle sample intake location and meteorological gradients. Self pollution is the intrusion of a vehicle's own engine fumes into the passenger's compartment. For this purpose, six car makes with different ages were instrumented to concomitantly monitor in- and out-vehicle PM2.5 and CO concentrations as well as meteorological parameters. Air pollution levels were unexpectedly higher in new cars compared to old cars, with in-cabin air quality most correlated to that of out-vehicle air near the front windshield. Self-pollution was observed at variable rates in three of the six tested cars. Significant correlations were identified between indoor to outdoor pressure difference and PM2.5 and CO In/Out (IO) ratios under air recirculation and window half opened ventilation modes whereas temperature and humidity difference affected CO IO ratios only under the air recirculation ventilation mode.

  20. The influence of synoptic weather regimes on UK air quality: regional model studies of tropospheric column NO2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pope, R. J.; Savage, N. H.; Chipperfield, M. P.; Ordóñez, C.; Neal, L. S.

    2015-07-01

    Synoptic meteorology can have a significant influence on UK air quality. Cyclonic (anticyclonic) conditions lead to the dispersion (accumulation) of air pollutants away from (over) source regions. Meteorology also modifies atmospheric chemistry processes such as photolysis and wet deposition. Previous studies have shown a relationship between observed satellite tropospheric column NO2 and synoptic meteorology in different seasons. Here, we test whether the UK Met Office Air Quality in the Unified Model (AQUM) can reproduce these observations and then use the model to determine the controlling factors. We show that AQUM successfully captures the observed relationships, when sampled under the Lamb Weather Types, an objective classification of midday UK circulation patterns. By using a range of idealised NOx-like tracers with different e-folding lifetimes, we show that under different synoptic regimes the NO2 lifetime in AQUM is approximately 6 h in summer and 12 h in winter. The longer lifetime can explain why synoptic spatial column NO2 variations are more significant in winter compared to summer, due to less NO2 photochemical loss. We also show that cyclonic conditions have more seasonality in column NO2 than anticyclonic conditions as they result in more extreme spatial departures from the wintertime seasonal average. Within a season (summer or winter) under different synoptic regimes, a large proportion of the spatial pattern in the UK column NO2 field can be explained by the idealised model tracers, showing that transport is an important factor in governing the variability of UK air quality on seasonal synoptic timescales.

  1. DOE/NV/26383-LTR2008-01 Letter Report Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative - Air Quality Scoping Study for Caliente, Lincoln County, Nevada

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    J. Engelbrecht; I. Kavouras; D. Campbell

    2009-04-02

    The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is performing a scoping study as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Yucca Mountain Environmental Monitoring Systems Initiative (EMSI). The main objective is to obtain baseline air quality information for Yucca Mountain and an area surrounding the Nevada Test Site (NTS). Air quality and meteorological monitoring and sampling equipment housed in a mobile trailer (shelter) is collecting data at eight sites outside the NTS, including Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Beatty, Sarcobatus Flats, Rachel, Caliente, Pahranagat NWR, Crater Flat, and Tonopah Airport, and at four sites on the NTS (Engelbrecht et al., 2007a-d).more » The trailer is stationed at any one site for approximately eight weeks at a time. This letter report provides a summary of air quality and meteorological data, on completion of the site's sampling program.« less

  2. Korea-United States Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) Campaign

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Castellanos, Patricia; Da Silva, Arlindo; Longo-De Freitas, Karla

    2017-01-01

    The Korea-United States Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) campaign was an international cooperative field study based out of Osan Air Base, Songtan, South Korea (about 60 kilometers south of Seoul) in April-June 2016. A comprehensive suite of instruments capable of measuring atmospheric composition was deployed around the Korean peninsula on aircrafts, ships, and at ground sites in order to characterize local and transboundary pollution. The NASA Goddard Earth Observing System, version 5 (GEOS-5) forecast model was used for near real time meteorological and aerosol forecasting and flight planning during the KORUS-AQ campaign. Evaluation of GEOS-5 against observations from the campaign will help to identify inaccuracies in the models physical and chemical processes in this region within East Asia and lead to further developments of the modeling system.

  3. Evaluation of the Community Multiscale Air Quality Model for Simulating Winter Ozone Formation in the Uinta Basin with Intensive Oil and Gas Production

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Matichuk, R.; Tonnesen, G.; Luecken, D.; Roselle, S. J.; Napelenok, S. L.; Baker, K. R.; Gilliam, R. C.; Misenis, C.; Murphy, B.; Schwede, D. B.

    2015-12-01

    The western United States is an important source of domestic energy resources. One of the primary environmental impacts associated with oil and natural gas production is related to air emission releases of a number of air pollutants. Some of these pollutants are important precursors to the formation of ground-level ozone. To better understand ozone impacts and other air quality issues, photochemical air quality models are used to simulate the changes in pollutant concentrations in the atmosphere on local, regional, and national spatial scales. These models are important for air quality management because they assist in identifying source contributions to air quality problems and designing effective strategies to reduce harmful air pollutants. The success of predicting oil and natural gas air quality impacts depends on the accuracy of the input information, including emissions inventories, meteorological information, and boundary conditions. The treatment of chemical and physical processes within these models is equally important. However, given the limited amount of data collected for oil and natural gas production emissions in the past and the complex terrain and meteorological conditions in western states, the ability of these models to accurately predict pollution concentrations from these sources is uncertain. Therefore, this presentation will focus on understanding the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model's ability to predict air quality impacts associated with oil and natural gas production and its sensitivity to input uncertainties. The results will focus on winter ozone issues in the Uinta Basin, Utah and identify the factors contributing to model performance issues. The results of this study will help support future air quality model development, policy and regulatory decisions for the oil and gas sector.

  4. Short-term effects of air quality and thermal stress on non-accidental morbidity-a multivariate meta-analysis comparing indices to single measures.

    PubMed

    Lokys, Hanna Leona; Junk, Jürgen; Krein, Andreas

    2018-01-01

    Air quality and thermal stress lead to increased morbidity and mortality. Studies on morbidity and the combined impact of air pollution and thermal stress are still rare. To analyse the correlations between air quality, thermal stress and morbidity, we used a two-stage meta-analysis approach, consisting of a Poisson regression model combined with distributed lag non-linear models (DLNMs) and a meta-analysis investigating whether latitude or the number of inhabitants significantly influence the correlations. We used air pollution, meteorological and hospital admission data from 28 administrative districts along a north-south gradient in western Germany from 2001 to 2011. We compared the performance of the single measure particulate matter (PM10) and air temperature to air quality indices (MPI and CAQI) and the biometeorological index UTCI. Based on the Akaike information criterion (AIC), it can be shown that using air quality indices instead of single measures increases the model strength. However, using the UTCI in the model does not give additional information compared to mean air temperature. Interaction between the 3-day average of air quality (max PM10, max CAQI and max MPI) and meteorology (mean air temperature and mean UTCI) did not improve the models. Using the mean air temperature, we found immediate effects of heat stress (RR 1.0013, 95% CI: 0.9983-1.0043) and by 3 days delayed effects of cold stress (RR: 1.0184, 95% CI: 1.0117-1.0252). The results for air quality differ between both air quality indices and PM10. CAQI and MPI show a delayed impact on morbidity with a maximum RR after 2 days (MPI 1.0058, 95% CI: 1.0013-1.0102; CAQI 1.0068, 95% CI: 1.0030-1.0107). Latitude was identified as a significant meta-variable, whereas the number of inhabitants was not significant in the model.

  5. Short-term effects of air quality and thermal stress on non-accidental morbidity—a multivariate meta-analysis comparing indices to single measures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lokys, Hanna Leona; Junk, Jürgen; Krein, Andreas

    2018-01-01

    Air quality and thermal stress lead to increased morbidity and mortality. Studies on morbidity and the combined impact of air pollution and thermal stress are still rare. To analyse the correlations between air quality, thermal stress and morbidity, we used a two-stage meta-analysis approach, consisting of a Poisson regression model combined with distributed lag non-linear models (DLNMs) and a meta-analysis investigating whether latitude or the number of inhabitants significantly influence the correlations. We used air pollution, meteorological and hospital admission data from 28 administrative districts along a north-south gradient in western Germany from 2001 to 2011. We compared the performance of the single measure particulate matter (PM10) and air temperature to air quality indices (MPI and CAQI) and the biometeorological index UTCI. Based on the Akaike information criterion (AIC), it can be shown that using air quality indices instead of single measures increases the model strength. However, using the UTCI in the model does not give additional information compared to mean air temperature. Interaction between the 3-day average of air quality (max PM10, max CAQI and max MPI) and meteorology (mean air temperature and mean UTCI) did not improve the models. Using the mean air temperature, we found immediate effects of heat stress (RR 1.0013, 95% CI: 0.9983-1.0043) and by 3 days delayed effects of cold stress (RR: 1.0184, 95% CI: 1.0117-1.0252). The results for air quality differ between both air quality indices and PM10. CAQI and MPI show a delayed impact on morbidity with a maximum RR after 2 days (MPI 1.0058, 95% CI: 1.0013-1.0102; CAQI 1.0068, 95% CI: 1.0030-1.0107). Latitude was identified as a significant meta-variable, whereas the number of inhabitants was not significant in the model.

  6. Large Gain in Air Quality Compared to an Alternative Anthropogenic Emissions Scenario

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Daskalakis, Nikos; Tsigaridis, Kostas; Myriokefalitakis, Stelios; Fanourgakis, George S.; Kanakidou, Maria

    2016-01-01

    During the last 30 years, significant effort has been made to improve air quality through legislation for emissions reduction. Global three-dimensional chemistrytransport simulations of atmospheric composition over the past 3 decades have been performed to estimate what the air quality levels would have been under a scenario of stagnation of anthropogenic emissions per capita as in 1980, accounting for the population increase (BA1980) or using the standard practice of neglecting it (AE1980), and how they compare to the historical changes in air quality levels. The simulations are based on assimilated meteorology to account for the yearto- year observed climate variability and on different scenarios of anthropogenic emissions of pollutants. The ACCMIP historical emissions dataset is used as the starting point. Our sensitivity simulations provide clear indications that air quality legislation and technology developments have limited the rapid increase of air pollutants. The achieved reductions in concentrations of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, black carbon, and sulfate aerosols are found to be significant when comparing to both BA1980 and AE1980 simulations that neglect any measures applied for the protection of the environment. We also show the potentially large tropospheric air quality benefit from the development of cleaner technology used by the growing global population. These 30-year hindcast sensitivity simulations demonstrate that the actual benefit in air quality due to air pollution legislation and technological advances is higher than the gain calculated by a simple comparison against a constant anthropogenic emissions simulation, as is usually done. Our results also indicate that over China and India the beneficial technological advances for the air quality may have been masked by the explosive increase in local population and the disproportional increase in energy demand partially due to the globalization of the economy.

  7. Linking Meteorology, Air Quality Models and Observations to Characterize Human Exposures in Support of the Environmental Health Studies

    EPA Science Inventory

    Epidemiologic studies are critical in establishing the association between exposure to air pollutants and adverse health effects. Results of epidemiologic studies are used by U.S. EPA in developing air quality standards to protect the public from the health effects of air polluta...

  8. What does industry need in the way of meteorology for air pollution problems

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Crow, L.W.

    1978-01-01

    A discussion covers information which should be supplied to the consulting meteorologist; typical requests made by industrial concerns of various consultants; feeding meteorological data to models; the use of meteorological information in developing prevention of significant deterioration requirements; sources of error, e.g., assuming that digital values have a higher validity than the original analog records; the need for industrial concerns to develop sets of site-specific data; and the greater liability of air flow and stability frequencies estimated by professional meteorologists than transposed historical data from the nearest airport station for use as model input to make preliminary planning decisions.

  9. Impact of Transpacific Aerosol on Air Quality over the United States: A Perspective from Aerosol-Cloud-Radiation Interactions

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Tao, Zhining; Yu, Hongbin; Chin, Mian

    2015-01-01

    Observations have well established that aerosols from various sources in Asia, Europe, and Africa can travel across the Pacific and reach the contiguous United States (U.S.) at least on episodic bases throughout a year, with a maximum import in spring. The imported aerosol not only can serve as an additional source to regional air pollution (e.g., direct input), but also can influence regional air quality through the aerosol-cloud-radiation (ACR) interactions that change local and regional meteorology. This study assessed impacts of the transpacific aerosol on air quality, focusing on surface ozone and PM2.5, over the U.S. using the NASA Unified Weather Research Forecast model. Based on the results of 3- month (April to June of 2010) simulations, the impact of direct input (as an additional source) of transpacific aerosol caused an increase of surface PM2.5 concentration by approximately 1.5 micro-g/cu m over the west coast and about 0.5 micro-g/cu m over the east coast of the U.S. By influencing key meteorological processes through the ACR interactions, the transpacific aerosol exerted a significant effect on both surface PM2.5 (+/-6 micro-g/cu m3) and ozone (+/-12 ppbv) over the central and eastern U.S. This suggests that the transpacific transport of aerosol could either improve or deteriorate local air quality and complicate local effort toward the compliance with the U.S. National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

  10. Application of OMI NO2 for Regional Air Quality Model Evaluation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holloway, T.; Bickford, E.; Oberman, J.; Scotty, E.; Clifton, O. E.

    2012-12-01

    To support the application of satellite data for air quality analysis, we examine how column NO2 measurements from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) aboard the NASA Aura satellite relate to ground-based and model estimates of NO2 and related species. Daily variability, monthly mean values, and spatial gradients in OMI NO2 from the Netherlands Royal Meteorological Institute (KNMI) are compared to ground-based measurements of NO2 from the EPA Air Quality System (AQS) database. Satellite data is gridded to two resolutions typical of regional air quality models - 36 km x 36 km over the continental U.S., and 12 km x 12 km over the Upper Midwestern U.S. Gridding is performed using the Wisconsin Horizontal Interpolation Program for Satellites (WHIPS), a publicly available software to support gridding of satellite data to model grids. Comparing daily OMI retrievals (13:45 daytime local overpass time) with ground-based measurements (13:00), we find January and July 2007 correlation coefficients (r-values) generally positive, with values higher in the winter (January) than summer (July) for most sites. Incidences of anti-correlation or low-correlation are evaluated with model simulations from the U.S. EPA Community Multiscale Air Quality Model version 4.7 (CMAQ). OMI NO2 is also used to evaluate CMAQ output, and to compare performance metrics for CMAQ relative to AQS measurements. We compare simulated NO2 across both the U.S. and Midwest study domains with both OMI NO2 (total column CMAQ values, weighted with the averaging kernel) and with ground-based observations (lowest model layer CMAQ values). 2007 CMAQ simulations employ emissions from the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium (LADCO) and meteorology from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Over most of the U.S., CMAQ is too high in January relative to OMI NO2, but too low in January relative to AQS NO2. In contrast, CMAQ is too low in July relative to OMI NO2, but too high relative to AQS NO2. These

  11. Impacts of Future Climate and Emission Changes on U.S. Air Quality

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Penrod, Ashley; Zhang, Yang; Wang, K.

    2014-06-01

    Changes in climate and emissions will affect future air quality. In this work, simulations of present (2001-2005) and future (2026-2030) regional air quality are conducted with the newly released CMAQ version 5.0 to examine the individual and combined impacts of simulated future climate and anthropogenic emission projections on air quality over the U.S. Current (2001-2005) meteorological and chemical predictions are evaluated against observational data to assess the model’s capability in reproducing the seasonal differences. Overall, WRF and CMAQ perform reasonably well. Increased temperatures (up to 3.18 °C) and decreased ventilation (up to 157 m in planetary boundary layer height) aremore » found in both future winter and summer, with more prominent changes in winter. Increases in future temperatures result in increased isoprene and terpene emissions in winter and summer, driving the increase in maximum 8-h average O3 (up to 5.0 ppb) over the eastern U.S. in winter while decreases in NOx emissions drive the decrease in O3 over most of the U.S. in summer. Future concentrations of PM2.5 in winter and summer and many of its components including organic matter in winter, ammonium and nitrate in summer, and sulfate in winter and summer, decrease due to decreases in primary anthropogenic emissions and the concentrations of secondary anthropogenic pollutants and increased precipitation in winter. Future winter and summer dry and wet deposition fluxes are spatially variable and increase with increasing surface resistance and precipitation (e.g., NH4+ and NO3- dry and wet deposition fluxes increase in winter over much of the U.S.), respectively, and decrease with a decrease in ambient particulate concentrations (e.g., SO42- dry and wet deposition fluxes decrease over the eastern U.S. in summer and winter). Sensitivity simulations show that anthropogenic emission projections dominate over changes in climate in their impacts on the U.S. air quality in the near future

  12. Building a QC Database of Meteorological Data from NASA KSC and the United States Air Force's Eastern Range

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Brenton, J. C.; Barbre, R. E.; Decker, R. K.; Orcutt, J. M.

    2018-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Natural Environments Branch (EV44) provides atmospheric databases and analysis in support of space vehicle design and day-of-launch operations for NASA and commercial launch vehicle programs launching from the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC), co-located on the United States Air Force's Eastern Range (ER) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The ER complex is one of the most heavily instrumented sites in the United States with over 31 towers measuring various atmospheric parameters on a continuous basis. An inherent challenge with large datasets consists of ensuring erroneous data are removed from databases, and thus excluded from launch vehicle design analyses. EV44 has put forth great effort in developing quality control (QC) procedures for individual meteorological instruments, however no standard QC procedures for all databases currently exists resulting in QC databases that have inconsistencies in variables, development methodologies, and periods of record. The goal of this activity is to use the previous efforts to develop a standardized set of QC procedures from which to build meteorological databases from KSC and the ER, while maintaining open communication with end users from the launch community to develop ways to improve, adapt and grow the QC database. Details of the QC procedures will be described. As the rate of launches increases with additional launch vehicle programs, It is becoming more important that weather databases are continually updated and checked for data quality before use in launch vehicle design and certification analyses.

  13. The Co-benefits of Domestic and Foreign GHG Mitigation on US Air Quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Y.; Bowden, J.; Adelman, Z.; Naik, V.; Horowitz, L. W.; West, J. J.

    2013-12-01

    Authors: Yuqiang Zhang1, Jared Bowden2 , Zachariah Adelman1,2, Vaishali Naik3, Larry W. Horowitz4 , J. Jason West1 1 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 2 Institute for the Environment, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 3 UCAR/NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ 08540 4 NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, NJ 08540 Abstract: Actions to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will reduce co-emitted air pollutants, which can immediately affect air quality; slowing climate change through GHG mitigation also influences air quality in the long term. We previously used a global model (MOZART-4) to show that global GHG mitigation will have significant co-benefits for air quality and human health. In doing so, we contrasted the Representative Concentration Pathway Scenario 4.5 (RCP4.5), treated as a GHG mitigation scenario, with its associated reference case scenario (REF). Using these same scenarios, we investigate here the air quality co-benefits due to domestic GHGs mitigation in the US alone at fine resolution, and compare these co-benefits with those resulting from foreign GHG mitigation. This work focuses on downscaling the meteorology and air pollutant chemistry to the US scale. We use the latest Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model as a Regional Climate Model (RCM) to dynamically downscale the GFDL AM3 Global Climate Model (GCM) over the US at 36 km resolution, in 2000 and 2050. The 2000 simulation will be compared with the multi-year surface observation data, satellite data, and all simulations with the GCM simulation. These simulations will be used as inputs for the newest Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system. Initial conditions (IC) and dynamic boundary conditions (BC) for CMAQ will be derived from the global MOZART-4 simulations. Anthropogenic emissions for the REF and RCP4.5 scenarios will be processed through SMOKE to prepare temporally- and spatially-resolved emission files

  14. TEMPORAL SIGNATURES OF AIR QUALITY OBSERVATIONS AND MODEL OUTPUTS: DO TIME SERIES DECOMPOSITION METHODS CAPTURE RELEVANT TIME SCALES?

    EPA Science Inventory

    Time series decomposition methods were applied to meteorological and air quality data and their numerical model estimates. Decomposition techniques express a time series as the sum of a small number of independent modes which hypothetically represent identifiable forcings, thereb...

  15. A multi-methodological approach to study the temporal and spatial distribution of air quality related to road transport emissions in Madrid, Spain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Perez, Pedro; Miranda, Regina

    2013-04-01

    emission inventory, together with the mobile source's parameters and the disaggregated transport activity data. The paper will also identify emission and concentration differences and gradients of certain magnitude/factor (e.g. comparison between estimated ATPs hourly concentrations in Madrid City Center and in the peripheries). Furthermore, because of the higher contribution of road mobile sources to GHGs and ATPs emissions in Madrid, small gradients between urban highways and residential areas will be expected. Second, the paper objectives are to develop valid methods and approaches to measure air quality and to develop valid road transport emission inventories to assess correlations between external costs, epidemiology and emissions in order to reveal how traffic pollution affects people exposure to key contaminants and disease development, and identify susceptible emission scenarios and health impacts. We have conducted general emission inventory studies providing preliminary evidence of regional road transport air pollution impacts on external cost growth and disease development. Third, we also aim to demonstrate short and long-term impacts of road transport emissions on external costs development using innovative multi-methodological methods interfaced with environmental chemistry and meteorology following meteorological and chemical fields with contrasting high/low traffic emissions in several linked components involving: air pollutant assessment using local measurements, height of the boundary layer, meteorological environment interactions on external costs and epidemiology, mapping of Madrid (identifying gradients of emissions), integrative causal modeling using statistical models, and trend and scenario analyses on external costs and impacts on human health. Meteorological and chemical fields will be obtained from local records collected by surface meteorological and air quality stations. These two sets of fields define the horizontal and vertical profiles of

  16. Revealed variations of air quality in industrial development over a remote plateau of Southwest China: an application of atmospheric visibility data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhao, Tianliang; Liu, Di; Zheng, Xiaobo; Yang, Lexin; Gu, Xiaoping; Hu, Jun; Shu, Zhuozhi; Chang, Jiacheng; Wu, Xiasheng

    2017-12-01

    Since the 1980s, an industrial development has bloomed in China including the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau (YGP), a remote region in Southwest China. To analyze the regional variations in air quality over YGP during the industrial development, we adopt the equivalent visibility by excluding the influence of natural factors on the observed visibility based on the meteorological data observed at 203 sites over YGP from 1980 to 2010 in this study. The YGP air quality exhibits the tremendous spatial differences in a general distribution from western good to eastern poor air quality. A similar pattern shifts seasonally in the spatial distribution with a typical seasonality of air quality over YGP between summertime low air pollution and wintertime high air pollution. The increasing and decreasing trends in visibility are mostly concentrated, respectively, in the YGP regions with high and low visibility, displaying the phenomenon of polarization in air quality change over YGP during 1980-2010. The regional mean visibility of the YGP presents a significant declining trend with change rate of -1.5 km decade-1 for air quality deterioration. The seasonal differences in visibility between summer (33.6 km) and winter (25.2 km) became obscure with the interannual change trends of visibility with stronger declines (-2.29 km decade-1) in summer and weaker decreases (-0.89 km decade-1) in winter over 1980-2010, which lead to a indistinct seasonality of air quality change over YGP. The remote YGP had experienced more frequent haze pollution, especially in the eastern plateau over 31 years. In accompany of increasing energy consumption in the industrial development, population growth is an important factor influencing the interannual change of YGP air quality. The distinct spatial distribution in the YGP terrain exerts an impact on poor air quality in lower flatlands harbored by mountainous topography with good air quality. Declined monsoon winds could meteorologically drive the air

  17. The influence of synoptic weather regimes on UK air quality: regional model studies of tropospheric column NO2

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pope, R. J.; Savage, N. H.; Chipperfield, M. P.; Ordóñez, C.; Neal, L. S.

    2015-10-01

    Synoptic meteorology can have a significant influence on UK air quality. Cyclonic conditions lead to the dispersion of air pollutants away from source regions, while anticyclonic conditions lead to their accumulation over source regions. Meteorology also modifies atmospheric chemistry processes such as photolysis and wet deposition. Previous studies have shown a relationship between observed satellite tropospheric column NO2 and synoptic meteorology in different seasons. Here, we test whether the UK Met Office Air Quality in the Unified Model (AQUM) can reproduce these observations and then use the model to explore the relative importance of various factors. We show that AQUM successfully captures the observed relationships when sampled under the Lamb weather types, an objective classification of midday UK circulation patterns. By using a range of idealized NOx-like tracers with different e-folding lifetimes, we show that under different synoptic regimes the NO2 lifetime in AQUM is approximately 6 h in summer and 12 h in winter. The longer lifetime can explain why synoptic spatial tropospheric column NO2 variations are more significant in winter compared to summer, due to less NO2 photochemical loss. We also show that cyclonic conditions have more seasonality in tropospheric column NO2 than anticyclonic conditions as they result in more extreme spatial departures from the wintertime seasonal average. Within a season (summer or winter) under different synoptic regimes, a large proportion of the spatial pattern in the UK tropospheric column NO2 field can be explained by the idealized model tracers, showing that transport is an important factor in governing the variability of UK air quality on seasonal synoptic timescales.

  18. The Application of Satellite-Derived, High-Resolution Land Use/Land Cover Data to Improve Urban Air Quality Model Forecasts

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Quattrochi, D. A.; Lapenta, W. M.; Crosson, W. L.; Estes, M. G., Jr.; Limaye, A.; Kahn, M.

    2006-01-01

    Local and state agencies are responsible for developing state implementation plans to meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards. Numerical models used for this purpose simulate the transport and transformation of criteria pollutants and their precursors. The specification of land use/land cover (LULC) plays an important role in controlling modeled surface meteorology and emissions. NASA researchers have worked with partners and Atlanta stakeholders to incorporate an improved high-resolution LULC dataset for the Atlanta area within their modeling system and to assess meteorological and air quality impacts of Urban Heat Island (UHI) mitigation strategies. The new LULC dataset provides a more accurate representation of land use, has the potential to improve model accuracy, and facilitates prediction of LULC changes. Use of the new LULC dataset for two summertime episodes improved meteorological forecasts, with an existing daytime cold bias of approx. equal to 3 C reduced by 30%. Model performance for ozone prediction did not show improvement. In addition, LULC changes due to Atlanta area urbanization were predicted through 2030, for which model simulations predict higher urban air temperatures. The incorporation of UHI mitigation strategies partially offset this warming trend. The data and modeling methods used are generally applicable to other U.S. cities.

  19. Progress on Implementing Additional Physics Schemes into MPAS-A v5.1 for Next Generation Air Quality Modeling

    EPA Science Inventory

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has a team of scientists developing a next generation air quality modeling system employing the Model for Prediction Across Scales – Atmosphere (MPAS-A) as its meteorological foundation. Several preferred physics schemes and ...

  20. TESTING PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY SENSITIVITIES IN THE U.S. EPA COMMUNITY MULTISCALE AIR QUALITY MODELING SYSTEM (CMAQ)

    EPA Science Inventory

    Uncertainties in key elements of emissions and meteorology inputs to air quality models (AQMs) can range from 50 to 100% with some areas of emissions uncertainty even higher (Russell and Dennis, 2000). Uncertainties in the chemical mechanisms are thought to be smaller (Russell an...

  1. Traffic Data and Its Use in Air Quality Analysis

    EPA Science Inventory

    A study was conducted in Las Vegas, NV from mid-December 2008 to mid-December 2009 to characterize near road emissions and associated ambient concentrations at various distances from a major roadway as a function of meteorology and traffic. The air emissions and meteorological da...

  2. 78 FR 21547 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Oregon: Eugene-Springfield PM10

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-11

    ... revision as a direct final rule without prior proposal because EPA views this as a noncontroversial SIP... daily multi-stage advisory issued each winter from November through the end of February. The daily advisory, which is based upon forecast meteorology and air quality, provides a color-coded stage based on...

  3. Status of Air Quality in Central California and Needs for Further Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tanrikulu, S.; Beaver, S.; Soong, S.; Tran, C.; Jia, Y.; Matsuoka, J.; McNider, R. T.; Biazar, A. P.; Palazoglu, A.; Lee, P.; Wang, J.; Kang, D.; Aneja, V. P.

    2012-12-01

    Ozone and PM2.5 levels frequently exceed NAAQS in central California (CC). Additional emission reductions are needed to attain and maintain the standards there. Agencies are developing cost-effective emission control strategies along with complementary incentive programs to reduce emissions when exceedances are forecasted. These approaches require accurate modeling and forecasting capabilities. A variety of models have been rigorously applied (MM5, WRF, CMAQ, CAMx) over CC. Despite the vast amount of land-based measurements from special field programs and significant effort, models have historically exhibited marginal performance. Satellite data may improve model performance by: establishing IC/BC over outlying areas of the modeling domain having unknown conditions; enabling FDDA over the Pacific Ocean to characterize important marine inflows and pollutant outflows; and filling in the gaps of the land-based monitoring network. BAAQMD, in collaboration with the NASA AQAST, plans to conduct four studies that include satellite-based data in CC air quality analysis and modeling: The first project enhances and refines weather patterns, especially aloft, impacting summer ozone formation. Surface analyses were unable to characterize the strong attenuating effect of the complex terrain to steer marine winds impinging on the continent. The dense summer clouds and fog over the Pacific Ocean form spatial patterns that can be related to the downstream air flows through polluted areas. The goal of this project is to explore, characterize, and quantify these relationships using cloud cover data. Specifically, cloud agreement statistics will be developed using satellite data and model clouds. Model skin temperature predictions will be compared to both MODIS and GOES skin temperatures. The second project evaluates and improves the initial and simulated fields of meteorological models that provide inputs to air quality models. The study will attempt to determine whether a cloud

  4. Impact of meteorology on air quality modeling over the Po valley in northern Italy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pernigotti, D.; Georgieva, E.; Thunis, P.; Bessagnet, B.

    2012-05-01

    A series of sensitivity tests has been performed using both a mesoscale meteorological model (MM5) and a chemical transport model (CHIMERE) to better understand the reasons why all models underestimate particulate matter concentrations in the Po valley in winter. Different options are explored to nudge meteorological observations from regulatory networks into MM5 in order to improve model performances, especially during the low wind speed regimes frequently present in this area. The sensitivity of the CHIMERE modeled particulate matter concentrations to these different meteorological inputs are then evaluated for the January 2005 time period. A further analysis of the CHIMERE model results revealed the need of improving the parametrization of the in-cloud scavenging and vertical diffusivity schemes; such modifications are relevant especially when the model is applied under mist, fog and low stratus conditions, which frequently occur in the Po valley during winter. The sensitivity of modeled particulate matter concentrations to turbulence parameters, wind, temperature and cloud liquid water content in one of the most polluted and complex areas in Europe is finally discussed.

  5. Impact analysis of traffic-related air pollution based on real-time traffic and basic meteorological information.

    PubMed

    Pan, Long; Yao, Enjian; Yang, Yang

    2016-12-01

    With the rapid development of urbanization and motorization in China, traffic-related air pollution has become a major component of air pollution which constantly jeopardizes public health. This study proposes an integrated framework for estimating the concentration of traffic-related air pollution with real-time traffic and basic meteorological information and also for further evaluating the impact of traffic-related air pollution. First, based on the vehicle emission factor models sensitive to traffic status, traffic emissions are calculated according to the real-time link-based average traffic speed, traffic volume, and vehicular fleet composition. Then, based on differences in meteorological conditions, traffic pollution sources are divided into line sources and point sources, and the corresponding methods to determine the dynamic affecting areas are also proposed. Subsequently, with basic meteorological data, Gaussian dispersion model and puff integration model are applied respectively to estimate the concentration of traffic-related air pollution. Finally, the proposed estimating framework is applied to calculate the distribution of CO concentration in the main area of Beijing, and the population exposure is also calculated to evaluate the impact of traffic-related air pollution on public health. Results show that there is a certain correlation between traffic indicators (i.e., traffic speed and traffic intensity) of the affecting area and traffic-related CO concentration of the target grid, which indicates the methods to determine the affecting areas are reliable. Furthermore, the reliability of the proposed estimating framework is verified by comparing the predicted and the observed ambient CO concentration. In addition, results also show that the traffic-related CO concentration is higher in morning and evening peak hours, and has a heavier impact on public health within the Fourth Ring Road of Beijing due to higher population density and higher CO

  6. Hydrologic, water-quality, and meteorologic data from selected sites in the Upper Catawba River Basin, North Carolina, January 1993 through March 1994

    USGS Publications Warehouse

    Jaynes, M.L.

    1994-01-01

    Hydrologic, water-quality, and meteorologic data were collected from January 1993 through March 1994 as part of a water-quality investigation of the Upper Catawba River Basin, North Carolina. Specific objectives of the investigation were to characterize the water quality of Rhodhiss Lake, Lake Hickory, and three tributary streams, and to calibrate hydrodynamic water-quality models for the two reservoirs. Sampling locations included 11 sites in Rhodhiss Lake, 14 sites in Lake Hickory, and 3 tributary sites. Tributary sites were located at Lower Creek upstream from Rhodhiss Lake and at Upper Little River and Middle Little River upstream from Lake Hickory. During 21 sampling visits, specific conductance, pH, water temperature, dissolved-oxygen concentration, and water transparency were measured at all sampling locations. Water samples were collected for analysis of biochemical oxygen demand, fecal coliform bacteria, hardness, alkalinity, total and volatile suspended solids, suspended sediment, nutrients, total organic carbon, chlorophyll, iron, calcium, and magnesium from three sites in each reservoir and from the three tributary sites. Chemical and particle-size analyses of bottom material from Rhodhiss Lake and Lake Hickory were performed once during the study. At selected locations, automated instruments recorded water level, streamflow, water temperature, solar radiation, and air temperature at 15-minute intervals throughout the study. Hydrologic data presented in the report include monthly water-level statistics and daily mean values of discharge. Diagrams, tables, and statistical summaries of water-quality data are provided. Meteorologic data in the report include monthly precipitation, and daily mean values of solar radiation and air temperature.

  7. Air quality impact assessment of multiple open pit coal mines in northern Colombia.

    PubMed

    Huertas, José I; Huertas, María E; Izquierdo, Sebastián; González, Enrique D

    2012-01-01

    The coal mining region in northern Colombia is one of the largest open pit mining regions of the world. In 2009, there were 8 mining companies in operation with an approximate coal production of ∼70 Mtons/year. Since 2007, the Colombian air quality monitoring network has reported readings that exceed the daily and annual air quality standards for total suspended particulate (TSP) matter and particles with an equivalent aerodynamic diameter smaller than 10 μm (PM₁₀) in nearby villages. This paper describes work carried out in order to establish an appropriate clean air program for this region, based on the Colombian national environmental authority requirement for modeling of TSP and PM(10) dispersion. A TSP and PM₁₀ emission inventory was initially developed, and topographic and meteorological information for the region was collected and analyzed. Using this information, the dispersion of TSP was modeled in ISC3 and AERMOD using meteorological data collected by 3 local stations during 2008 and 2009. The results obtained were compared to actual values measured by the air quality monitoring network. High correlation coefficients (>0.73) were obtained, indicating that the models accurately described the main factors affecting particle dispersion in the region. The model was then used to forecast concentrations of particulate matter for 2010. Based on results from the model, areas within the modeling region were identified as highly, fairly, moderately and marginally polluted according to local regulations. Additionally, the contribution particulate matter to the pollution at each village was estimated. Using these predicted values, the Colombian environmental authority imposed new decontamination measures on the mining companies operating in the region. These measures included the relocation of three villages financed by the mine companies based on forecasted pollution levels. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  8. Low-CCN concentration air masses over the eastern North Atlantic: Seasonality, meteorology, and drivers

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Wood, Robert; Stemmler, Jayson D.; Rémillard, Jasmine; Jefferson, Anne

    2017-01-01

    A 20 month cloud condensation nucleus concentration (NCCN) data set from Graciosa Island (39°N, 28°W) in the remote North Atlantic is used to characterize air masses with low cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations. Low-CCN events are defined as 6 h periods with mean NCCN<20 cm-3 (0.1% supersaturation). A total of 47 low-CCN events are identified. Surface, satellite, and reanalysis data are used to explore the meteorological and cloud context for low-CCN air masses. Low-CCN events occur in all seasons, but their frequency was 3 times higher in December-May than during June-November. Composites show that many of the low-CCN events had a common meteorological basis that involves southerly low-level flow and rather low wind speeds at Graciosa. Anomalously low pressure is situated to the west of Graciosa during these events, but back trajectories and lagged SLP composites indicate that low-CCN air masses often originate as cold air outbreaks to the north and west of Graciosa. Low-CCN events were associated with low cloud droplet concentrations (Nd) at Graciosa, but liquid water path (LWP) during low-CCN events was not systematically different from that at other times. Satellite Nd and LWP estimates from MODIS collocated with Lagrangian back trajectories show systematically lower Nd and higher LWP several days prior to arrival at Graciosa, consistent with the hypothesis that observed low-CCN air masses are often formed by coalescence scavenging in thick warm clouds, often in cold air outbreaks.

  9. Air Pollution Episodes Associated with Prescribed Burns

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Hart, M.; Di Virgilio, G.; Jiang, N.

    2017-12-01

    Air pollution events associated with wildfires have been associated with extreme health impacts. Prescribed burns are an important tool to reduce the severity of wildfires. However, if undertaken during unfavourable meteorological conditions, they too have the capacity to trigger extreme air pollution events. The Australian state of New South Wales has increased the annual average area treated by prescribed burn activities by 45%, in order to limit wildfire activity. Prescribed burns need to be undertaken during meteorological conditions that allow the fuel load to burn, while still allowing the burn to remain under control. These conditions are similar to those that inhibit atmospheric dispersion, resulting in a fine balance between managing fire risk and managing ambient air pollution. During prescribed burns, the Sydney air shed can experience elevated particulate matter concentrations, especially fine particulates (PM2.5) that occasionally exceed national air quality standards. Using pollutant and meteorological data from sixteen monitoring stations in Sydney we used generalized additive model and CART analyses to profile the meteorological conditions influencing air quality during planned burns. The insights gained from this study will help improve prescribed burn scheduling in order to reduce the pollution risk to the community, while allowing fire agencies to conduct this important work.

  10. Evaluating Air-Quality Models: Review and Outlook.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Weil, J. C.; Sykes, R. I.; Venkatram, A.

    1992-10-01

    Over the past decade, much attention has been devoted to the evaluation of air-quality models with emphasis on model performance in predicting the high concentrations that are important in air-quality regulations. This paper stems from our belief that this practice needs to be expanded to 1) evaluate model physics and 2) deal with the large natural or stochastic variability in concentration. The variability is represented by the root-mean- square fluctuating concentration (c about the mean concentration (C) over an ensemble-a given set of meteorological, source, etc. conditions. Most air-quality models used in applications predict C, whereas observations are individual realizations drawn from an ensemble. For cC large residuals exist between predicted and observed concentrations, which confuse model evaluations.This paper addresses ways of evaluating model physics in light of the large c the focus is on elevated point-source models. Evaluation of model physics requires the separation of the mean model error-the difference between the predicted and observed C-from the natural variability. A residual analysis is shown to be an elective way of doing this. Several examples demonstrate the usefulness of residuals as well as correlation analyses and laboratory data in judging model physics.In general, c models and predictions of the probability distribution of the fluctuating concentration (c), (c, are in the developmental stage, with laboratory data playing an important role. Laboratory data from point-source plumes in a convection tank show that (c approximates a self-similar distribution along the plume center plane, a useful result in a residual analysis. At pmsent,there is one model-ARAP-that predicts C, c, and (c for point-source plumes. This model is more computationally demanding than other dispersion models (for C only) and must be demonstrated as a practical tool. However, it predicts an important quantity for applications- the uncertainty in the very high and

  11. New Methods for Air Quality Model Evaluation with Satellite Data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Holloway, T.; Harkey, M.

    2015-12-01

    Despite major advances in the ability of satellites to detect gases and aerosols in the atmosphere, there remains significant, untapped potential to apply space-based data to air quality regulatory applications. Here, we showcase research findings geared toward increasing the relevance of satellite data to support operational air quality management, focused on model evaluation. Particular emphasis is given to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and formaldehyde (HCHO) from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument aboard the NASA Aura satellite, and evaluation of simulations from the EPA Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. This work is part of the NASA Air Quality Applied Sciences Team (AQAST), and is motivated by ongoing dialog with state and federal air quality management agencies. We present the response of satellite-derived NO2 to meteorological conditions, satellite-derived HCHO:NO2 ratios as an indicator of ozone production regime, and the ability of models to capture these sensitivities over the continental U.S. In the case of NO2-weather sensitivities, we find boundary layer height, wind speed, temperature, and relative humidity to be the most important variables in determining near-surface NO2 variability. CMAQ agreed with relationships observed in satellite data, as well as in ground-based data, over most regions. However, we find that the southwest U.S. is a problem area for CMAQ, where modeled NO2 responses to insolation, boundary layer height, and other variables are at odds with the observations. Our analyses utilize a software developed by our team, the Wisconsin Horizontal Interpolation Program for Satellites (WHIPS): a free, open-source program designed to make satellite-derived air quality data more usable. WHIPS interpolates level 2 satellite retrievals onto a user-defined fixed grid, in effect creating custom-gridded level 3 satellite product. Currently, WHIPS can process the following data products: OMI NO2 (NASA retrieval); OMI NO2 (KNMI retrieval); OMI

  12. URBAN MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS FOR MESOSCALE METEOROLOGICAL AND DISPERSION MODELING APPLICATIONS: CURRENT ISSUES

    EPA Science Inventory

    Representing urban terrain characteristics in mesoscale meteorological and dispersion models is critical to produce accurate predictions of wind flow and temperature fields, air quality, and contaminant transport. A key component of the urban terrain representation is the charac...

  13. A novel, fuzzy-based air quality index (FAQI) for air quality assessment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sowlat, Mohammad Hossein; Gharibi, Hamed; Yunesian, Masud; Tayefeh Mahmoudi, Maryam; Lotfi, Saeedeh

    2011-04-01

    The ever increasing level of air pollution in most areas of the world has led to development of a variety of air quality indices for estimation of health effects of air pollution, though the indices have their own limitations such as high levels of subjectivity. Present study, therefore, aimed at developing a novel, fuzzy-based air quality index (FAQI ) to handle such limitations. The index developed by present study is based on fuzzy logic that is considered as one of the most common computational methods of artificial intelligence. In addition to criteria air pollutants (i.e. CO, SO 2, PM 10, O 3, NO 2), benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and 1,3-butadiene were also taken into account in the index proposed, because of their considerable health effects. Different weighting factors were then assigned to each pollutant according to its priority. Trapezoidal membership functions were employed for classifications and the final index consisted of 72 inference rules. To assess the performance of the index, a case study was carried out employing air quality data at five different sampling stations in Tehran, Iran, from January 2008 to December 2009, results of which were then compared to the results obtained from USEPA air quality index (AQI). According to the results from present study, fuzzy-based air quality index is a comprehensive tool for classification of air quality and tends to produce accurate results. Therefore, it can be considered useful, reliable, and suitable for consideration by local authorities in air quality assessment and management schemes. Fuzzy-based air quality index (FAQI).

  14. Modelling and analysis of ozone concentration by artificial intelligent techniques for estimating air quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Taylan, Osman

    2017-02-01

    High ozone concentration is an important cause of air pollution mainly due to its role in the greenhouse gas emission. Ozone is produced by photochemical processes which contain nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the lower atmospheric level. Therefore, monitoring and controlling the quality of air in the urban environment is very important due to the public health care. However, air quality prediction is a highly complex and non-linear process; usually several attributes have to be considered. Artificial intelligent (AI) techniques can be employed to monitor and evaluate the ozone concentration level. The aim of this study is to develop an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy inference approach (ANFIS) to determine the influence of peripheral factors on air quality and pollution which is an arising problem due to ozone level in Jeddah city. The concentration of ozone level was considered as a factor to predict the Air Quality (AQ) under the atmospheric conditions. Using Air Quality Standards of Saudi Arabia, ozone concentration level was modelled by employing certain factors such as; nitrogen oxide (NOx), atmospheric pressure, temperature, and relative humidity. Hence, an ANFIS model was developed to observe the ozone concentration level and the model performance was assessed by testing data obtained from the monitoring stations established by the General Authority of Meteorology and Environment Protection of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The outcomes of ANFIS model were re-assessed by fuzzy quality charts using quality specification and control limits based on US-EPA air quality standards. The results of present study show that the ANFIS model is a comprehensive approach for the estimation and assessment of ozone level and is a reliable approach to produce more genuine outcomes.

  15. The role of a peri-urban forest on air quality improvement in the Mexico City megalopolis.

    PubMed

    Baumgardner, Darrel; Varela, Sebastian; Escobedo, Francisco J; Chacalo, Alicia; Ochoa, Carlos

    2012-04-01

    Air quality improvement by a forested, peri-urban national park was quantified by combining the Urban Forest Effects (UFORE) and the Weather Research and Forecasting coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) models. We estimated the ecosystem-level annual pollution removal function of the park's trees, shrub and grasses using pollution concentration data for carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O(3)), and particulate matter less than 10 microns in diameter (PM(10)), modeled meteorological and pollution variables, and measured forest structure data. Ecosystem-level O(3) and CO removal and formation were also analyzed for a representative month. Total annual air quality improvement of the park's vegetation was approximately 0.02% for CO, 1% for O(3,) and 2% for PM(10), of the annual concentrations for these three pollutants. Results can be used to understand the air quality regulation ecosystem services of peri-urban forests and regional dynamics of air pollution emissions from major urban areas. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Satellite and Ground-Based Measurements of Urban Air Quality in Relation with Children's Asthma

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zoran, Maria; Dida, Mariana Rodica

    2016-08-01

    The adverse health effects from aerosol particulate matter PM pollution, especially with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 μm PM2.5 must be considered in developing policies to improve air quality. Epidemiologic studies demonstrated that exposure to ambient particulate matter PM is associated with increased morbidity and mortality, particularly associated with cardiopulmonary disease and asthma of which children are most exposed for the rapid increase of asthma disease. Very early exposure to certain components of air pollution can increase the risk of developing of different allergies by age 7. The present study attempts to retrieve the aerosol load in terms of aerosol optical depth (AOD) related to air quality in the Bucharest metropolitan area. In this study is presented a spatio-temporal analysis of the aerosol concentrations in relation with meteorological parameters in two size fractions (PM10 and PM2.5) and Air Qualiy Index and possible health effects on children's asthma.

  17. Air quality impacts of projections of natural gas-fired distributed generation

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Horne, Jeremy R.; Carreras-Sospedra, Marc; Dabdub, Donald; Lemar, Paul; Nopmongcol, Uarporn; Shah, Tejas; Yarwood, Greg; Young, David; Shaw, Stephanie L.; Knipping, Eladio M.

    2017-11-01

    This study assesses the potential impacts on emissions and air quality from the increased adoption of natural gas-fired distributed generation of electricity (DG), including displacement of power from central power generation, in the contiguous United States. The study includes four major tasks: (1) modeling of distributed generation market penetration; (2) modeling of central power generation systems; (3) modeling of spatially and temporally resolved emissions; and (4) photochemical grid modeling to evaluate the potential air quality impacts of increased DG penetration, which includes both power-only DG and combined heat and power (CHP) units, for 2030. Low and high DG penetration scenarios estimate the largest penetration of future DG units in three regions - New England, New York, and California. Projections of DG penetration in the contiguous United States estimate 6.3 GW and 24 GW of market adoption in 2030 for the low DG penetration and high DG penetration scenarios, respectively. High DG penetration (all of which is natural gas-fired) serves to offset 8 GW of new natural gas combined cycle (NGCC) units, and 19 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) installations by 2030. In all scenarios, air quality in the central United States and the northwest remains unaffected as there is little to no DG penetration in those states. California and several states in the northeast are the most impacted by emissions from DG units. Peak increases in maximum daily 8-h average ozone concentrations exceed 5 ppb, which may impede attainment of ambient air quality standards. Overall, air quality impacts from DG vary greatly based on meteorological conditions, proximity to emissions sources, the number and type of DG installations, and the emissions factors used for DG units.

  18. Implementation of a WRF-CMAQ Air Quality Modeling System in Bogotá, Colombia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nedbor-Gross, R.; Henderson, B. H.; Pachon, J. E.; Davis, J. R.; Baublitz, C. B.; Rincón, A.

    2014-12-01

    Due to a continuous economic growth Bogotá, Colombia has experienced air pollution issues in recent years. The local environmental authority has implemented several strategies to curb air pollution that have resulted in the decrease of PM10 concentrations since 2010. However, more activities are necessary in order to meet international air quality standards in the city. The University of Florida Air Quality and Climate group is collaborating with the Universidad de La Salle to prioritize regulatory strategies for Bogotá using air pollution simulations. To simulate pollution, we developed a modeling platform that combines the Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF), local emissions, and the Community Multi-scale Air Quality model (CMAQ). This platform is the first of its kind to be implemented in the megacity of Bogota, Colombia. The presentation will discuss development and evaluation of the air quality modeling system, highlight initial results characterizing photochemical conditions in Bogotá, and characterize air pollution under proposed regulatory strategies. The WRF model has been configured and applied to Bogotá, which resides in a tropical climate with complex mountainous topography. Developing the configuration included incorporation of local topography and land-use data, a physics sensitivity analysis, review, and systematic evaluation. The threshold, however, was set based on synthesis of model performance under less mountainous conditions. We will evaluate the impact that differences in autocorrelation contribute to the non-ideal performance. Air pollution predictions are currently under way. CMAQ has been configured with WRF meteorology, global boundary conditions from GEOS-Chem, and a locally produced emission inventory. Preliminary results from simulations show promising performance of CMAQ in Bogota. Anticipated results include a systematic performance evaluation of ozone and PM10, characterization of photochemical sensitivity, and air

  19. Project ATLANTA (ATlanta Land-use ANalysis: Temperature and Air quality): A Study of how the Urban Landscape Affects Meteorology and Air Quality Through Time

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Quattrochi, Dale A.; Luvall, Jeffrey C.; Estes, Maurice G.; Lo, C. P.; Kidder, Stanley Q.; Hafner, Jan; Taha, Haider; Bornstein, Robert D.; Gillies, Robert R.; Gallo, Kevin P.

    1998-01-01

    It is our intent through this investigation to help facilitate measures that can be Project ATLANTA (ATlanta Land-use ANalysis: applied to mitigate climatological or air quality Temperature and Air-quality) is a NASA Earth degradation, or to design alternate measures to sustain Observing System (EOS) Interdisciplinary Science or improve the overall urban environment in the future. investigation that seeks to observe, measure, model, and analyze how the rapid growth of the Atlanta. The primary objectives for this research effort are: 1) To In the last half of the 20th century, Atlanta, investigate and model the relationship between Atlanta Georgia has risen as the premier commercial, urban growth, land cover change, and the development industrial, and transportation urban area of the of the urban heat island phenomenon through time at southeastern United States. The rapid growth of the nested spatial scales from local to regional; 2) To Atlanta area, particularly within the last 25 years, has investigate and model the relationship between Atlanta made Atlanta one of the fastest growing metropolitan urban growth and land cover change on air quality areas in the United States. The population of the through time at nested spatial scales from local to Atlanta metropolitan area increased 27% between 1970 regional; and 3) To model the overall effects of urban and 1980, and 33% between 1980-1990 (Research development on surface energy budget characteristics Atlanta, Inc., 1993). Concomitant with this high rate of across the Atlanta urban landscape through time at population growth, has been an explosive growth in nested spatial scales from local to regional. Our key retail, industrial, commercial, and transportation goal is to derive a better scientific understanding of how services within the Atlanta region. This has resulted in land cover changes associated with urbanization in the tremendous land cover change dynamics within the Atlanta area, principally in transforming

  20. Simultaneous assimilation of AIRS Xco2 and meteorological observations in a carbon climate model with an ensemble Kalman filter

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Liu, Junjie; Fung, Inez; Kalnay, Eugenia; Kang, Ji-Sun; Olsen, Edward T.; Chen, Luke

    2012-03-01

    This study is our first step toward the generation of 6 hourly 3-D CO2 fields that can be used to validate CO2 forecast models by combining CO2 observations from multiple sources using ensemble Kalman filtering. We discuss a procedure to assimilate Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) column-averaged dry-air mole fraction of CO2 (Xco2) in conjunction with meteorological observations with the coupled Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter (LETKF)-Community Atmospheric Model version 3.5. We examine the impact of assimilating AIRS Xco2 observations on CO2 fields by comparing the results from the AIRS-run, which assimilates both AIRS Xco2 and meteorological observations, to those from the meteor-run, which only assimilates meteorological observations. We find that assimilating AIRS Xco2 results in a surface CO2 seasonal cycle and the N-S surface gradient closer to the observations. When taking account of the CO2 uncertainty estimation from the LETKF, the CO2 analysis brackets the observed seasonal cycle. Verification against independent aircraft observations shows that assimilating AIRS Xco2 improves the accuracy of the CO2 vertical profiles by about 0.5-2 ppm depending on location and altitude. The results show that the CO2 analysis ensemble spread at AIRS Xco2 space is between 0.5 and 2 ppm, and the CO2 analysis ensemble spread around the peak level of the averaging kernels is between 1 and 2 ppm. This uncertainty estimation is consistent with the magnitude of the CO2 analysis error verified against AIRS Xco2 observations and the independent aircraft CO2 vertical profiles.

  1. Ambient Air Quality Data Inventory

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Office of Air and Radiation's (OAR) Ambient Air Quality Data (Current) contains ambient air pollution data collected by EPA, other federal agencies, as well as state, local, and tribal air pollution control agencies. Its component data sets have been collected over the years from approximately 10,000 monitoring sites, of which approximately 5,000 are currently active. OAR's Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (OAQPS) and other internal and external users, rely on this data to assess air quality, assist in Attainment/Non-Attainment designations, evaluate State Implementation Plans for Non-Attainment Areas, perform modeling for permit review analysis, and other air quality management functions. Air quality information is also used to prepare reports for Congress as mandated by the Clean Air Act. This data covers air quality data collected after 1980, when the Clean Air Act requirements for monitoring were significantly modified. Air quality data from the Agency's early years (1970s) remains available (see OAR PRIMARY DATA ASSET: Ambient Air Quality Data -- Historical), but because of technical and definitional differences the two data assets are not directly comparable. The Clean Air Act of 1970 provided initial authority for monitoring air quality for Conventional Air Pollutants (CAPs) for which EPA has promulgated National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Requirements for monitoring visibility-related parameters were added in 1977. Requiremen

  2. Study on the impact of air quality in agricultural and health sectors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chairani, S.

    2018-03-01

    This study focused on the impact of air quality in agricultural and health sectors. The impact of CO2 on the agricultural crops was conducted by using literature review and the impact of air quality was conducted using secondary data to calculate the Air Quality Index (AQI), derived from some monitoring stations available in Indonesia. Numerous studies showed that the elevated CO2 decreased the agricultural productivity. Maize yields decreased by 15 % in areas which used irrigation system and 8 % in areas which used rainfed. Maize yields had already experienced severe losses without increasing CO2 concentrations. It decreased by 21 % for irrigated maize and 26 % by rainfed maize. In addition, it turned out that other elevated pollutants, such as SO2, NO2, SPM, O3, CH4, PM2.5, PM10 and TSP also occurred in the atmosphere. These pollutants’ effects might harm human being in term of health concern. The USEPA had developed a tool, called the Air Quality Index (AQI) calculator to calculate the pollutants’ concentrations in a daily basis. This tool’s function to inform how clean or polluted the air that we breathed was with the health effects based on the concentrations of each pollutant. The AQI also provided the information on sensitive groups, health effects and cautionary statements. Based on the air daily data which derived from Board of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics (BMKG) of Indonesia, the AQI in Indonesia varied from good, moderate to unhealthy categories; with level of health concern was respiratory diseases, such as asthma.

  3. SELECT RESEARCH GROUP IN AIR POLLUTION METEOROLOGY

    EPA Science Inventory

    Six individual investigators, who have conducted different but related meteorological research, present in-depth technical reviews of their work. Prime conclusions are that (1) a scale analysis shows that different models are necessary for meteorological processes on urban, regio...

  4. Urban air pollution and meteorological factors affect emergency department visits of elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Taiwan.

    PubMed

    Ding, Pei-Hsiou; Wang, Gen-Shuh; Guo, Yue-Leon; Chang, Shuenn-Chin; Wan, Gwo-Hwa

    2017-05-01

    Both air pollution and meteorological factors in metropolitan areas increased emergency department (ED) visits from people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Few studies investigated the associations between air pollution, meteorological factors, and COPD-related health disorders in Asian countries. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the environmental factors and COPD-associated ED visits of susceptible elderly population in the largest Taiwanese metropolitan area (Taipei area, including Taipei city and New Taipei city) between 2000 and 2013. Data of air pollutant concentrations (PM 10 , PM 2.5 , O 3 , SO 2 , NO 2 and CO), meteorological factors (daily temperature, relative humidity and air pressure), and daily COPD-associated ED visits were collected from Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration air monitoring stations, Central Weather Bureau stations, and the Taiwan National Health Insurance database in Taipei area. We used a case-crossover study design and conditional logistic regression models with odds ratios (ORs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for evaluating the associations between the environmental factors and COPD-associated ED visits. Analyses showed that PM 2.5 , O 3 , and SO 2 had significantly greater lag effects (the lag was 4 days for PM 2.5 , and 5 days for O 3 and SO 2 ) on COPD-associated ED visits of the elderly population (65-79 years old). In warmer days, a significantly greater effect on elderly COPD-associated ED visits was estimated for PM 2.5 with coexistence of O 3 . Additionally, either O 3 or SO 2 combined with other air pollutants increased the risk of elderly COPD-associated ED visits in the days of high relative humidity and air pressure difference, respectively. This study showed that joint effect of urban air pollution and meteorological factors contributed to the COPD-associated ED visits of the susceptible elderly population in the largest metropolitan area in Taiwan. Government

  5. Development of Gridded Fields of Urban Canopy Parameters for Advanced Urban Meteorological and Air Quality Models

    EPA Science Inventory

    Urban dispersion and air quality simulation models applied at various horizontal scales require different levels of fidelity for specifying the characteristics of the underlying surfaces. As the modeling scales approach the neighborhood level (~1 km horizontal grid spacing), the...

  6. An air quality emission inventory of offshore operations for the exploration and production of petroleum by the Mexican oil industry

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Villasenor, R.; Magdaleno, M.; Quintanar, A.; Gallardo, J. C.; López, M. T.; Jurado, R.; Miranda, A.; Aguilar, M.; Melgarejo, L. A.; Palmerín, E.; Vallejo, C. J.; Barchet, W. R.

    An air quality screening study was performed to assess the impacts of emissions from the offshore operations of the oil and gas exploration and production by Mexican industry in the Campeche Sound, which includes the states of Tabasco and Campeche in southeast Mexico. The major goal of this study was the compilation of an emission inventory (EI) for elevated, boom and ground level flares, processes, internal combustion engines and fugitive emissions. This inventory is so far the most comprehensive emission register that has ever been developed for the Mexican petroleum industry in this area. The EI considered 174 offshore platforms, the compression station at Atasta, and the Maritime Ports at Dos Bocas and Cayo Arcas. The offshore facilities identified as potential emitters in the area were the following: (1) trans-shipment stations, (2) a maritime floating port terminal, (3) drilling platforms, (4) crude oil recovering platforms, (5) crude oil production platforms, (6) linking platforms, (7) water injection platforms, (8) pumping platforms, (9) shelter platforms, (10) telecommunication platforms, (11) crude oil measurement platforms, and (12) flaring platforms. Crude oil storage tanks, helicopters and marine ship tankers were also considered to have an EI accurate enough for air quality regulations and mesoscale modeling of atmospheric pollutants. Historical ambient data measure at two onshore petroleum facilities were analyzed to measure air quality impacts on nearby inhabited coastal areas, and a source-receptor relationship for flares at the Ixtoc marine complex was performed to investigate health-based standards for offshore workers. A preliminary air quality model simulation was performed to observe the transport and dispersion patterns of SO 2, which is the main pollutant emitted from the offshore platforms. The meteorological wind and temperature fields were generated with CALMET, a diagnostic meteorological model that used surface observations and upper

  7. Improved meteorology from an updated WRF/CMAQ modeling ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Realistic vegetation characteristics and phenology from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products improve the simulation for the meteorology and air quality modeling system WRF/CMAQ (Weather Research and Forecasting model and Community Multiscale Air Quality model) that employs the Pleim-Xiu land surface model (PX LSM). Recently, PX LSM WRF/CMAQ has been updated in vegetation, soil, and boundary layer processes resulting in improved 2 m temperature (T) and mixing ratio (Q), 10 m wind speed, and surface ozone simulations across the domain compared to the previous version for a period around August 2006. Yearlong meteorology simulations with the updated system demonstrate that MODIS input helps reduce bias of the 2 m Q estimation during the growing season from April to September. Improvements follow the green-up in the southeast from April and move toward the west and north through August. From October to March, MODIS input does not have much influence on the system because vegetation is not as active. The greatest effects of MODIS input include more accurate phenology, better representation of leaf area index (LAI) for various forest ecosystems and agricultural areas, and realistically sparse vegetation coverage in the western drylands. Despite the improved meteorology, MODIS input causes higher bias for the surface O3 simulation in April, August, and October in areas where MODIS LAI is much less than the base LAI. Thus, improvement

  8. Building a QC Database of Meteorological Data From NASA KSC and the United States Air Force's Eastern Range

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Brenton, James C.; Barbre, Robert E.; Orcutt, John M.; Decker, Ryan K.

    2018-01-01

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Natural Environments Branch (EV44) has provided atmospheric databases and analysis in support of space vehicle design and day-of-launch operations for NASA and commercial launch vehicle programs launching from the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC), co-located on the United States Air Force's Eastern Range (ER) at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The ER is one of the most heavily instrumented sites in the United States measuring various atmospheric parameters on a continuous basis. An inherent challenge with the large databases that EV44 receives from the ER consists of ensuring erroneous data are removed from the databases, and thus excluded from launch vehicle design analyses. EV44 has put forth great effort in developing quality control (QC) procedures for individual meteorological instruments; however, no standard QC procedures for all databases currently exist resulting in QC databases that have inconsistencies in variables, methodologies, and periods of record. The goal of this activity is to use the previous efforts by EV44 to develop a standardized set of QC procedures from which to build flags within the meteorological databases from KSC and the ER, while maintaining open communication with end users from the launch community to develop ways to improve, adapt and grow the QC database. Details of the QC checks are described. The flagged data points will be plotted in a graphical user interface (GUI) as part of a manual confirmation that the flagged data do indeed need to be removed from the archive. As the rate of launches increases with additional launch vehicle programs, more emphasis is being placed to continually update and check weather databases for data quality before use in launch vehicle design and certification analyses.

  9. A web-based screening tool for near-port air quality assessments

    PubMed Central

    Isakov, Vlad; Barzyk, Timothy M.; Smith, Elizabeth R.; Arunachalam, Saravanan; Naess, Brian; Venkatram, Akula

    2018-01-01

    The Community model for near-PORT applications (C-PORT) is a screening tool with an intended purpose of calculating differences in annual averaged concentration patterns and relative contributions of various source categories over the spatial domain within about 10 km of the port. C-PORT can inform decision-makers and concerned citizens about local air quality due to mobile source emissions related to commercial port activities. It allows users to visualize and evaluate different planning scenarios, helping them identify the best alternatives for making long-term decisions that protect community health and sustainability. The web-based, easy-to-use interface currently includes data from 21 seaports primarily in the Southeastern U.S., and has a map-based interface based on Google Maps. The tool was developed to visualize and assess changes in air quality due to changes in emissions and/or meteorology in order to analyze development scenarios, and is not intended to support or replace any regulatory models or programs. PMID:29681760

  10. Sea-air boundary meteorological sensor

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Barbosa, Jose G.

    2015-05-01

    The atmospheric environment can significantly affect radio frequency and optical propagation. In the RF spectrum refraction and ducting can degrade or enhance communications and radar coverage. Platforms in or beneath refractive boundaries can exploit the benefits or suffer the effects of the atmospheric boundary layers. Evaporative ducts and surface-base ducts are of most concern for ocean surface platforms and evaporative ducts are almost always present along the sea-air interface. The atmospheric environment also degrades electro-optical systems resolution and visibility. The atmospheric environment has been proven not to be uniform and under heterogeneous conditions substantial propagation errors may be present for large distances from homogeneous models. An accurate and portable atmospheric sensor to profile the vertical index of refraction is needed for mission planning, post analysis, and in-situ performance assessment. The meteorological instrument used in conjunction with a radio frequency and electro-optical propagation prediction tactical decision aid tool would give military platforms, in real time, the ability to make assessments on communication systems propagation ranges, radar detection and vulnerability ranges, satellite communications vulnerability, laser range finder performance, and imaging system performance predictions. Raman lidar has been shown to be capable of measuring the required atmospheric parameters needed to profile the atmospheric environment. The atmospheric profile could then be used as input to a tactical decision aid tool to make propagation predictions.

  11. Quantifying Co-benefits of Renewable Energy through Integrated Electricity and Air Quality Modeling

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Abel, D.

    2016-12-01

    This work focuses on the coordination of electricity sector changes with air quality and health improvement strategies through the integration of electricity and air quality models. Two energy models are used to calculate emission perturbations associated with changes in generation technology (20% generation from solar photovoltaics) and demand (future electricity use under a warmer climate). Impacts from increased solar PV penetration are simulated with the electricity model GridView, in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Generation results are used to scale power plant emissions from an inventory developed by the Lake Michigan Air Directors Consortium (LADCO). Perturbed emissions and are used to calculate secondary particulate matter with the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. We find that electricity NOx and SO2 emissions decrease at a rate similar to the total fraction of electricity supplied by solar. Across the Eastern U.S. region, average PM2.5 is reduced 5% over the summer, with highest reduction in regions and on days of greater PM2.5. A similar approach evaluates the air quality impacts of elevated electricity demand under a warmer climate. Meteorology is selected from the North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program (NARCCAP) and input to a building energy model, eQUEST, to assess electricity demand as a function of ambient temperature. The associated generation and emissions are calculated on a plant-by-plant basis by the MyPower power sector model. These emissions are referenced to the 2011 National Emissions Inventory to be modeled in CMAQ for the Eastern U.S. and extended to health impact evaluation with the Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program (BenMAP). All results focus on the air quality and health consequences of energy system changes, considering grid-level changes to meet climate and air quality goals.

  12. Air Quality Forecasts Using the NASA GEOS Model

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Keller, Christoph A.; Knowland, K. Emma; Nielsen, Jon E.; Orbe, Clara; Ott, Lesley; Pawson, Steven; Saunders, Emily; Duncan, Bryan; Follette-Cook, Melanie; Liu, Junhua; hide

    2018-01-01

    We provide an introduction to a new high-resolution (0.25 degree) global composition forecast produced by NASA's Global Modeling and Assimilation office. The NASA Goddard Earth Observing System version 5 (GEOS-5) model has been expanded to provide global near-real-time forecasts of atmospheric composition at a horizontal resolution of 0.25 degrees (25 km). Previously, this combination of detailed chemistry and resolution was only provided by regional models. This system combines the operational GEOS-5 weather forecasting model with the state-of-the-science GEOS-Chem chemistry module (version 11) to provide detailed chemical analysis of a wide range of air pollutants such as ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The resolution of the forecasts is the highest resolution compared to current, publically-available global composition forecasts. Evaluation and validation of modeled trace gases and aerosols compared to surface and satellite observations will be presented for constituents relative to health air quality standards. Comparisons of modeled trace gases and aerosols against satellite observations show that the model produces realistic concentrations of atmospheric constituents in the free troposphere. Model comparisons against surface observations highlight the model's capability to capture the diurnal variability of air pollutants under a variety of meteorological conditions. The GEOS-5 composition forecasting system offers a new tool for scientists and the public health community, and is being developed jointly with several government and non-profit partners. Potential applications include air quality warnings, flight campaign planning and exposure studies using the archived analysis fields.

  13. DEVELOPMENT OF A LAND-SURFACE MODEL PART I: APPLICATION IN A MESOSCALE METEOROLOGY MODEL

    EPA Science Inventory

    Parameterization of land-surface processes and consideration of surface inhomogeneities are very important to mesoscale meteorological modeling applications, especially those that provide information for air quality modeling. To provide crucial, reliable information on the diurn...

  14. Project ATLANTA (Atlanta Land use Analysis: Temperature and Air Quality): Use of Remote Sensing and Modeling to Analyze How Urban Land Use Change Affects Meteorology and Air Quality Through Time

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Quattrochi, Dale A.; Luvall, Jeffrey C.; Estes, Maurice G., Jr.

    1999-01-01

    This paper presents an overview of Project ATLANTA (ATlanta Land use ANalysis: Temperature and Air-quality) which is an investigation that seeks to observe, measure, model, and analyze how the rapid growth of the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area since the early 1970's has impacted the region's climate and air quality. The primary objectives for this research effort are: (1) To investigate and model the relationships between land cover change in the Atlanta metropolitan, and the development of the urban heat island phenomenon through time; (2) To investigate and model the temporal relationships between Atlanta urban growth and land cover change on air quality; and (3) To model the overall effects of urban development on surface energy budget characteristics across the Atlanta urban landscape through time. Our key goal is to derive a better scientific understanding of how land cover changes associated with urbanization in the Atlanta area, principally in transforming forest lands to urban land covers through time, has, and will, effect local and regional climate, surface energy flux, and air quality characteristics. Allied with this goal is the prospect that the results from this research can be applied by urban planners, environmental managers and other decision-makers, for determining how urbanization has impacted the climate and overall environment of the Atlanta area. Multiscaled remote sensing data, particularly high resolution thermal infrared data, are integral to this study for the analysis of thermal energy fluxes across the Atlanta urban landscape.

  15. Canadian Operational Air Quality Forecasting Systems: Status, Recent Progress, and Challenges

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pavlovic, Radenko; Davignon, Didier; Ménard, Sylvain; Munoz-Alpizar, Rodrigo; Landry, Hugo; Beaulieu, Paul-André; Gilbert, Samuel; Moran, Michael; Chen, Jack

    2017-04-01

    ECCC's Canadian Meteorological Centre Operations (CMCO) division runs a number of operational air quality (AQ)-related systems that revolve around the Regional Air Quality Deterministic Prediction System (RAQDPS). The RAQDPS generates 48-hour AQ forecasts and outputs hourly concentration fields of O3, PM2.5, NO2, and other pollutants twice daily on a North-American domain with 10-km horizontal grid spacing and 80 vertical levels. A closely related AQ forecast system with near-real-time wildfire emissions, known as FireWork, has been run by CMCO during the Canadian wildfire season (April to October) since 2014. This system became operational in June 2016. The CMCO`s operational AQ forecast systems also benefit from several support systems, such as a statistical post-processing model called UMOS-AQ that is applied to enhance forecast reliability at point locations with AQ monitors. The Regional Deterministic Air Quality Analysis (RDAQA) system has also been connected to the RAQDPS since February 2013, and hourly surface objective analyses are now available for O3, PM2.5, NO2, PM10, SO2 and, indirectly, the Canadian Air Quality Health Index. As of June 2015, another version of the RDAQA has been connected to FireWork (RDAQA-FW). For verification purposes, CMCO developed a third support system called Verification for Air QUality Models (VAQUM), which has a geospatial relational database core and which enables continuous monitoring of the AQ forecast systems' performance. Urban environments are particularly subject to AQ pollution. In order to improve the services offered, ECCC has recently been investing efforts to develop a high resolution air quality prediction capability for urban areas in Canada. In this presentation, a comprehensive description of the ECCC AQ systems will be provided, along with a discussion on AQ systems performance. Recent improvements, current challenges, and future directions of the Canadian operational AQ program will also be discussed.

  16. Air Quality and Health Benefits of China's Recent Stringent Environmental Policy

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zheng, Y.; Xue, T.; Zhang, Q.; Geng, G.; He, K.

    2016-12-01

    Aggressive emission control measures were taken by China's central and local governments after the promulgation of the "Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan" in 2013. We evaluated the air quality and health benefits of this ever most stringent air pollution control policy during 2013-2015 by utilizing a two-stage data fusion model and newly-developed cause-specific integrated exposure-response functions (IER) developed for the Global Burden of Disease (GBD). The two-stage data fusion model predicts spatiotemporal continuous PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 µm) concentrations by integrating satellite-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements, PM2.5 concentrations from measurement and air quality model, and other ancillary information. During the years of analysis, PM2.5 concentration dropped significantly on national average and over heavily polluted regions as identified by Mann-Kendall analysis. The national PM2.5-attributable mortality decreased by 72.8 (95% CI: 59.4, 85.2) thousand (6%) from 1.23 (95% CI: 1.06, 1.39) million in 2013 to 1.15 (95% CI: 0.98, 1.31) million in 2015 due to considerable reduction (i.e. 18%) of population-weighted PM2.5 from 61.4 to 50.5 µg/m3. Meteorological variations between 2013 and 2015 were estimated to raise the PM2.5 levels by 0.24 µg/m3 and national mortality by 2.1 (95% CI: 1.6, 2.6) thousand through sensitivity tests, which implies the dominant role of anthropogenic impacts on PM2.5 abatement and attributable mortality reduction. Our study affirms the effectiveness of China's recent air quality policy, however, due to the possible supralinear shape of C-R functions, health benefits induced by air quality improvement in these years are limited. We therefore appeal for continuous implementation of current policies and further stringent measures from both air quality improvement and public health protection perspectives.

  17. Air-quality implications of widespread adoption of cool roofs on ozone and particulate matter in southern California.

    PubMed

    Epstein, Scott A; Lee, Sang-Mi; Katzenstein, Aaron S; Carreras-Sospedra, Marc; Zhang, Xinqiu; Farina, Salvatore C; Vahmani, Pouya; Fine, Philip M; Ban-Weiss, George

    2017-08-22

    The installation of roofing materials with increased solar reflectance (i.e., "cool roofs") can mitigate the urban heat island effect and reduce energy use. In addition, meteorological changes, along with the possibility of enhanced UV reflection from these surfaces, can have complex impacts on ozone and PM 2.5 concentrations. We aim to evaluate the air-quality impacts of widespread cool-roof installations prescribed by California's Title 24 building energy efficiency standards within the heavily populated and polluted South Coast Air Basin (SoCAB). Development of a comprehensive rooftop area database and evaluation of spectral reflectance measurements of roofing materials allows us to project potential future changes in solar and UV reflectance for simulations using the Weather Research Forecast and Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) models. 2012 meteorological simulations indicate a decrease in daily maximum temperatures, daily maximum boundary layer heights, and ventilation coefficients throughout the SoCAB upon widespread installation of cool roofs. CMAQ simulations show significant increases in PM 2.5 concentrations and policy-relevant design values. Changes in 8-h ozone concentrations depend on the potential change in UV reflectance, ranging from a decrease in population-weighted concentrations when UV reflectance remains unchanged to an increase when changes in UV reflectance are at an upper bound. However, 8-h policy-relevant ozone design values increase in all cases. Although the other benefits of cool roofs could outweigh small air-quality penalties, UV reflectance standards for cool roofing materials could mitigate these negative consequences. Results of this study motivate the careful consideration of future rooftop and pavement solar reflectance modification policies.

  18. Air-quality implications of widespread adoption of cool roofs on ozone and particulate matter in southern California

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Ban-Weiss, G. A.; Lee, S. M.; Katzenstein, A. S.; Carreras-Sospedra, M.; Zhang, X.; Farina, S.; Vahmani, P.; Fine, P.; Epstein, S. A.

    2017-12-01

    The installation of roofing materials with increased solar reflectance (i.e., "cool roofs") can mitigate the urban heat island effect and reduce energy use. In addition, meteorological changes, along with the possibility of enhanced UV reflection from these surfaces, can have complex impacts on ozone and PM2.5 concentrations. We aim to evaluate the air-quality impacts of widespread cool-roof installations prescribed by building energy efficiency standards within the heavily populated and polluted South Coast Air Basin (SoCAB) in Southern California. Development of a comprehensive rooftop area database and evaluation of spectral reflectance measurements of roofing materials allows us to predict potential future changes in solar and UV reflectance for simulations using the Weather Research Forecast and Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) models. Meteorological simulations indicate a decrease in daily maximum temperatures, daily maximum boundary layer heights, and ventilation coefficients throughout the SoCAB upon widespread installation of cool roofs. CMAQ simulations show significant increases in PM2.5 concentrations and policy-relevant design values. Changes in 8-h ozone concentrations depend on the potential change in UV reflectance, ranging from a decrease in population-weighted concentrations when UV reflectance remains unchanged to an increase when changes in UV reflectance are at an upper bound. However, 8-h policy-relevant ozone design values increase in all cases. Although the other benefits of cool roofs could outweigh small air-quality penalties, UV reflectance standards for cool roofing materials could mitigate these negative consequences. Results of this study motivate the careful consideration of future rooftop and pavement solar reflectance modification policies.

  19. The measurement of carbon monoxide and methane in the national capital air quality control region. II - Meteorological conditions and chromatographic and spectrometric results

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Lamontagne, R. A.; Swinnerton, J. W.; Wilkniss, P. E.; Bressan, D. J.; Lebel, P. J.; Goldstein, H. W.

    1976-01-01

    The meteorological conditions during this program consisted of a stagnant high pressure system which was subsequently replaced by southward moving Canadian air. This change in air masses produced distinct changes in the ambient CO concentrations. Ground level concentrations decreased from an average of 1.3 ppm at the beginning of the experiment to 0.2 ppm at the end. Vertical profiles obtained during the experiment showed decreases in the CO concentrations with altitude. Agreement of gas chromatography data for CO and CH4 by NASA and NRL was within 5% for the concentrations encountered. Results from NASA's Infrared Fourier Spectrometer agreed with the gas chromatographic results both in trends and concentrations of CO and CH4 observed with the passing frontal system.

  20. 78 FR 53270 - Revision of Air Quality Implementation Plan; California; Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-08-29

    ... Quality Implementation Plan; California; Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District... to the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD or District) portion of the..., Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District, Rule 214 (Federal New Source Review), Rule 203...

  1. Local Air Quality Conditions and Forecasts

    MedlinePlus

    ... Monitor Location Archived Maps by Region Canada Air Quality Air Quality on Google Earth Links A-Z About AirNow AirNow International Air Quality Action Days / Alerts AirCompare Air Quality Index (AQI) ...

  2. 78 FR 30770 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois; Air Quality Standards...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-23

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois; Air Quality Standards Revision AGENCY... Illinois state implementation plan (SIP) to reflect current National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS... Implementation Plan at 35 Illinois Administrative Code part 243, which updates National Ambient Air Quality...

  3. Predicting residential air exchange rates from questionnaires and meteorology: model evaluation in central North Carolina.

    PubMed

    Breen, Michael S; Breen, Miyuki; Williams, Ronald W; Schultz, Bradley D

    2010-12-15

    A critical aspect of air pollution exposure models is the estimation of the air exchange rate (AER) of individual homes, where people spend most of their time. The AER, which is the airflow into and out of a building, is a primary mechanism for entry of outdoor air pollutants and removal of indoor source emissions. The mechanistic Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (LBL) AER model was linked to a leakage area model to predict AER from questionnaires and meteorology. The LBL model was also extended to include natural ventilation (LBLX). Using literature-reported parameter values, AER predictions from LBL and LBLX models were compared to data from 642 daily AER measurements across 31 detached homes in central North Carolina, with corresponding questionnaires and meteorological observations. Data was collected on seven consecutive days during each of four consecutive seasons. For the individual model-predicted and measured AER, the median absolute difference was 43% (0.17 h(-1)) and 40% (0.17 h(-1)) for the LBL and LBLX models, respectively. Additionally, a literature-reported empirical scale factor (SF) AER model was evaluated, which showed a median absolute difference of 50% (0.25 h(-1)). The capability of the LBL, LBLX, and SF models could help reduce the AER uncertainty in air pollution exposure models used to develop exposure metrics for health studies.

  4. A new air quality monitoring and early warning system: Air quality assessment and air pollutant concentration prediction.

    PubMed

    Yang, Zhongshan; Wang, Jian

    2017-10-01

    Air pollution in many countries is worsening with industrialization and urbanization, resulting in climate change and affecting people's health, thus, making the work of policymakers more difficult. It is therefore both urgent and necessary to establish amore scientific air quality monitoring and early warning system to evaluate the degree of air pollution objectively, and predict pollutant concentrations accurately. However, the integration of air quality assessment and air pollutant concentration prediction to establish an air quality system is not common. In this paper, we propose a new air quality monitoring and early warning system, including an assessment module and forecasting module. In the air quality assessment module, fuzzy comprehensive evaluation is used to determine the main pollutants and evaluate the degree of air pollution more scientifically. In the air pollutant concentration prediction module, a novel hybridization model combining complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition, a modified cuckoo search and differential evolution algorithm, and an Elman neural network, is proposed to improve the forecasting accuracy of six main air pollutant concentrations. To verify the effectiveness of this system, pollutant data for two cities in China are used. The result of the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation shows that the major air pollutants in Xi'an and Jinan are PM 10 and PM 2.5 respectively, and that the air quality of Xi'an is better than that of Jinan. The forecasting results indicate that the proposed hybrid model is remarkably superior to all benchmark models on account of its higher prediction accuracy and stability. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. [Effects of air temperature increase and precipitation change on grain yield and quality of spring wheat in semiarid area of Northwest China].

    PubMed

    Wang, He-ling; Zhang, Qiang; Wang, Run-yuan; Gan, Yan-tai; Niu, Jun-yi; Zhang, Kai; Zhao, Fu-nian; Zhao, Hong

    2015-01-01

    In order to predict effects of climate changing on growth, quality and grain yields of spring wheat, a field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of air temperature increases (0 °C, 1.0 °C, 2.0° C and 3.0°) and precipitation variations (decrease 20%, unchanging and increase 20%) on grain yields, quality, diseases and insect pests of spring wheat at the Dingxi Arid Meteorology and Ecological Environment Experimental Station of the Institute of Arid Meteorology of China Meteorological Administration (35°35' N ,104°37' E). The results showed that effects of precipitation variations on kernel numbers of spring wheat were not significant when temperature increased by less than 2.0° C , but was significant when temperature increased by 3.0° C. Temperature increase enhanced kernel numbers, while temperature decrease reduced kernel numbers. The negative effect of temperature on thousand-kernel mass of spring wheat increased with increasing air temperature. The sterile spikelet of spring wheat response to air temperature was quadratic under all precipitation regimes. Compared with control ( no temperature increase), the decreases of grain yield of spring wheat when air temperature increased by 1.0°C, 2.0°C and 3.0°C under each of the three precipitation conditions (decrease 20%, no changing and increase 20%) were 12.1%, 24.7% and 42.7%, 8.4%, 15.1% and 21.8%, and 9.0%, 15.5% and 22.2%, respectively. The starch content of spring wheat decreased and the protein content increased with increasing air temperature. The number of aphids increased when air temperature increased by 2.0°C , but decreased when air temperature increased by 3.0°CT. The infection rates of rust disease increased with increasing air temperature.

  6. 78 FR 10589 - Revision of Air Quality Implementation Plan; California; Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-02-14

    ... Quality Implementation Plan; California; Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District... Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD or District) portion of the California State... sources within the areas covered by the plan as necessary to assure that the National Ambient Air Quality...

  7. DYNAMIC EVALUATION OF REGIONAL AIR QUALITY MODELS: ASSESSING CHANGES TO O 3 STEMMING FROM CHANGES IN EMISSIONS AND METEOROLOGY

    EPA Science Inventory

    Regional-scale air quality models are used to estimate the response of air pollutants to potential emission control strategies as part of the decision-making process. Traditionally, the model predicted pollutant concentrations are evaluated for the “base case” to assess a model’s...

  8. Study of the air quality in the surroundings of an urban park: A micrometeorological approach

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sastre, Mariano; Yagüe, Carlos; Arrillaga, Jon A.; Román-Cascón, Carlos; Maqueda, Gregorio; Artíñano, Begoña; Díaz-Ramiro, Elías; Gómez-Moreno, Francisco J.; Barreiro, Marcos; Borge, Rafael; Narros, Adolfo; Pérez, Javier; Quaassdorff, Christina

    2017-04-01

    In this work we study the differences showed by two types of pollutants, particulate matter (PM) and NOx, by comparing ambient concentration measurements within an urban park versus the corresponding values nearby (but outside) it. The results are linked to both proximity to emission sources, such as road traffic, and the microscale atmospheric conditions. The work is motivated by the fact that poor air quality is a crucial issue of current cities. For some of them it is not uncommon to face this problem with occasional traffic restrictions when high concentrations of pollutants are reached. These events occur more frequently with specific large-scale atmospheric conditions, for example when a strong anticyclone is present. As the meteorological conditions may significantly influence the pollutants concentrations, the research project TECNAIRE-CM (Innovative technologies for the assessment and improvement of urban air quality) aims to provide new approaches to obtain proper descriptions of the urban pollution and its dynamics at different spatial and temporal scales, not only the synoptic scale. So far, a few field campaigns have been developed within TECNAIRE-CM at two locations in the city of Madrid, which are considered hot spots according to the air quality network records. Here we use the data from a field campaign carried out during summer 2016, which consider standard pollution and meteorological measurements, as well as sonic anemometer data. The latter help to include atmospheric turbulence as a significant agent for air quality characterization. The instrumentation was deployed at a location with considerable traffic density, but nearby a border of the main urban park of the city, so that its influence might be investigated. Supplementary data considered for this work correspond to permanent instrumentation within the park. With this extra information we can compare both measurements inside and outside the park. Therefore, we study the effect on wind

  9. Air quality high resolution simulations of Italian urban areas with WRF-CHIMERE

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Falasca, Serena; Curci, Gabriele

    2017-04-01

    The new European Directive on ambient air quality and cleaner air for Europe (2008/50/EC) encourages the use of modeling techniques to support the observations in the assessment and forecasting of air quality. The modelling system based on the combination of the WRF meteorological model and the CHIMERE chemistry-transport model is used to perform simulations at high resolution over the main Italian cities (e.g. Milan, Rome). Three domains covering Europe, Italy and the urban areas are nested with a decreasing grid size up to 1 km. Numerical results are produced for a winter month and a summer month of the year 2010 and are validated using ground-based observations (e.g. from the European air quality database AirBase). A sensitivity study is performed using different physics options, domain resolution and grid ratio; different urban parameterization schemes are tested using also characteristic morphology parameters for the cities considered. A spatial reallocation of anthropogenic emissions derived from international (e.g. EMEP, TNO, HTAP) and national (e.g. CTN-ACE) emissions inventories and based on the land cover datasets (Global Land Cover Facility and GlobCover) and the OpenStreetMap tool is also included. Preliminary results indicate that the introduction of the spatial redistribution at high-resolution allows a more realistic reproduction of the distribution of the emission flows and thus the concentrations of the pollutants, with significant advantages especially for the urban environments.

  10. Air Pollution Monitoring | Air Quality Planning & Standards ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    2016-06-08

    The basic mission of the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards is to preserve and improve the quality of our nation's air. To accomplish this, OAQPS must be able to evaluate the status of the atmosphere as compared to clean air standards and historical information.

  11. Local and regional interactions between air quality and climate in New Delhi- A sector based analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Marrapu, Pallavi

    Deteriorating air quality is one of the major problems faced worldwide and in particular in Asia. The world's most polluted megacities are located in Asia highlighting the urgent need for efforts to improve the air quality. New Delhi (India), one of the world's most polluted cities, was the host of the Common Wealth Games during the period of 4-14 October 2010. This high profile event provided a good opportunity to accelerate efforts to improve air quality. Computational advances now allow air quality forecast models to fully couple the meteorology with chemical constituents within a unified modeling system that allows two-way interactions. The WRF-Chem model is used to simulate air quality in New Delhi. The thesis focuses on evaluating air quality and meteorology feedbacks. Four nested domains ranging from South Asia, Northern India, NCR Delhi and Delhi city at 45km, 15km, 5km and 1.67km resolution for a period of 20 day (26th Sep--15th Oct, 2010) are used in the study. The predicted mean surface concentrations of various pollutants show similar spatial distributions with peak values in the middle of the domain reflecting the traffic and population patterns in the city. Along with these activities, construction dust and industrial emissions contribute to high levels of criteria pollutants. The study evaluates the WRF-Chem capabilities using a new emission inventory developed over Delhi at a fine resolution of 1.67km and evaluating the results with observational data from 11 monitoring sties placed at various Game venues. The contribution of emission sectors including transportation, power, industry, and domestic to pollutant concentrations at targeted regions are studied and the results show that transportation and domestic sector are the major contributors to the pollution levels in Delhi, followed by industry. Apart from these sectors, emissions outside of Delhi contribute 20-50% to surface concentrations depending on the species. This indicates that pollution

  12. PM2.5 forecasting using SVR with PSOGSA algorithm based on CEEMD, GRNN and GCA considering meteorological factors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhu, Suling; Lian, Xiuyuan; Wei, Lin; Che, Jinxing; Shen, Xiping; Yang, Ling; Qiu, Xuanlin; Liu, Xiaoning; Gao, Wenlong; Ren, Xiaowei; Li, Juansheng

    2018-06-01

    The PM2.5 is the culprit of air pollution, and it leads to respiratory system disease when the fine particles are inhaled. Therefore, it is increasingly significant to develop an effective model for PM2.5 forecasting and warnings that informs people to foresee the air quality. People can reduce outdoor activities and take preventive measures if they know the air quality is bad ahead of time. In addition, reliable forecasting results can remind the relevant departments to control and reduce pollutants discharge. According to our knowledge, the current hybrid forecasting techniques of PM2.5 do not take the meteorological factors into consideration. Actually, meteorological factors affect the concentrations of air pollution, but it is unclear whether meteorological factors are helpful for improving the PM2.5 forecasting results or not. This paper proposes a hybrid model called CEEMD-PSOGSA-SVR-GRNN, based on complementary ensemble empirical mode decomposition (CEEMD), particle swarm optimization and gravitational search algorithm (PSOGSA), support vector regression (SVR), generalized regression neural network (GRNN) and grey correlation analysis (GCA), for the daily PM2.5 concentrations forecasting. The main steps of proposed model are described as follows: the original PM2.5 data decomposition with CEEMD, optimal SVR selection with PSOGCA, meteorological factors selection with GCA, residual revision by GRNN and forecasting results analysis. Three cities (Chongqing, Harbin and Jinan) in China with different characteristics of climate, terrain and pollution sources are selected to verify the effectiveness of proposed model, and CEEMD-PSOGSA-SVR*, EEMD-PSOGSA-SVR, PSOGSA-SVR, CEEMD-PSO-SVR, CEEMD-GSA-SVR, CEEMD-GWO-SVR are considered to be compared models. The experimental results show that the hybrid CEEMD-PSOGSA-SVR-GRNN model outperforms other six compared models. Therefore, the proposed CEEMD-PSOGSA-SVR-GRNN model can be used to develop air quality forecasting and

  13. An enhanced PM 2.5 air quality forecast model based on nonlinear regression and back-trajectory concentrations

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cobourn, W. Geoffrey

    2010-08-01

    An enhanced PM 2.5 air quality forecast model based on nonlinear regression (NLR) and back-trajectory concentrations has been developed for use in the Louisville, Kentucky metropolitan area. The PM 2.5 air quality forecast model is designed for use in the warm season, from May through September, when PM 2.5 air quality is more likely to be critical for human health. The enhanced PM 2.5 model consists of a basic NLR model, developed for use with an automated air quality forecast system, and an additional parameter based on upwind PM 2.5 concentration, called PM24. The PM24 parameter is designed to be determined manually, by synthesizing backward air trajectory and regional air quality information to compute 24-h back-trajectory concentrations. The PM24 parameter may be used by air quality forecasters to adjust the forecast provided by the automated forecast system. In this study of the 2007 and 2008 forecast seasons, the enhanced model performed well using forecasted meteorological data and PM24 as input. The enhanced PM 2.5 model was compared with three alternative models, including the basic NLR model, the basic NLR model with a persistence parameter added, and the NLR model with persistence and PM24. The two models that included PM24 were of comparable accuracy. The two models incorporating back-trajectory concentrations had lower mean absolute errors and higher rates of detecting unhealthy PM2.5 concentrations compared to the other models.

  14. 78 FR 63934 - Approval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; California; El Dorado County Air Quality Management...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-10-25

    ...] Approval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; California; El Dorado County Air Quality Management District... California for the El Dorado County Air Quality Management District (EDAQMD) portion of the California SIP... 24, 1987 Federal Register, May 25, 1988, U.S. EPA, Air Quality Management Division, Office of Air...

  15. Air quality management in Mexico.

    PubMed

    Fernández-Bremauntz, Adrián

    2008-01-01

    Several significant program and policy measures have been implemented in Mexico over the past 15 yr to improve air quality. This article provides an overview of air quality management strategies in Mexico, including (1) policy initiatives such as vehicle use restrictions, air quality standards, vehicle emissions, and fuel quality standards, and (2) supporting programs including establishment of a national emission inventory, an air pollution episodes program, and the implementation of exposure and health effects studies. Trends in air pollution episodes and ambient air pollutant concentrations are described.

  16. Development of a comprehensive air quality modeling framework for a coastal urban airshed in south Texas

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Farooqui, Mohmmed Zuber

    Tropospheric ozone is one of the major air pollution problems affecting urban areas of United States as well as other countries in the world. Analysis of surface observed ozone levels in south and central Texas revealed several days exceeding 8-hour average ozone National Ambient of Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) over the past decade. Two major high ozone episodes were identified during September of 1999 and 2002. A photochemical modeling framework for the high ozone episodes in 1999 and 2002 were developed for the Corpus Christi urban airshed. The photochemical model was evaluated as per U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended statistical methods and the models performed within the limits set by EPA. An emission impact assessment of various sources within the urban airshed was conducted using the modeling framework. It was noted that by nudging MM5 with surface observed meteorological parameters and sea-surface temperature, the coastal meteorological predictions improved. Consequently, refined meteorology helped the photochemical model to better predict peak ozone levels in urban airsheds along the coastal margins of Texas including in Corpus Christi. The emissions assessment analysis revealed that Austin and San Antonio areas were significantly affected by on-road mobile emissions from light-duty gasoline and heavy-duty diesel vehicles. The urban areas of San Antonio, Austin, and Victoria areas were estimated to be NOx sensitive. Victoria was heavily influenced by point sources in the region while Corpus Christi was influenced by both point and non-road mobile sources and was identified to be sensitive to VOC emissions. A rise in atmospheric temperature due to climate change potentially increase ozone exceedances and the peak ozone levels within the study region and this will be a major concern for air quality planners. This study noted that any future increase in ambient temperature would result in a significant increase in the urban and regional

  17. Identifying Meteorological Controls on Open and Closed Mesoscale Cellular Convection as Associated with Marine Cold Air Outbreaks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCoy, Isabel; Wood, Robert; Fletcher, Jennifer

    Marine low clouds are key influencers of the climate and contribute significantly to uncertainty in model climate sensitivity due to their small scale and complex processes. Many low clouds occur in large-scale cellular patterns, known as open and closed mesoscale cellular convection (MCC), which have significantly different radiative and microphysical properties. Investigating MCC development and meteorological controls will improve our understanding of their impacts on the climate. We conducted an examination of time-varying meteorological conditions associated with satellite-determined open and closed MCC. The spatial and temporal patterns of MCC clouds were compared with key meteorological control variables calculated from ERA-Interim Reanalysis to highlight dependencies and major differences. This illustrated the influence of environmental stability and surface forcing as well as the role of marine cold air outbreaks (MCAO, the movement of cold air from polar-regions across warmer waters) in MCC cloud formation. Such outbreaks are important to open MCC development and may also influence the transition from open to closed MCC. Our results may lead to improvements in the parameterization of cloudiness and advance the simulation of marine low clouds. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Grant (DGE-1256082).

  18. Forecasting air quality time series using deep learning.

    PubMed

    Freeman, Brian S; Taylor, Graham; Gharabaghi, Bahram; Thé, Jesse

    2018-04-13

    This paper presents one of the first applications of deep learning (DL) techniques to predict air pollution time series. Air quality management relies extensively on time series data captured at air monitoring stations as the basis of identifying population exposure to airborne pollutants and determining compliance with local ambient air standards. In this paper, 8 hr averaged surface ozone (O 3 ) concentrations were predicted using deep learning consisting of a recurrent neural network (RNN) with long short-term memory (LSTM). Hourly air quality and meteorological data were used to train and forecast values up to 72 hours with low error rates. The LSTM was able to forecast the duration of continuous O 3 exceedances as well. Prior to training the network, the dataset was reviewed for missing data and outliers. Missing data were imputed using a novel technique that averaged gaps less than eight time steps with incremental steps based on first-order differences of neighboring time periods. Data were then used to train decision trees to evaluate input feature importance over different time prediction horizons. The number of features used to train the LSTM model was reduced from 25 features to 5 features, resulting in improved accuracy as measured by Mean Absolute Error (MAE). Parameter sensitivity analysis identified look-back nodes associated with the RNN proved to be a significant source of error if not aligned with the prediction horizon. Overall, MAE's less than 2 were calculated for predictions out to 72 hours. Novel deep learning techniques were used to train an 8-hour averaged ozone forecast model. Missing data and outliers within the captured data set were replaced using a new imputation method that generated calculated values closer to the expected value based on the time and season. Decision trees were used to identify input variables with the greatest importance. The methods presented in this paper allow air managers to forecast long range air pollution

  19. Dynamical Downscaling of Meteorology from a Global Model by WRF towards Resolving US PM2.5 Distributions for the Mid 21st Century

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kunwar, S.; Bowden, J.; Milly, G.; Previdi, M. J.; Fiore, A. M.; West, J. J.

    2017-12-01

    In the coming decades, anthropogenically induced climate change will likely impact PM2.5 through both changing meteorology and feedback in natural emissions. A major goal of our project is to assess changes in PM2.5 levels over the continental US due to climate variability and change for the period 2005-2065. We will achieve this by using regional models to dynamically downscale coarse resolution (20 × 20) meteorology and air chemistry from a global model to finer spatial resolution (12 km), improving air quality projections for regions and subregions of the US (NE, SE, SW, NW, Midwest, Intermountain West). We downscale from GFDL CM3 simulations of the RCP8.5 scenario for the years 2006-2100 with aerosol and ozone precursor emissions fixed at 2005 levels. We carefully select model years from the global simulations that sample the range of PM2.5 distributions for different US regions at mid 21st century (2050-2065). Here we will show results for the meteorological downscaling (using WRF version 3.8.1) for this project, including a performance evaluation for meteorological variables with respect to the global model. In the future, the downscaled meteorology presented here will be used to drive air quality downscaling in CMAQ (version 5.2). Analysis of the resulting PM2.5 statistics for US regions, as well as the drivers for PM2.5 changes, will be important in supporting informed policies for air quality (also health and visibility) planning for different US regions for the next five decades.

  20. Respiratory viral infections and effects of meteorological parameters and air pollution in adults with respiratory symptoms admitted to the emergency room

    PubMed Central

    Silva, Denise R; Viana, Vinícius P; Müller, Alice M; Livi, Fernando P; Dalcin, Paulo de Tarso R

    2014-01-01

    Background Respiratory viral infections (RVIs) are the most common causes of respiratory infections. The prevalence of respiratory viruses in adults is underestimated. Meteorological variations and air pollution are likely to play a role in these infections. Objectives The objectives of this study were to determine the number of emergency visits for influenza-like illness (ILI) and severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and to evaluate the association between ILI/SARI, RVI prevalence, and meteorological factors/air pollution, in the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil, from November 2008 to October 2010. Methods Eleven thousand nine hundred and fifty-three hospitalizations (adults and children) for respiratory symptoms were correlated with meteorological parameters and air pollutants. In a subset of adults, nasopharyngeal aspirates were collected and analyzed through IFI test. The data were analyzed using time-series analysis. Results Influenza-like illness and SARI were diagnosed in 3698 (30·9%) and 2063 (17·7%) patients, respectively. Thirty-seven (9·0%) samples were positive by IFI and 93 of 410 (22·7%) were IFI and/or PCR positive. In a multivariate logistic regression model, IFI positivity was statistically associated with absolute humidity, use of air conditioning, and presence of mold in home. Sunshine duration was significantly associated with the frequency of ILI cases. For SARI cases, the variables mean temperature, sunshine duration, relative humidity, and mean concentration of pollutants were singnificant. Conclusions At least 22% of infections in adult patients admitted to ER with respiratory complaints were caused by RVI. The correlations among meteorological variables, air pollution, ILI/SARI cases, and respiratory viruses demonstrated the relevance of climate factors as significant underlying contributors to the prevalence of RVI. PMID:24034701

  1. 78 FR 30829 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois; Air Quality Standards...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-23

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Illinois; Air Quality Standards Revision AGENCY... the Illinois State Implementation Plan (SIP) to reflect current national ambient air quality standards...) 692-2450. 4. Mail: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Control Strategies Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U...

  2. Relative impact of emissions controls and meteorology on air pollution mitigation associated with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference in Beijing, China.

    PubMed

    Wang, Yuqin; Zhang, Yang; Schauer, James Jay; de Foy, Benjamin; Guo, Bo; Zhang, Yuanxun

    2016-11-15

    The Beijing government and its surrounding provinces implemented a series of measures to ensure haze-free skies during the 22(nd) Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference (November 10(th)-11(th), 2014). These measures included restrictions on traffic, construction, and industrial activity. Twelve hour measurements of the concentration and composition of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were performed for 5 consecutive months near the APEC conference site before (September 11(th)-November 2(nd), 2014), during (November 3(rd)-12(th), 2014) and after (November 13(th), 2014-January 31(st), 2015). The measurements are used in a positive matrix factorization model to determine the contributions from seven sources of PM2.5: secondary aerosols, traffic exhaust, industrial emission, road dust, soil dust, biomass burning and residual oil combustion. The source apportionment results are integrated with backward trajectory analysis using Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) meteorological simulations, which determine the relative influence of new regulation and meteorology upon improved air quality during the APEC conference. Data show that controls are very effective, but meteorology must be taken into account to determine the actual influence of the controls on pollution reduction. The industry source control is the most effective for reducing concentrations, followed by secondary aerosol and biomass controls, while the least effective control is for the residual oil combustion source. The largest reductions in concentrations occur when air mass transport is from the west-northwest (Ulanqab). Secondary aerosol and traffic exhaust reductions are most significant for air mass transport from the north-northwest (Xilingele League) origin, and least significant for northeast transport (Chifeng via Tangshan conditions). The largest reductions of soil dust, biomass burning, and industrial source are distinctly seen for Ulanqab conditions and least distinct for

  3. Relative Impact of Emissions Controls and Meteorology on Air Pollution Mitigation Associated with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Conference in Beijing, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zhang, Y.; Wang, Y.; Schauer, J. J.; de Foy, B.

    2016-12-01

    The Beijing government and its surrounding provinces implemented a series of measures to ensure haze-free skies during the 22nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) conference (November 10th - 11th, 2014). These measures included restrictions on traffic, construction, and industrial activity. Twelve hour measurements of the concentration and composition of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were performed for 5 consecutive months near the APEC conference site before (September 11th - November 2nd, 2014), during (November 3rd - 12th, 2014) and after (November 13th, 2014 - January 31st, 2015). The measurements are used in a positive matrix factorization model to determine the contributions from seven sources of PM2.5: secondary aerosols, mobile source, industrial emission, road dust, soil dust, biomass burning and residual oil combustion. The source apportionment results are integrated with backward trajectory analysis using Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) meteorological simulations, which determine the relative influence of new regulation and meteorology upon improved air quality during the APEC conference. Data show that controls are very effective, but meteorology must be taken into account to determine the actual influence of the controls on pollution reduction. The Industry source control is the most effective for reducing concentrations, follows by secondary aerosol and biomass controls, while the least effective control is for the residual oil combustion source. The largest reductions in concentrations occur when air mass transport is from the west-northwest (Ulanqab). Secondary aerosol and mobile source reductions are most significant for air mass transport from the north-northwest (Xilingele League) origin, and least significant for northeast transport (Chifeng via Tangshan conditions). The largest reductions of soil dust, biomass burning, and industrial source are distinctly seen for Ulanqab conditions and least distinct for Xilingele League.

  4. Thirty-year survey on airborne pollen concentrations in Genoa, Italy: relationship with sensitizations, meteorological data, and air pollution.

    PubMed

    Negrini, Arsenio Corrado; Negrini, Simone; Giunta, Vania; Quaglini, Silvana; Ciprandi, Giorgio

    2011-01-01

    Pollen allergy represents a relevant health issue. Betulaceae sensitization significantly increased in Genoa, Italy, in the last decades. This study investigated possible relationships among pollen count, meteorological changes, air pollution, and sensitizations in this city during a 30-year period. Betulaceae, Urticaceae, Gramineae, and Oleaceae pollen counts were measured from 1981 to 2010 in Genoa. Sensitization to these pollens was also considered in large populations of allergic patients. Meteorological parameters and pollutants were also measured in the same area. Betulaceae sensitization increased over time. All pollen species significantly increased over this time. Pollen season advanced for Betulaceae and Urticaceae. Only Urticaceae season significantly increased. Temperature increased while rainfall decreased over the time. Pollutants significantly decreased. There were some relationships between pollen changes and climatic and air pollution parameters. This 30-year study conducted in an urbanized area provided evidence that Betulaceae sensitization significantly increased, pollen load significantly augmented, and climate and air pollution changed with a possible influence on pollen release.

  5. Understanding meteorological influences on PM2.5 concentrations across China: a temporal and spatial perspective

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Chen, Ziyue; Xie, Xiaoming; Cai, Jun; Chen, Danlu; Gao, Bingbo; He, Bin; Cheng, Nianliang; Xu, Bing

    2018-04-01

    With frequent air pollution episodes in China, growing research emphasis has been put on quantifying meteorological influences on PM2.5 concentrations. However, these studies mainly focus on isolated cities, whilst meteorological influences on PM2.5 concentrations at the national scale have not yet been examined comprehensively. This research employs the CCM (convergent cross-mapping) method to understand the influence of individual meteorological factors on local PM2.5 concentrations in 188 monitoring cities across China. Results indicate that meteorological influences on PM2.5 concentrations have notable seasonal and regional variations. For the heavily polluted North China region, when PM2.5 concentrations are high, meteorological influences on PM2.5 concentrations are strong. The dominant meteorological influence for PM2.5 concentrations varies across locations and demonstrates regional similarities. For the most polluted winter, the dominant meteorological driver for local PM2.5 concentrations is mainly the wind within the North China region, whilst precipitation is the dominant meteorological influence for most coastal regions. At the national scale, the influence of temperature, humidity and wind on PM2.5 concentrations is much larger than that of other meteorological factors. Amongst eight factors, temperature exerts the strongest and most stable influence on national PM2.5 concentrations in all seasons. Due to notable temporal and spatial differences in meteorological influences on local PM2.5 concentrations, this research suggests pertinent environmental projects for air quality improvement should be designed accordingly for specific regions.

  6. Evaluation of COSMO-ART in the Framework of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII)

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Giordano, Lea; Brunner, Dominik; Im, Ulas; Galmarini, Stefano

    2014-05-01

    The Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII) coordinated by the EC-JRC and US-EPA, promotes since 2008 research on regional air quality model evaluation across the atmospheric modelling communities of Europe and North America. AQMEII has now reached its Phase 2 that is dedicated to the evaluation of on-line coupled chemistry-meteorology models as opposed to Phase 1 where only off-line models were considered. At European level, AQMEII collaborates with the COST Action "European framework for on-line integrated air quality and meteorology modelling" (EuMetChem). All European groups participating in AQMEII performed simulations over the same spatial domain (Europe at a resolution of about 20 km) and using the same simulation strategy (e.g. no nudging allowed) and the same input data as much as possible. The initial and boundary conditions (IC/BC) were shared between all groups. Emissions were provided by the TNO-MACC database for anthropogenic emissions and the FMI database for biomass burning emissions. Chemical IC/BC data were taken from IFS-MOZART output, and meteorological IC/BC from the ECWMF global model. Evaluation data sets were collected by the Joint Research Center (JRC) and include measurements from surface in situ networks (AirBase and EMEP), vertical profiles from ozone sondes and aircraft (MOZAIC), and remote sensing (AERONET, satellites). Since Phase 2 focuses on on-line coupled models, a special effort is devoted to the detailed speciation of particulate matter components, with the goal of studying feedback processes. For the AQMEII exercise, COSMO-ART has been run with 40 levels of vertical resolution, and a chemical scheme that includes the SCAV module of Knote and Brunner (ACP 2013) for wet-phase chemistry and the SOA treatment according to VBS (volatility basis set) approach (Athanasopoulou et al., ACP 2013). The COSMO-ART evaluation shows that, next to a good performance in the meteorology, the gas phase chemistry is well

  7. Air-quality implications of widespread adoption of cool roofs on ozone and particulate matter in southern California

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Epstein, Scott A.; Lee, Sang-Mi; Katzenstein, Aaron S.; Carreras-Sospedra, Marc; Zhang, Xinqiu; Farina, Salvatore C.; Vahmani, Pouya; Fine, Philip M.; Ban-Weiss, George

    2017-08-01

    The installation of roofing materials with increased solar reflectance (i.e., “cool roofs”) can mitigate the urban heat island effect and reduce energy use. In addition, meteorological changes, along with the possibility of enhanced UV reflection from these surfaces, can have complex impacts on ozone and PM2.5 concentrations. We aim to evaluate the air-quality impacts of widespread cool-roof installations prescribed by California’s Title 24 building energy efficiency standards within the heavily populated and polluted South Coast Air Basin (SoCAB). Development of a comprehensive rooftop area database and evaluation of spectral reflectance measurements of roofing materials allows us to project potential future changes in solar and UV reflectance for simulations using the Weather Research Forecast and Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) models. 2012 meteorological simulations indicate a decrease in daily maximum temperatures, daily maximum boundary layer heights, and ventilation coefficients throughout the SoCAB upon widespread installation of cool roofs. CMAQ simulations show significant increases in PM2.5 concentrations and policy-relevant design values. Changes in 8-h ozone concentrations depend on the potential change in UV reflectance, ranging from a decrease in population-weighted concentrations when UV reflectance remains unchanged to an increase when changes in UV reflectance are at an upper bound. However, 8-h policy-relevant ozone design values increase in all cases. Although the other benefits of cool roofs could outweigh small air-quality penalties, UV reflectance standards for cool roofing materials could mitigate these negative consequences. Results of this study motivate the careful consideration of future rooftop and pavement solar reflectance modification policies.

  8. Air-quality implications of widespread adoption of cool roofs on ozone and particulate matter in southern California

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Sang-Mi; Katzenstein, Aaron S.; Carreras-Sospedra, Marc; Zhang, Xinqiu; Farina, Salvatore C.; Vahmani, Pouya; Fine, Philip M.

    2017-01-01

    The installation of roofing materials with increased solar reflectance (i.e., “cool roofs”) can mitigate the urban heat island effect and reduce energy use. In addition, meteorological changes, along with the possibility of enhanced UV reflection from these surfaces, can have complex impacts on ozone and PM2.5 concentrations. We aim to evaluate the air-quality impacts of widespread cool-roof installations prescribed by California’s Title 24 building energy efficiency standards within the heavily populated and polluted South Coast Air Basin (SoCAB). Development of a comprehensive rooftop area database and evaluation of spectral reflectance measurements of roofing materials allows us to project potential future changes in solar and UV reflectance for simulations using the Weather Research Forecast and Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) models. 2012 meteorological simulations indicate a decrease in daily maximum temperatures, daily maximum boundary layer heights, and ventilation coefficients throughout the SoCAB upon widespread installation of cool roofs. CMAQ simulations show significant increases in PM2.5 concentrations and policy-relevant design values. Changes in 8-h ozone concentrations depend on the potential change in UV reflectance, ranging from a decrease in population-weighted concentrations when UV reflectance remains unchanged to an increase when changes in UV reflectance are at an upper bound. However, 8-h policy-relevant ozone design values increase in all cases. Although the other benefits of cool roofs could outweigh small air-quality penalties, UV reflectance standards for cool roofing materials could mitigate these negative consequences. Results of this study motivate the careful consideration of future rooftop and pavement solar reflectance modification policies. PMID:28784778

  9. 75 FR 65572 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Ohio Ambient Air Quality...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-26

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Ohio Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY... Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) relating to the consolidation of Ohio's Ambient Air Quality Standards... apply to Ohio's SIP. Incorporating the air quality standards into Ohio's SIP helps assure that...

  10. Space Shuttle interactive meteorological data system study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Young, J. T.; Fox, R. J.; Benson, J. M.; Rueden, J. P.; Oehlkers, R. A.

    1985-01-01

    Although focused toward the operational meteorological support review and definition of an operational meteorological interactive data display systems (MIDDS) requirements for the Space Meteorology Support Group at NASA/Johnson Space Center, the total operational meteorological support requirements and a systems concept for the MIDDS network integration of NASA and Air Force elements to support the National Space Transportation System are also addressed.

  11. APPLICATION OF A NEW LAND-SURFACE, DRY DEPOSITION, AND PBL MODEL IN THE MODELS-3 COMMUNITY MULTI-SCALE AIR QUALITY (CMAQ) MODEL SYSTEM

    EPA Science Inventory

    Like most air quality modeling systems, CMAQ divides the treatment of meteorological and chemical/transport processes into separate models run sequentially. A potential drawback to this approach is that it creates the illusion that these processes are minimally interdependent an...

  12. 77 FR 73320 - Approval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; California; South Coast Air Quality Management...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-12-10

    ... Quality Implementation Plans; California; South Coast Air Quality Management District; Prevention of... Implementation Plan (SIP) revision for the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD or District... in a August 15, 2012 letter from the South Coast Air Quality Management District regarding specific...

  13. Satellite Models for Global Environmental Change in the NASA Health and Air Quality Programs

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Haynes, J.; Estes, S. M.

    2015-12-01

    Satellite remote sensing of the environment offers a unique vantage point that can fill in the gaps of environmental, spatial, and temporal data for tracking disease. Health and Air Quality providers and researchers are effective by the global environmental changes that are occurring and they need environmental data to study and understand the geographic, environmental, and meteorological differences in disease. This presentation maintains a diverse constellation of Earth observing research satellites and sponsors research in developing satellite data applications across a wide spectrum of areas including environmental health; infectious disease; air quality standards, policies, and regulations; and the impact of climate change on health and air quality. Successfully providing predictions with the accuracy and specificity required by decision makers will require advancements over current capabilities in a number of interrelated areas. These areas include observations, modeling systems, forecast development, application integration, and the research to operations transition process. This presentation will highlight many projects on which NASA satellites have been a primary partner with local, state, Federal, and international operational agencies over the past twelve years in these areas. Domestic and International officials have increasingly recognized links between environment and health. Health providers and researchers need environmental data to study and understand the geographic, environmental, and meteorological differences in disease. The presentation is directly related to Earth Observing systems and Global Health Surveillance and will present research results of the remote sensing environmental observations of earth and health applications, which can contribute to the health research. As part of NASA approach and methodology they have used Earth Observation Systems and Applications for Health Models to provide a method for bridging gaps of environmental

  14. Hanford meteorological station computer codes: Volume 9, The quality assurance computer codes

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Burk, K.W.; Andrews, G.L.

    1989-02-01

    The Hanford Meteorological Station (HMS) was established in 1944 on the Hanford Site to collect and archive meteorological data and provide weather forecasts and related services for Hanford Site approximately 1/2 mile east of the 200 West Area and is operated by PNL for the US Department of Energy. Meteorological data are collected from various sensors and equipment located on and off the Hanford Site. These data are stored in data bases on the Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) VAX 11/750 at the HMS (hereafter referred to as the HMS computer). Files from those data bases are routinely transferred to themore » Emergency Management System (EMS) computer at the Unified Dose Assessment Center (UDAC). To ensure the quality and integrity of the HMS data, a set of Quality Assurance (QA) computer codes has been written. The codes will be routinely used by the HMS system manager or the data base custodian. The QA codes provide detailed output files that will be used in correcting erroneous data. The following sections in this volume describe the implementation and operation of QA computer codes. The appendices contain detailed descriptions, flow charts, and source code listings of each computer code. 2 refs.« less

  15. Diurnal Ensemble Surface Meteorology Statistics

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Excel file containing diurnal ensemble statistics of 2-m temperature, 2-m mixing ratio and 10-m wind speed. This Excel file contains figures for Figure 2 in the paper and worksheets containing all statistics for the 14 members of the ensemble and a base simulation.This dataset is associated with the following publication:Gilliam , R., C. Hogrefe , J. Godowitch, S. Napelenok , R. Mathur , and S.T. Rao. Impact of inherent meteorology uncertainty on air quality model predictions. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES. American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, USA, 120(23): 12,259–12,280, (2015).

  16. A Multi-Model Assessment for the 2006 and 2010 Simulations under the AirQuality Model Evaluation International Initiative (AQMEII) Phase 2 over North America: Part I. Indicators of the Sensitivity of O3 and PM2.5 Formation Regimes

    EPA Science Inventory

    Under the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative, Phase 2 (AQMEII-2), three online coupled air quality model simulations, with six different configurations, are analyzed for their performance, inter-model agreement, and responses to emission and meteorological chan...

  17. 78 FR 19990 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Ohio Ambient Air Quality...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-04-03

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Ohio Ambient Air Quality Standards; Correction AGENCY... approved revisions to Ohio regulations that consolidated air quality standards in a new chapter of rules... State's air quality standards into Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) 3745-25 and modifying an assortment of...

  18. 77 FR 12482 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Lead Ambient Air Quality...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-03-01

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Lead Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY... incorporates the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Pb promulgated by EPA in 2008. DATES: This... FR 66964) and codified at 40 CFR 50.16, ``National primary and secondary ambient air quality...

  19. THE NOAA - EPA NATIONAL AIR QUALITY FORECASTING SYSTEM

    EPA Science Inventory

    Building upon decades of collaboration in air pollution meteorology research, in 2003 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed formal partnership agreements to develop and implement an operationa...

  20. Air-Quality and Climate Coupling in High Resolution for Urban Heat Island Study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Halenka, T.; Huszar, P.; Belda, M.

    2012-04-01

    Recent studies show considerable effect of atmospheric chemistry and aerosols on climate on regional and local scale. For the purpose of qualifying and quantifying the magnitude of climate forcing due to atmospheric chemistry/aerosols on regional scale and climate change effects on air-quality the regional climate model RegCM and chemistry/aerosol model CAMx was coupled. Climate change impacts on air-quality have been studied in high resolution of 10km with interactive two-way coupling of the effects of air-quality on climate. The experiments with the couple were performed for EC FP7 project MEGAPOLI assessing the impact of the megacities and industrialized areas on climate. New experiments in high resolution are prepared andsimulated for Urban Heat Island studies within the OP Central Europe Project UHI. Meteorological fields generated by RCM drive CAMx transport, chemistry and a dry/wet deposition. A preprocessor utility was developed for transforming RegCM provided fields to CAMx input fields and format. There is critical issue of the emission inventories available for 10km resolution including the urban hot-spots, TNO emissions are adopted for the experiments. Sensitivity tests switching on/off urban areas emissions are analysed as well. The results for year 2005 are presented and discussed, interactive coupling is compared to study the potential of possible impact of urban air-pollution to the urban area climate.

  1. Impact of Bay-Breeze Circulations on Surface Air Quality and Boundary Layer Export

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Loughner, Christopher P.; Tzortziou, Maria; Follette-Cook, Melanie; Pickering, Kenneth E.; Goldberg, Daniel; Satam, Chinmay; Weinheimer, Andrew; Crawford, James H.; Knapp, David J.; Montzka, Denise D.; hide

    2014-01-01

    Meteorological and air-quality model simulations are analyzed alongside observations to investigate the role of the Chesapeake Bay breeze on surface air quality, pollutant transport, and boundary layer venting. A case study was conducted to understand why a particular day was the only one during an 11-day ship-based field campaign on which surface ozone was not elevated in concentration over the Chesapeake Bay relative to the closest upwind site and why high ozone concentrations were observed aloft by in situ aircraft observations. Results show that southerly winds during the overnight and early-morning hours prevented the advection of air pollutants from the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Maryland, metropolitan areas over the surface waters of the bay. A strong and prolonged bay breeze developed during the late morning and early afternoon along the western coastline of the bay. The strength and duration of the bay breeze allowed pollutants to converge, resulting in high concentrations locally near the bay-breeze front within the Baltimore metropolitan area, where they were then lofted to the top of the planetary boundary layer (PBL). Near the top of the PBL, these pollutants were horizontally advected to a region with lower PBL heights, resulting in pollution transport out of the boundary layer and into the free troposphere. This elevated layer of air pollution aloft was transported downwind into New England by early the following morning where it likely mixed down to the surface, affecting air quality as the boundary layer grew.

  2. Investigation of the Air Quality Change Effect on Gnss Signals

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gurbuz, G.; Gormus, K. S.; Altan, U.

    2017-11-01

    Air pollution is the most important environmental problem in Zonguldak city center. Since bituminous coal is used for domestic heating in houses and generating electricity in thermal power plants, particulate matter (PM10) is the leading air pollutant. Previous studies have shown that the water vapor in the troposphere is responsible for the tropospheric zenith delay in Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) measurements. In this study, data obtained from the ZONG GNSS station from Türkiye Ulusal Sabit GNSS Ağı (TUSAGA-Active network) in the central district of Zonguldak province, processed with GIPSY-OASIS II and GAMIT/GlobK software using the VMF1 mapping function, which is developed previously and considered to be the most accurate model. The resulting values were examined separately in terms of software. The meteorological parameters obtained from the Turkish State Meteorological Service and the air pollution values obtained from the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning were analyzed and the zenith delay values were compared. When wet zenith delays of different days with different amounts of PM10 concentrations were examined in succession and under the same meteorological conditions, differences in the range of 20-40 mm on ZTD were observed.

  3. Impacts of Energy Sector Emissions on PM2.5 Air Quality in Northern India

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karambelas, A. N.; Kiesewetter, G.; Heyes, C.; Holloway, T.

    2015-12-01

    India experiences high concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), and several Indian cities currently rank among the world's most polluted cities. With ongoing urbanization and a growing economy, emissions from different energy sectors remain major contributors to air pollution in India. Emission sectors impact ambient air quality differently due to spatial distribution (typical urban vs. typical rural sources) as well as source height characteristics (low-level vs. high stack sources). This study aims to assess the impacts of emissions from three distinct energy sectors—transportation, domestic, and electricity—on ambient PM2.5­­ in northern India using an advanced air quality analysis framework based on the U.S. EPA Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. Present air quality conditions are simulated using 2010 emissions from the Greenhouse Gas-Air Pollution Interaction and Synergies (GAINS) model. Modeled PM2.5 concentrations are compared with satellite observations of aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) for 2010. Energy sector emissions impacts on future (2030) PM2.5 are evaluated with three sensitivity simulations, assuming maximum feasible reduction technologies for either transportation, domestic, or electricity sectors. These simulations are compared with a business as usual 2030 simulation to assess relative sectoral impacts spatially and temporally. CMAQ is modeled at 12km by 12km and include biogenic emissions from the Community Land Model coupled with the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols in Nature (CLM-MEGAN), biomass burning emissions from the Global Fires Emissions Database (GFED), and ERA-Interim meteorology generated with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for 2010 to quantify the impact of modified anthropogenic emissions on ambient PM2.5 concentrations. Energy sector emissions analysis supports decision-making to improve future air quality and public health in

  4. The role of local urban traffic and meteorological conditions in air pollution: A data-based case study in Madrid, Spain

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Laña, Ibai; Del Ser, Javier; Padró, Ales; Vélez, Manuel; Casanova-Mateo, Carlos

    2016-11-01

    Urban air pollution is a matter of growing concern for both public administrations and citizens. Road traffic is one of the main sources of air pollutants, though topography characteristics and meteorological conditions can make pollution levels increase or diminish dramatically. In this context an upsurge of research has been conducted towards functionally linking variables of such domains to measured pollution data, with studies dealing with up to one-hour resolution meteorological data. However, the majority of such reported contributions do not deal with traffic data or, at most, simulate traffic conditions jointly with the consideration of different topographical features. The aim of this study is to further explore this relationship by using high-resolution real traffic data. This paper describes a methodology based on the construction of regression models to predict levels of different pollutants (i.e. CO, NO, NO2, O3 and PM10) based on traffic data and meteorological conditions, from which an estimation of the predictive relevance (importance) of each utilized feature can be estimated by virtue of their particular training procedure. The study was made with one hour resolution meteorological, traffic and pollution historic data in roadside and background locations of the city of Madrid (Spain) captured over 2015. The obtained results reveal that the impact of vehicular emissions on the pollution levels is overshadowed by the effects of stable meteorological conditions of this city.

  5. Air Quality at a Ranch Site in the Western Part of the Eagle Ford shale

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Roest, G. S.; Schade, G. W.; Brooks, S. D.; Zenker, J.

    2015-12-01

    The booming unconventional oil and gas industry in the Eagle Ford shale in southern Texas continues to grow. Modeling studies of the air quality impacts of the Eagle Ford rely on emission inventories that may underestimate emissions from such operations, and air quality monitoring in the area remains limited. We conducted an air quality study on a ranch in Dimmit County, Texas, which was ranked 6th in Texas for natural gas production and 10th in Texas for oil production as of April 2015. An automated GC-FID was used to measure the concentration of hydrocarbons (C3 - C14), with concurrent measurements of CO, CO2, H2O, O3, NO/NOx. In addition, the concentration and sizing of aerosols ranging from 0.6 to 20 µm aerodynamic diameter were measured with a GRIMM aerosol spectrometer (GRIMM 1.108), and meteorological variables including wind speed, direction, temperature, relative humidity, precipitation, and insolation were recorded. We report on local air quality and changes during the process as observed during the measurement campaign. Local drilling on the ranch began in May 2015 and production started in June 2015, at a site approximately 5 km southeast of the air quality trailer. Local air quality showed typically low, near background abundances of CO and NOx early during the campaign, and more frequent local NOx plumes during the drilling and production phases. Aerosol mass measurements were also relatively low and well within attainment of NAAQS particulate matter standards. We assess OH radical reactivity of individual and/or groups of VOCs using observed concentrations and their reaction rate coefficient with OH, the dominant VOC sink in the troposphere.

  6. Ozone - Current Air Quality Index

    MedlinePlus

    GO! Local Air Quality Conditions Zip Code: State : My Current Location Current AQI Forecast AQI Loop More Maps AQI: Good (0 - 50) ... resources for Hawaii residents and visitors more announcements Air Quality Basics Air Quality Index | Ozone | Particle Pollution | Smoke ...

  7. A comprehensive sensitivity analysis of the WRF model for air quality applications over the Iberian Peninsula

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Borge, Rafael; Alexandrov, Vassil; José del Vas, Juan; Lumbreras, Julio; Rodríguez, Encarnacion

    Meteorological inputs play a vital role on regional air quality modelling. An extensive sensitivity analysis of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model was performed, in the framework of the Integrated Assessment Modelling System for the Iberian Peninsula (SIMCA) project. Up to 23 alternative model configurations, including Planetary Boundary Layer schemes, Microphysics, Land-surface models, Radiation schemes, Sea Surface Temperature and Four-Dimensional Data Assimilation were tested in a 3 km spatial resolution domain. Model results for the most significant meteorological variables, were assessed through a series of common statistics. The physics options identified to produce better results (Yonsei University Planetary Boundary Layer, WRF Single-Moment 6-class microphysics, Noah Land-surface model, Eta Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory longwave radiation and MM5 shortwave radiation schemes) along with other relevant user settings (time-varying Sea Surface Temperature and combined grid-observational nudging) where included in a "best case" configuration. This setup was tested and found to produce more accurate estimation of temperature, wind and humidity fields at surface level than any other configuration for the two episodes simulated. Planetary Boundary Layer height predictions showed a reasonable agreement with estimations derived from routine atmospheric soundings. Although some seasonal and geographical differences were observed, the model showed an acceptable behaviour overall. Despite being useful to define the most appropriate setup of the WRF model for air quality modelling over the Iberian Peninsula, this study provides a general overview of WRF sensitivity and can constitute a reference for future mesoscale meteorological modelling exercises.

  8. Analysis of the effects of meteorology on aircraft exhaust dispersion and deposition using a Lagrangian particle model.

    PubMed

    Pecorari, Eliana; Mantovani, Alice; Franceschini, Chiara; Bassano, Davide; Palmeri, Luca; Rampazzo, Giancarlo

    2016-01-15

    The risk of air quality degradation is of considerable concern particularly for those airports that are located near urban areas. The ability to quantitatively predict the effects of air pollutants originated by airport operations is important for assessing air quality and the related impacts on human health. Current emission regulations have focused on local air quality in the proximity of airports. However, an integrated study should consider the effects of meteorological events, at both regional and local level, that can affect the dispersion and the deposition of exhausts. Rigorous scientific studies and extensive experimental data could contribute to the analysis of the impacts of airports expansion plans. This paper is focused on the analysis of the effects of meteorology on aircraft emission for the Marco Polo Airport in Venice. This is the most important international airport in the eastern part of the Po' Valley, one of the most polluted area in Europe. Air pollution is exacerbated by meteorology that is a combination of large and local scale effects that do not allow significant dispersion. Moreover, the airport is located near Venice, a city of noteworthy cultural and architectural relevance, and nearby the lagoon that hosts several areas of outstanding ecological importance at European level (Natura 2000 sites). Dispersion and deposit of the main aircraft exhausts (NOx, HC and CO) have been evaluated by using a Lagrangian particle model. Spatial and temporal aircraft exhaust dispersion has been analyzed for LTO cycle. Aircraft taxiing resulted to be the most impacting aircraft operation especially for the airport working area and its surroundings, however occasionally peaks may be observed even at high altitudes when cruise mode starts. Mixing height can affect concentrations more significantly than the concentrations in the exhausts themselves. An increase of HC and CO concentrations (15-50%) has been observed during specific meteorological events

  9. Modeling Urban Air Quality in the Berlin-Brandenburg Region: Evaluation of a WRF-Chem Setup

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Kuik, F.; Churkina, G.; Butler, T. M.; Lauer, A.; Mar, K. A.

    2015-12-01

    Air pollution is the number one environmental cause of premature deaths in Europe. Despite extensive regulations, air pollution remains a challenging issue, especially in urban areas. For studying air quality in the Berlin-Brandenburg region of Germany the Weather Research and Forecasting Model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) is set up and evaluated against meteorological and air quality observations from monitoring stations as well as from a field campaign conducted in 2014 (incl. black carbon, VOCs as well as mobile measurements of particle size distribution and particle mass). The model setup includes 3 nested domains with horizontal resolutions of 15km, 3km, and 1km, online biogenic emissions using MEGAN 2.0, and anthropogenic emissions from the TNO-MACC-II inventory. This work serves as a basis for future studies on different aspects of air pollution in the Berlin-Brandenburg region, including how heat waves affect emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOC) from urban vegetation (summer 2006) and the impact of selected traffic measures on air quality in the Berlin-Brandenburg area (summer 2014). The model represents the meteorology as observed in the region well for both periods. An exception is the heat wave period in 2006, where the temperature simulated with 3km and 1km resolutions is biased low by around 2°C for urban built-up stations. First results of simulations with chemistry show that, on average, WRF-Chem simulates concentrations of O3 well. However, the 8 hr maxima are underestimated, and the minima are overestimated. While NOx daily means are modeled reasonably well for urban stations, they are overestimated for suburban stations. PM10 concentrations are underestimated by the model. The biases and correlation coefficients of simulated O3, NOx, and PM10 in comparison to surface observations do not show improvements for the 1km domain in comparison to the 3km domain. To improve the model performance of the 1km domain we will include an

  10. Impacts of Climate Policy on Regional Air Quality, Health, and Air Quality Regulatory Procedures

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Thompson, T. M.; Selin, N. E.

    2011-12-01

    Both the changing climate, and the policy implemented to address climate change can impact regional air quality. We evaluate the impacts of potential selected climate policies on modeled regional air quality with respect to national pollution standards, human health and the sensitivity of health uncertainty ranges. To assess changes in air quality due to climate policy, we couple output from a regional computable general equilibrium economic model (the US Regional Energy Policy [USREP] model), with a regional air quality model (the Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions [CAMx]). USREP uses economic variables to determine how potential future U.S. climate policy would change emissions of regional pollutants (CO, VOC, NOx, SO2, NH3, black carbon, and organic carbon) from ten emissions-heavy sectors of the economy (electricity, coal, gas, crude oil, refined oil, energy intensive industry, other industry, service, agriculture, and transportation [light duty and heavy duty]). Changes in emissions are then modeled using CAMx to determine the impact on air quality in several cities in the Northeast US. We first calculate the impact of climate policy by using regulatory procedures used to show attainment with National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ozone and particulate matter. Building on previous work, we compare those results with the calculated results and uncertainties associated with human health impacts due to climate policy. This work addresses a potential disconnect between NAAQS regulatory procedures and the cost/benefit analysis required for and by the Clean Air Act.

  11. Feedbacks between Air Pollution and Weather, Part 1: Effects on Weather

    EPA Science Inventory

    The meteorological predictions of fully coupled air-quality models running in “feedback” versus “nofeedback” simulations were compared against each other as part of Phase 2 of the Air Quality Model Evaluation International Initiative. The model simulations included a “no-feedback...

  12. Impact of combustion products from Space Shuttle launches on ambient air quality

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Dumbauld, R. K.; Bowers, J. F.; Cramer, H. E.

    1974-01-01

    The present work describes some multilayer diffusion models and a computer program for these models developed to predict the impact of ground clouds formed during Space Shuttle launches on ambient air quality. The diffusion models are based on the Gaussian plume equation for an instantaneous volume source. Cloud growth is estimated on the basis of measurable meteorological parameters: standard deviation of the wind azimuth angle, standard deviation of wind elevation angle, vertical wind-speed shear, vertical wind-direction shear, and depth of the surface mixing layer. Calculations using these models indicate that Space Shuttle launches under a variety of meteorological regimes at Kennedy Space Center and Vandenberg AFB are unlikely to endanger the exposure standards for HCl; similar results have been obtained for CO and Al2O3. However, the possibility that precipitation scavenging of the ground cloud might result in an acidic rain that could damage vegetation has not been investigated.

  13. Indoor Air Quality Manual.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baldwin Union Free School District, NY.

    This manual identifies ways to improve a school's indoor air quality (IAQ) and discusses practical actions that can be carried out by school staff in managing air quality. The manual includes discussions of the many sources contributing to school indoor air pollution and the preventive planning for each including renovation and repair work,…

  14. 75 FR 65594 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Ohio Ambient Air Quality...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2010-10-26

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Ohio; Ohio Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY... the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC) relating to the consolidation of Ohio's Ambient Air Quality Standards (AAQS) into Ohio's State Implementation Plan (SIP) under the Clean Air Act. On April 8, 2009, and...

  15. 77 FR 12524 - Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Lead Ambient Air Quality...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-03-01

    ... Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Lead Ambient Air Quality Standards AGENCY... Indiana State Implementation Plan (SIP) for lead (Pb) under the Clean Air Act (CAA). This submittal incorporates the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for Pb promulgated by EPA in 2008. DATES...

  16. Quantifying the effect of air quality control measures during the 2010 Commonwealth Games at Delhi, India

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Beig, Gufran; Chate, Dilip M.; Ghude, Sachin. D.; Mahajan, A. S.; Srinivas, R.; Ali, K.; Sahu, S. K.; Parkhi, N.; Surendran, D.; Trimbake, H. R.

    2013-12-01

    In 2010, the XIX Commonwealth Games (CWG-2010) were held in India for the first time at Delhi and involved 71 commonwealth nations and dependencies with more than 6000 athletes participating in 272 events. This was the largest international multi-sport event to be staged in India and strict emission controls were imposed during the games in order to ensure improved air quality for the participating athletes as a significant portion of the population in Delhi is regularly exposed to elevated levels of pollution. The air quality control measures ranged from vehicular and traffic controls to relocation of factories and reduction of power plant emissions. In order to understand the effects of these policy induced control measures, a network of air quality and weather monitoring stations was set-up across different areas in Delhi under the Government of India's System of Air quality Forecasting And Research (SAFAR) project. Simultaneous measurements of aerosols, reactive trace gases (e.g. NOx, O3, CO) and meteorological parameters were made before, during and after CWG-2010. Contrary to expectations, the emission controls implemented were not sufficient to reduce the pollutants, instead in some cases, causing an increase. The measured pollutants regularly exceeded the National Ambient Air Quality limits over the games period. The reasons for this increase are attributed to an underestimation of the required control measures, which resulted in inadequate planning. The results indicate that any future air quality control measures need to be well planned and strictly imposed in order to improve the air quality in Delhi, which affects a large population and is deteriorating rapidly. Thus, the presence of systematic high resolution data and realistic emission inventories through networks such as SAFAR will be directly useful for the future.

  17. Meteorological and environmental aspects of one of the worst national air pollution episodes (January, 2004) in Logan, Cache Valley, Utah, USA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Malek, Esmaiel; Davis, Tess; Martin, Randal S.; Silva, Philip J.

    2006-02-01

    Logan, Utah, USA, had the nation's worst air pollution on 15 January, 2004. The high concentration of PM 2.5 (particulates smaller than 2.5 μm in diameter) in the air resulted from geographical, meteorological, and environmental aspects of Cache Valley. A strong inversion (increase of temperature with height) and light precipitation and/or wind were the major causes for trapping pollutants in the air. Other meteorological factors enhancing the inversion were: the prolonged high atmospheric surface pressure, a snow-covered surface which plunged temperatures to as low as - 23.6 °C on January 23rd and high reflection of solar radiation (up to about 80%), which caused less solar radiation absorption during the day throughout the most part of January 2004. Among non-meteorological factors are Cache Valley's small-basin geographical structure which traps air, with no big body of water to help the air circulation (as a result of differential heating and cooling rates for land and water), motor vehicle emissions, and existence of excess ammonia gas as a byproduct of livestock manure and urine. Concentration of PM 2.5 was monitored in downtown Logan. On January 15, 2004, the 24-h, filter-based concentration reached about 132.5 μg per cubic meter of air, an astonishingly high value compared to the values of 65 μg m - 3 and over, indicating a health alert for everyone. These tiny particles in the air have an enormous impact on health, aggravating heart and lung disease, triggering asthma and even death. The causes of this inversion and some suggestions to alleviate the wintertime particle concentration in Cache Valley will be addressed in this article.

  18. INTRODUCTION OF URBAN CANOPY PARAMETERIZATION INTO MM5 TO SIMULATE URBAN METEOROLOGY AT NEIGHBORHOOD SCALE

    EPA Science Inventory

    Since most of the primary atmospheric pollutants are emitted inside the roughness sub-layer (RSL) and consequently the first chemical reactions and dispersion occur in this layer, it is necessary to generate detailed meteorological fields inside the RSL to perform air quality m...

  19. A numerical model simulation of the regional air pollution meteorology of the greater Chesapeake Bay area - Summer day case study

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Segal, M.; Pielke, R. A.; Mcnider, R. T.; Mcdougal, D. S.

    1982-01-01

    The mesoscale numerical model of the University of Virginia (UVMM), has been applied to the greater Chesapeake Bay area in order to provide a detailed description of the air pollution meteorology during a typical summer day. This model provides state of the art simulations for land-sea thermally induced circulations. The model-predicted results agree favorably with available observed data. The effects of synoptic flow and sea breeze coupling on air pollution meteorological characteristics in this region, are demonstrated by a spatial and temporal presentation of various model predicted fields. A transport analysis based on predicted wind velocities indicated possible recirculation of pollutants back onto the Atlantic coast due to the sea breeze circulation.

  20. AIR CLEANING FOR ACCEPTABLE INDOOR AIR QUALITY

    EPA Science Inventory

    The paper discusses air cleaning for acceptable indoor air quality. ir cleaning has performed an important role in heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems for many years. raditionally, general ventilation air-filtration equipment has been used to protect cooling coils ...

  1. Air Quality Index (AQI) -- A Guide to Air Quality and Your Health

    MedlinePlus

    ... Guide for Ozone Air Quality Guide for Particle Pollution Other AirNow Publications Other AirNow Publications En Español ... the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur ...

  2. A proof-of-concept for linking the global meteorological model, MPAS-A with the air quality model, CMAQ

    EPA Science Inventory

    Researchers who perform air quality modeling studies usually do so on a regional scale. Typically, the boundary conditions are generated by another model which might have a different chemical mechanism, spatial resolution, and/or map projection. Hence, a necessary conversion/inte...

  3. Air Quality System (AQS)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The Air Quality System (AQS) database contains measurements of air pollutant concentrations from throughout the United States and its territories. The measurements include both criteria air pollutants and hazardous air pollutants.

  4. Enabling Mobile Air Quality App Development with an AirNow API

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dye, T.; White, J. E.; Ludewig, S. A.; Dickerson, P.; Healy, A. N.; West, J. W.; Prince, L. A.

    2013-12-01

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) AirNow program works with over 130 participating state, local, and federal air quality agencies to obtain, quality control, and store real-time air quality observations and forecasts. From these data, the AirNow system generates thousands of maps and products each hour. Each day, information from AirNow is published online and in other media to assist the public in making health-based decisions related to air quality. However, an increasing number of people use mobile devices as their primary tool for obtaining information, and AirNow has responded to this trend by publishing an easy-to-use Web API that is useful for mobile app developers. This presentation will describe the various features of the AirNow application programming interface (API), including Representational State Transfer (REST)-type web services, file outputs, and RSS feeds. In addition, a web portal for the AirNow API will be shown, including documentation on use of the system, a query tool for configuring and running web services, and general information about the air quality data and forecasts available. Data published via the AirNow API includes corresponding Air Quality Index (AQI) levels for each pollutant. We will highlight examples of mobile apps that are using the AirNow API to provide location-based, real-time air quality information. Examples will include mobile apps developed for Minnesota ('Minnesota Air') and Washington, D.C. ('Clean Air Partners Air Quality'), and an app developed by EPA ('EPA AirNow').

  5. SIMULATION OF SULFATE AEROSOL IN EAST ASIA USING MODELS-3/CMAQ WITH RAMS METEOROLOGICAL DATA

    EPA Science Inventory

    The present study attempts to address a few challenges in utilizing the flexibility of the Models-3 Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system. We apply the CMAQ system with the meteorological data provided by the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) and to a...

  6. Short-Term Mortality Rates during a Decade of Improved Air Quality in Erfurt, Germany

    PubMed Central

    Breitner, Susanne; Stölzel, Matthias; Cyrys, Josef; Pitz, Mike; Wölke, Gabriele; Kreyling, Wolfgang; Küchenhoff, Helmut; Heinrich, Joachim; Wichmann, H.-Erich; Peters, Annette

    2009-01-01

    Background Numerous studies have shown associations between ambient air pollution and daily mortality. Objectives Our goal was to investigate the association of ambient air pollution and daily mortality in Erfurt, Germany, over a 10.5-year period after the German unification, when air quality improved. Methods We obtained daily mortality counts and data on mass concentrations of particulate matter (PM) < 10 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM10), gaseous pollutants, and meteorology in Erfurt between October 1991 and March 2002. We obtained ultrafine particle number concentrations (UFP) and mass concentrations of PM < 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) from September 1995 to March 2002. We analyzed the data using semiparametric Poisson regression models adjusting for trend, seasonality, influenza epidemics, day of the week, and meteorology. We evaluated cumulative associations between air pollution and mortality using polynomial distributed lag (PDL) models and multiday moving averages of air pollutants. We evaluated changes in the associations over time in time-varying coefficient models. Results Air pollution concentrations decreased over the study period. Cumulative exposure to UFP was associated with increased mortality. An interquartile range (IQR) increase in the 15-day cumulative mean UFP of 7,649 cm−3 was associated with a relative risk (RR) of 1.060 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.008–1.114] for PDL models and an RR/IQR of 1.055 (95% CI, 1.011–1.101) for moving averages. RRs decreased from the mid-1990s to the late 1990s. Conclusion Results indicate an elevated mortality risk from short-term exposure to UFP. They further suggest that RRs for short-term associations of air pollution decreased as pollution control measures were implemented in Eastern Germany. PMID:19337521

  7. A computerized system to measure and predict air quality for emission control

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Crooks, G.; Ciccone, A.; Frattolillo, P.

    1997-12-31

    A Supplementary Emission Control (SEC) system has been developed on behalf of the Association Industrielle de l`Est de Montreal (AIEM). The objective of the SEC is to avoid exceedences of the Montreal Urban Community (MUC) 24 hour ambient Air Quality Standard (AQS) for sulphur dioxide in the industrial East Montreal area. The SEC system is comprised of: 3 continuous SO{sub 2} monitoring stations with data loggers and remote communications; a meteorological tower with data logger and modem for acquiring local meteorology; communications with Environment Canada to download meteorological forecast data; a polling PC for data retrieval; and Windows NT basedmore » software running on the AIEM computer server. The SEC software utilizes relational databases to store and maintain measured SO{sub 2} concentration data, emission data, as well as observed and forecast meteorological data. The SEC system automatically executes a numerical dispersion model to forecast SO{sub 2} concentrations up to six hours in the future. Based on measured SO{sub 2} concentrations at the monitoring stations and the six hour forecast concentrations, the system determines if local sources should reduce their emission levels to avoid potential exceedences of the AQS. The SEC system also includes a Graphical User Interface (GUI) for user access to the system. The SEC system and software are described, and the accuracy of the system at forecasting SO{sub 2} concentrations is examined.« less

  8. Warm Dry Weather Conditions Cause of 2016 Fort McMurray Wild Forest Fire and Associated Air Quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    de Azevedo, S. C.; Singh, R. P.; da Silva, E. A., Sr.

    2016-12-01

    The climate change is evident from the increasing temperature around the world, day to day life and increasing frequency of natural hazards. The warm and dry conditions are the cause of frequent forest fires around the globe. Forest fires severely affect the air quality and human health. Multi sensor satellites and dense network of ground stations provide information about vegetation health, meteorological, air quality and atmospheric parameters. We have carried out detailed analysis of satellite and ground data of wild forest fire that occurred in May 2016 in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. This wild forest fire destroyed 10 per cent of Fort McMurray's housing and forced more than 90,000 people to evacuate the surrounding areas. Our results show that the warm and dry conditions with low rainfall were the cause of Fort McMurray wild fire. The air quality parameters (particulate matter, CO, ozone, NO2, methane) and greenhouse gases measured from Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) satellite show enhanced levels soon after the forest fire. The emissions from the forest fire affected health of population living in surrounding areas up to 300 km radius.

  9. Effects of Northern Hemisphere Sea Surface Temperature Changes on the Global Air Quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Yi, K.; Liu, J.

    2017-12-01

    The roles of regional sea surface temperature (SST) variability on modulating the climate system and consequently the air quality are investigated using the Community Earth System Model (CESM). Idealized, spatially uniform SST anomalies of +/- 1 °C are superimposed onto the North Pacific, North Atlantic, and North Indian Oceans individually. Ignoring the response of natural emissions, our simulations suggest large seasonal and regional variability of surface O3 and PM2.5 concentrations in response to SST anomalies, especially during boreal summers. Increasing the SST by 1 °C in one of the oceans generally decreases the surface O3 concentrations from 1 to 5 ppbv while increases the anthropogenic PM2.5 concentrations from 0.5 to 3 µg m-3. We implement the integrated process rate (IPR) analysis in CESM and find that meteorological transport in response to SST changes is the key process causing air pollutant perturbations in most cases. During boreal summers, the increase in tropical SST over different ocean basins enhances deep convection, which significantly increases the air temperature over the upper troposphere and trigger large-scale subsidence over nearby and remote regions. These processes tend to increase tropospheric stability and suppress rainfall at lower mid-latitudes. Consequently, it reduces the vertical transport of O3 to the surface while facilitating the accumulation of PM2.5 concentrations over most regions. In addition, this regional SST warming may also considerably suppress intercontinental transport of air pollution as confirmed with idealized CO-like tracers. Our findings indicate a robust linkage between basin-scale SST variability and regional air quality, which can help local air quality management.

  10. Application of an integrated Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)/CALPUFF modeling tool for source apportionment of atmospheric pollutants for air quality management: A case study in the urban area of Benxi, China.

    PubMed

    Wu, Hao; Zhang, Yan; Yu, Qi; Ma, Weichun

    2018-04-01

    In this study, the authors endeavored to develop an effective framework for improving local urban air quality on meso-micro scales in cities in China that are experiencing rapid urbanization. Within this framework, the integrated Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)/CALPUFF modeling system was applied to simulate the concentration distributions of typical pollutants (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter <10 μm [PM 10 ], sulfur dioxide [SO 2 ], and nitrogen oxides [NO x ]) in the urban area of Benxi. Statistical analyses were performed to verify the credibility of this simulation, including the meteorological fields and concentration fields. The sources were then categorized using two different classification methods (the district-based and type-based methods), and the contributions to the pollutant concentrations from each source category were computed to provide a basis for appropriate control measures. The statistical indexes showed that CALMET had sufficient ability to predict the meteorological conditions, such as the wind fields and temperatures, which provided meteorological data for the subsequent CALPUFF run. The simulated concentrations from CALPUFF showed considerable agreement with the observed values but were generally underestimated. The spatial-temporal concentration pattern revealed that the maximum concentrations tended to appear in the urban centers and during the winter. In terms of their contributions to pollutant concentrations, the districts of Xihu, Pingshan, and Mingshan all affected the urban air quality to different degrees. According to the type-based classification, which categorized the pollution sources as belonging to the Bengang Group, large point sources, small point sources, and area sources, the source apportionment showed that the Bengang Group, the large point sources, and the area sources had considerable impacts on urban air quality. Finally, combined with the industrial characteristics, detailed control measures

  11. Toward Obtaining Reliable Particulate Air Quality Information from Satellites

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Strawa, A. W.; Chatfield, R. B.; Legg, M.; Esswein, R.; Justice, E.

    2009-12-01

    Air quality agencies use ground sites to monitor air quality, providing accurate information at particular points. Using measurements from satellite imagery has the potential to provide air quality information in a timely manner with better spatial resolution and at a lower cost that can also useful for model validation. While previous studies show acceptable correlations between Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) derived from MODIS and surface Particulate Matter (PM) measurements on the eastern US, the data do not correlate well in the western US (Al-Saadi et al., 2005; Engle-Cox et al., 2004) . This paper seeks to improve the AOD-PM correlations by using advanced statistical analysis techniques. Our study area is the San Joaquin Valley in California because air quality in this region has failed to meet state and federal attainment standards for PM for the past several years. A previous investigation found good correlation of the AOD values between MODIS, MISR and AERONET, but poor correlations (R2 ~ 0.02) between satellite-based AOD and surface PM2.5 measurements. PM2.5 measurements correlated somewhat better (R2 ~ 0.18) with MODIS-derived AOD using the Deep Blue surface reflectance algorithm (Hsu et al., 2006) rather than the standard MODIS algorithm. This level of correlation is not adequate for reliable air quality measurements. Pelletier et al. (2007) used generalized additive models (GAMs) and meteorological data to improve the correlation between PM and AERONET AOD in western Europe. Additive models are more flexible than linear models and the functional relationships can be plotted to give a sense of the relationship between the predictor and the response. In this paper we use GAMs to improve surface PM2.5 to MODIS-AOD correlations. For example, we achieve an R2 ~ 0.44 using a GAM that includes the Deep Blue AOD, and day of year as parameters. Including NOx observations, improves the R2 ~ 0.64. Surprisingly Ångström exponent did not prove to be a significant

  12. Air Quality Management Process Cycle

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Air quality management are activities a regulatory authority undertakes to protect human health and the environment from the harmful effects of air pollution. The process of managing air quality can be illustrated as a cycle of inter-related elements.

  13. Air Quality Modeling

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    In this technical support document (TSD) EPA describes the air quality modeling performed to support the Environmental Protection Agency’s Transport Rule proposal (now known as the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule).

  14. [Air quality surveillance in France].

    PubMed

    Téton, S; Robin, D; Genève, C

    2009-10-01

    As air quality has a direct impact on human health, its monitoring is imperative. In France, this task was entrusted by the government (Air Law of 1996) to organisations with territorial responsibility: the Registered Associations for the Surveillance of Air Quality. The type and level of pollution evolve: from industrial and sulphur pollution in the seventies, to urban and photochemical pollution today and to nanoparticles, pesticides and pollutants in buildings tomorrow. The tools, the skills and the roles of the different people involved in air quality control follow these sometimes rapid transitions in connection with an increasingly precise understanding of the relationship between health and the environment and of the considerable research on the subject. This article describes the mechanisms of air quality monitoring in France.

  15. Process air quality data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Butler, C. M.; Hogge, J. E.

    1978-01-01

    Air quality sampling was conducted. Data for air quality parameters, recorded on written forms, punched cards or magnetic tape, are available for 1972 through 1975. Computer software was developed to (1) calculate several daily statistical measures of location, (2) plot time histories of data or the calculated daily statistics, (3) calculate simple correlation coefficients, and (4) plot scatter diagrams. Computer software was developed for processing air quality data to include time series analysis and goodness of fit tests. Computer software was developed to (1) calculate a larger number of daily statistical measures of location, and a number of daily monthly and yearly measures of location, dispersion, skewness and kurtosis, (2) decompose the extended time series model and (3) perform some goodness of fit tests. The computer program is described, documented and illustrated by examples. Recommendations are made for continuation of the development of research on processing air quality data.

  16. 32 CFR 989.30 - Air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 6 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Air quality. 989.30 Section 989.30 National... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.30 Air quality. Section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act..., Air Quality Compliance. 10 10 See footnote 1 to § 989.1. ...

  17. 32 CFR 989.30 - Air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 6 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Air quality. 989.30 Section 989.30 National... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.30 Air quality. Section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act..., Air Quality Compliance. 10 10 See footnote 1 to § 989.1. ...

  18. 32 CFR 989.30 - Air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 6 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Air quality. 989.30 Section 989.30 National... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.30 Air quality. Section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act..., Air Quality Compliance. 10 10 See footnote 1 to § 989.1. ...

  19. 32 CFR 989.30 - Air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 6 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Air quality. 989.30 Section 989.30 National... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.30 Air quality. Section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act..., Air Quality Compliance. 10 10 See footnote 1 to § 989.1. ...

  20. 32 CFR 989.30 - Air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 32 National Defense 6 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Air quality. 989.30 Section 989.30 National... ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS PROCESS (EIAP) § 989.30 Air quality. Section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act..., Air Quality Compliance. 10 10 See footnote 1 to § 989.1. ...

  1. Air Quality System (AQS) Metadata

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency compiles air quality monitoring data in the Air Quality System (AQS). Ambient air concentrations are measured at a national network of more than 4,000 monitoring stations and are reported by state, local, and tribal

  2. EVALUATING THE PERFORMANCE OF REGIONAL-SCALE PHOTOCHEMICAL MODELING SYSTEMS: PART I--METEOROLOGICAL PREDICTIONS. (R825260)

    EPA Science Inventory

    In this study, the concept of scale analysis is applied to evaluate two state-of-science meteorological models, namely MM5 and RAMS3b, currently being used to drive regional-scale air quality models. To this end, seasonal time series of observations and predictions for temperatur...

  3. Modeling study of biomass burning plumes and their impact on urban air quality; a case study of Santiago de Chile

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Cuchiara, Gustavo C.; Rappenglück, Bernhard; Angelica Rubio, Maria; Lissi, Eduardo; Gramsch, Ernesto; Garreaud, Rene D.

    2017-04-01

    Wildfires are a significant direct source of atmospheric pollutants; on a global scale biomass burning is believed to be the largest source of primary fine particles in the atmosphere and the second largest source of trace gases after anthropogenic emission sources. During the summer of 2014, an intense forest and dry pasture wildfire occurred nearby the city of Santiago de Chile. The biomass-burning plume was transported towards the metropolitan area of Santiago and exacerbated the air quality in this region. In this study, we investigated this wildfire event using a forward plume-rise and a chemistry (WRF/Chem) simulation. These data sets provided an opportunity to validate a regional air-quality simulation over Santiago, and a unique case to assess the performance of biomass burning plume modeling in complex topography and validated against an established air quality network. The results from both meteorological and air quality models provide insights about the transport of biomass-burning plumes from the wildfire region towards the metropolitan region of Santiago de Chile. We studied a seven-day period between January 01-07, 2014, and the impact of biomass burning plume emissions estimated by Fire Inventory from NCAR version 1 (FINNv1) on the air quality of Santiago de Chile.

  4. Air Quality Analysis

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    This site provides information for air quality data analysts inside and outside EPA. Much of the information is in the form of documented analyses that support the review of the national air qualiyt standards.

  5. Effects of some air pollutants and meteorological conditions on airborne algae and protozoa

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Smith, P.E.

    1973-10-01

    The effects of meteorological conditions and specific air pollutants on the viability of airborne algae and protozoa were investigated. Such investigations will be of interest to medical researchers because these organisms are the source of many allergies. The three air pollutants that were continuously measured and recorded were sulfur, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter. During the experiment, 25 different species of algae and 19 species of protozoa were collected from the atmosphere and cultured at the Westinghouse environmental Station Laboratory in Raleigh, North Carolina. The algae and protozoa were collected over a one-year period (Jan-Dec 1971) by using a sequential samplermore » that moved air through a membrane filter at the rate of 15 ft/sup 3//hr. Every two hours a new filter was sequentially moved in to replace the old one. The results indicated a relationship between wind speed, wind direction, temperature, dewpoint, particulate matter, barometric pressure, and rainfall to the percent frequency of positive culture tubes and number of cell/ft/sup 3/ of air. Further studies are necessary to determine the interrelationships between the physical and chemical character of various air masses and their effect on the survival of algae and protozoa.« less

  6. NASA Earth Observation Systems and Applications for Public Health and Air Quality Models and Decisions Support

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Estes, Sue; Haynes, John; Omar, Ali

    2013-01-01

    Health and Air Quality providers and researchers need environmental data to study and understand the geographic, environmental, and meteorological differences in disease. Satellite remote sensing of the environment offers a unique vantage point that can fill in the gaps of environmental, spatial, and temporal data for tracking disease. This presentation will demonstrate the need for collaborations between multi-disciplinary research groups to develop the full potential of utilizing Earth Observations in studying health. Satellite earth observations present a unique vantage point of the earth's environment from space, which offers a wealth of health applications for the imaginative investigator. The presentation is directly related to Earth Observing systems and Global Health Surveillance and will present research results of the remote sensing environmental observations of earth and health applications, which can contribute to the public health and air quality research. As part of NASA approach and methodology they have used Earth Observation Systems and Applications for Public Health and Air Quality Models to provide a method for bridging gaps of environmental, spatial, and temporal data for tracking disease. This presentation will provide an overview of projects dealing with infectious diseases, water borne diseases and air quality and how many environmental variables effect human health. This presentation will provide a venue where the results of both research and practice using satellite earth observations to study weather and it's role in public health research.

  7. NASA Earth Observation Systems and Applications for Public Health and Air Quality Models and Decisions Support

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Estes, Sue; Haynes, John; Omar, Ali

    2012-01-01

    Health and Air Quality providers and researchers need environmental data to study and understand the geographic, environmental, and meteorological differences in disease. Satellite remote sensing of the environment offers a unique vantage point that can fill in the gaps of environmental, spatial, and temporal data for tracking disease. This presentation will demonstrate the need for collaborations between multi-disciplinary research groups to develop the full potential of utilizing Earth Observations in studying health. Satellite earth observations present a unique vantage point of the earth's environment from space, which offers a wealth of health applications for the imaginative investigator. The presentation is directly related to Earth Observing systems and Global Health Surveillance and will present research results of the remote sensing environmental observations of earth and health applications, which can contribute to the public health and air quality research. As part of NASA approach and methodology they have used Earth Observation Systems and Applications for Public Health and Air Quality Models to provide a method for bridging gaps of environmental, spatial, and temporal data for tracking disease. This presentation will provide an overview of projects dealing with infectious diseases, water borne diseases and air quality and how many environmental variables effect human health. This presentation will provide a venue where the results of both research and practice using satellite earth observations to study weather and it's role in public health research.

  8. Examining Air Quality-Meteorology Interactions on Regional to Hemispheric Scales

    EPA Science Inventory

    This presentation provides motivation for coupling the atmospheric dynamics and chemistry calculations in air pollution modeling systems, provides an overview of how this coupling is achieved in the WRF-CMAQ 2-way coupled model, presents results from various applications of the m...

  9. Improving and monitoring air quality.

    PubMed

    DuPont, André

    2018-05-01

    Since the authorization of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, the air quality in the USA has significantly improved because of strong public support. The lessons learned over the last 25 years are being shared with the policy analysts, technical professionals, and scientist who endeavor to improve air quality in their communities. This paper will review how the USA has achieved the "high" standard of air quality that was envisioned in the early 1990s. This document will describe SO 2 gas emission reduction technology and highlight operation of emission monitoring technology. This paper describes the basic process operation of an air pollution control scrubber. A technical review of measures required to operate and maintain a large-scale pollution control system will be described. Also, the author explains how quality assurance procedures in performance of continuous emission monitoring plays a significant role in reducing air pollution.

  10. Spatial assessment of air quality patterns in Malaysia using multivariate analysis

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Dominick, Doreena; Juahir, Hafizan; Latif, Mohd Talib; Zain, Sharifuddin M.; Aris, Ahmad Zaharin

    2012-12-01

    This study aims to investigate possible sources of air pollutants and the spatial patterns within the eight selected Malaysian air monitoring stations based on a two-year database (2008-2009). The multivariate analysis was applied on the dataset. It incorporated Hierarchical Agglomerative Cluster Analysis (HACA) to access the spatial patterns, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to determine the major sources of the air pollution and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) to assess the percentage contribution of each air pollutant. The HACA results grouped the eight monitoring stations into three different clusters, based on the characteristics of the air pollutants and meteorological parameters. The PCA analysis showed that the major sources of air pollution were emissions from motor vehicles, aircraft, industries and areas of high population density. The MLR analysis demonstrated that the main pollutant contributing to variability in the Air Pollutant Index (API) at all stations was particulate matter with a diameter of less than 10 μm (PM10). Further MLR analysis showed that the main air pollutant influencing the high concentration of PM10 was carbon monoxide (CO). This was due to combustion processes, particularly originating from motor vehicles. Meteorological factors such as ambient temperature, wind speed and humidity were also noted to influence the concentration of PM10.

  11. Performance of WRF for Simulation of Mesoscale Meteorological Characteristics for Air Quality Assessment over Tropical Coastal City, Chennai

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Madala, Srikanth; Srinivas, C. V.; Satyanarayana, A. N. V.

    2018-01-01

    The land-sea breezes (LSBs) play an important role in transporting air pollution from urban areas on the coast. In this study, the Advanced Research WRF (ARW) mesoscale model is used for predicting boundary layer features to understand the transport of pollution in different seasons over the coastal region of Chennai in Southern India. Sensitivity experiments are conducted with two non-local [Yonsei University (YSU) and Asymmetric Convective Model version 2 (ACM2)] and three turbulence kinetic energy (TKE) closure [Mellor-Yamada-Nakanishi and Niino Level 2.5 (MYNN2) and Mellor-Yamada-Janjic (MYJ) and quasi-normal scale elimination (QNSE)], planetary boundary layer (PBL) parameterization schemes for simulating the thermodynamic structure, and low-level atmospheric flow in different seasons. Comparison of simulations with observations from a global positioning system (GPS) radiosonde, meteorological tower, automated weather stations, and Doppler weather radar (DWR)-derived wind data reveals that the characteristics of LSBs vary widely in different seasons and are more prominent during the pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons (March-September) with large horizontal and vertical extents compared to the post-monsoon and winter seasons. The qualitative and quantitative results indicate that simulations with ACM2 followed by MYNN2 and YSU produced various features of the LSBs, boundary layer parameters and the thermo-dynamical structure in better agreement with observations than other tested physical parameterization schemes. Simulations revealed seasonal variation of onset time, vertical extent of LSBs, and mixed layer depth, which would influence the air pollution dispersion in different seasons over the study region.

  12. Singapore Haze in June 2013: Consequences of Land-Use Change, Fires, and Anomalous Meteorology for Air Quality in Equatorial Asia

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Koplitz, S.; Mickley, L. J.; Jacob, D. J.; Kim, P. S.; DeFries, R. S.; Marlier, M. E.; Schwartz, J.; Buonocore, J.; Myers, S. S.

    2014-12-01

    Much of Equatorial Asia is currently undergoing extensive burning from agricultural fires and rapid land-use conversion to oil palm plantations, with substantial consequences for air quality and health. In June 2013, Singapore experienced severe smoke levels, with surface particulate matter concentrations greater than ten times average. Unlike past haze events in Singapore (e.g. September 1997 and October 2006), the June 2013 pollution event occurred during El Nino-neutral conditions. Using a combination of observations and chemical transport modeling, we examine relationships between sea surface temperatures, wind fields, fire patterns, and aerosol optical depth during the June 2013 haze event. We find reasonable agreement between satellite measurements of aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the MODIS and MISR instruments and in-situ measurements from the AERONET stations across Equatorial Asia for 2005-2010 (MODIS R2 = 0.39, bias = -1.6%; MISR R2 = 0.27, bias = -42%). However, AOD observations fail to capture the Singapore pollution event of June 2013. Simulations with the GEOS-Chem model suggest that anomalously high dust concentrations during June 2013 may have impaired the ability of MODIS to monitor the haze over Singapore. In contrast, we show that the OMI Aerosol Index can effectively capture these smoke events and may be used to monitor future haze episodes in Equatorial Asia. We find that the June 2013 haze in Singapore may be attributed to anomalously strong westerlies carrying smoke from Riau Province in Indonesia. These westerlies, 5 m s-1 faster than the 2005-2010 mean June winds, are consistent with the phase of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) crossing the Maritime Continent at that time. These westerlies may have been further enhanced by a negative phase of the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD), an east-west gradient in sea surface temperature anomalies across the Indian Ocean, with cold sea surface temperature anomalies (-3 C°) off the Arabian coast and

  13. Study of temporal variation in ambient air quality during Diwali festival in India.

    PubMed

    Singh, D P; Gadi, Ranu; Mandal, T K; Dixit, C K; Singh, Khem; Saud, T; Singh, Nahar; Gupta, Prabhat K

    2010-10-01

    The variation in air quality was assessed from the ambient concentrations of various air pollutants [total suspended particle (TSP), particulate matter < or =10 microm (PM(10)), SO(2), and NO(2)] for pre-Diwali, Diwali festival, post-Diwali, and foggy day (October, November, and December), Delhi (India), from 2002 to 2007. The extensive use of fireworks was found to be related to short-term variation in air quality. During the festival, TSP is almost of the same order as compared to the concentration at an industrial site in Delhi in all the years. However, the concentrations of PM(10), SO(2), and NO(2) increased two to six times during the Diwali period when compared to the data reported for an industrial site. Similar trend was observed when the concentrations of pollutants were compared with values obtained for a typical foggy day each year in December. The levels of these pollutants observed during Diwali were found to be higher due to adverse meteorological conditions, i.e., decrease in 24 h average mixing height, temperature, and wind speed. The trend analysis shows that TSP, PM(10), NO(2), and SO(2) concentration increased just before Diwali and reached to a maximum concentration on the day of the festival. The values gradually decreased after the festival. On Diwali day, 24-h values for TSP and PM(10) in all the years from 2002 to 2007 and for NO(2) in 2004 and 2007 were found to be higher than prescribed limits of National Ambient Air Quality Standards and exceptionally high (3.6 times) for PM(10) in 2007. These results indicate that fireworks during the Diwali festival affected the ambient air quality adversely due to emission and accumulation of TSP, PM(10), SO(2), and NO(2).

  14. TEMPORAL FEATURES IN OBSERVED AND SIMULATED METEOROLOGY AND AIR QUALITY OVER THE EASTERN UNITED STATES

    EPA Science Inventory

    In this study, temporal scale analysis is applied as a technique to evaluate an annual simulation of meteorology, O3, and PM2.5 and its chemical components over the continental U.S. utilizing two modeling systems. It is illustrated that correlations were ins...

  15. The effects of meteorological factors on the occurrence of Ganoderma sp. spores in the air

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Grinn-Gofroń, Agnieszka; Strzelczak, Agnieszka

    2011-03-01

    Ganoderma sp. is an airborne fungal spore type known to trigger respiratory allergy symptoms in sensitive patients. Aiming to reduce the risk for allergic individuals, we analysed fungal spore circulation in Szczecin, Poland, and its dependence on meteorological conditions. Statistical models for the airborne spore concentrations of Ganoderma sp.—one of the most abundant fungal taxa in the area—were developed. Aerobiological sampling was conducted over 2004-2008 using a volumetric Lanzoni trap. Simultaneously, the following meteorological parameters were recorded: daily level of precipitation, maximum and average wind speed, relative humidity and maximum, minimum, average and dew point temperatures. These data were used as the explaining variables. Due to the non-linearity and non-normality of the data set, the applied modelling techniques were artificial neural networks (ANN) and mutlivariate regression trees (MRT). The obtained classification and MRT models predicted threshold conditions above which Ganoderma sp. appeared in the air. It turned out that dew point temperature was the main factor influencing the presence or absence of Ganoderma sp. spores. Further analysis of spore seasons revealed that the airborne fungal spore concentration depended only slightly on meteorological factors.

  16. Indoor Air Quality in Schools.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Torres, Vincent M.

    Asserting that the air quality inside schools is often worse than outdoor pollution, leading to various health complaints and loss of productivity, this paper details factors contributing to schools' indoor air quality. These include the design, operation, and maintenance of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems; building…

  17. Air quality assessment in the periurban area of Mexico Megacity during dry hot season in 2011 and 2012

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Garcia-Reynoso, Agustin; Santos Garcia-Yee, Jose; Barrera-Huertas, Hugo; Gerardo Ruiz-Suárez, Luis

    2016-04-01

    Air quality is a human health threat not only in urbanized areas, it also affects the surrounding zones. Interaction between urban and rural areas can be evaluated by measurements and using models for regional areas that includes in its domain the peri-urban regions. The use of monitoring sites in remote areas is useful however it is not possible to cover all the region the use of models can provide valuable information about the source and fate of the pollution and its transformation. In order to evaluate the influence of the Mexico Megacity in the air quality of the region, two field campaigns were performed during the dry hot season during 2011 and 2012. Meterological and pollutant measurements were made during February and march 2011, in three sites towards the south east of Mexico Megacity, and from march to April 2012 towards the west after the Popocatepetl-Iztaccihuatl mountain range. Air quality modeling were performed by using the National Emissions Inventory 2008 during the studied periods, a comparison between measurements and the air quality model was performed. This type of studies can offer information about the pollutant distribution, the meteorological conditions and the exactness of emissions inventories. The latest can be useful for emissions inventory developers and policy makers.

  18. Identifying Meteorological Controls on Open and Closed Mesoscale Cellular Convection Associated with Marine Cold Air Outbreaks

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McCoy, Isabel L.; Wood, Robert; Fletcher, Jennifer K.

    2017-11-01

    Mesoscale cellular convective (MCC) clouds occur in large-scale patterns over the ocean and have important radiative effects on the climate system. An examination of time-varying meteorological conditions associated with satellite-observed open and closed MCC clouds is conducted to illustrate the influence of large-scale meteorological conditions. Marine cold air outbreaks (MCAO) influence the development of open MCC clouds and the transition from closed to open MCC clouds. MCC neural network classifications on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data for 2008 are collocated with Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) data and ERA-Interim reanalysis to determine the radiative effects of MCC clouds and their thermodynamic environments. Closed MCC clouds are found to have much higher albedo on average than open MCC clouds for the same cloud fraction. Three meteorological control metrics are tested: sea-air temperature difference (ΔT), estimated inversion strength (EIS), and a MCAO index (M). These predictive metrics illustrate the importance of atmospheric surface forcing and static stability for open and closed MCC cloud formation. Predictive sigmoidal relations are found between M and MCC cloud frequency globally and regionally: negative for closed MCC cloud and positive for open MCC cloud. The open MCC cloud seasonal cycle is well correlated with M, while the seasonality of closed MCC clouds is well correlated with M in the midlatitudes and EIS in the tropics and subtropics. M is found to best distinguish open and closed MCC clouds on average over shorter time scales. The possibility of a MCC cloud feedback is discussed.

  19. Relief, nocturnal cold-air flow and air quality in Kigali, Rwanda

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Henninger, Sascha

    2013-04-01

    Kigali, the capital of the Equatorial African country Rwanda, indicates a fast growing population. This fact and the coherent rising rate of motorization are a reason for a sustainable degradation of the urban air quality. Poorly maintained old mopeds, motorcycles and vehicles cause an increasing concentration of different air pollutants. Apart from the traffic emissions there is another source of air pollution: the usage of simple stoves and open fireplaces. Burning wood, kerosene or dung for domestic energy, cooking and household chores produces a lot of emission, in- and outdoors. Kigali shows a distinctive relief, situated in the Central Highlands of Rwanda. The main business and residential districts are on top of the ridges, which are enclosed by small valleys called "Marais". The lack of space forces more and more people to settle along the slopes and on the bottom of the hills. Though the existence of air pollution depends on the spatial distribution and of course on the intensity of the sources. But pollution is not necessarily bound within the area of strongest emission. Topographical and meteorological conditions could have a very strong influence on the spatial distribution of air quality. This paper presents the results performed by stationary and mobile measurements between 2008 and 2012. Air temperature, air humidity, precipitation, wind speed and direction, carbon monoxide and suspended particulate matter (PM10) were measured at fixed stations within the urban area. CO and PM10 were additionally detected by mobile measurements using a car traverse, which started in the outskirts of Kigali following paved and unpaved roads through the urban area. A mixture of different types of land use composed the measuring route where different commercial, industrial, residential and mobile sources could be expected. Although highest levels of concentration were measured in areas with paved roads in business and commercial areas with the highest traffic rates

  20. How To...Activities in Meteorology.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nimmer, Donald N.; Sagness, Richard L.

    This series of experiments seeks to provide laboratory exercises which demonstrate concepts in Earth Science, particularly meteorology. Materials used in the experiments are easily obtainable. Examples of experiments include: (1) making a thermometer; (2) air/space relationship; (3) weight of air; (4) barometers; (5) particulates; (6) evaporation;…

  1. Source apportionment analysis of air pollutants using CMAQ/BFM for national air quality management policy over Republic of Korea.

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Moon, N.; Kim, S.; Seo, J.; Lee, Y. J.

    2017-12-01

    Recently, the Korean government is focusing on solving air pollution problem such as fine particulate matter and ozone. Korea has high population density and concentrated industrial complex in its limited land space. For better air quality management, it is important to understand source and contribution relation to target pollutant. The air quality analysis representing the mutual contribution among the local regions enables to understand the substantive state of the air quality of a region in association with neighboring regions. Under this background, the source apportionment of PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2, SO2 using WRF and CMAQ/BFM was analyzed over Korea and BFM was applied to mobile, area and point sources in each local government. The contribution rate from neighboring region showed different pattern for each pollutant. In case of primary pollutants such as NO2, SO2, local source contribution is dominant, on the other hand secondary pollutants case especially O3, contribution from neighboring region is higher than that from source region itself. Local source contribution to PM10 showed 20-25% and the contribution rate to O3 has big difference with different meteorological condition year after year. From this study, we tried to estimate the conversion rate between source (NOx, VOC, SO2, NH3, PMC, PM2.5, CO) and concentration (PM10, PM2.5, O3, NO2, SO2,) by regional group over Korea. The result can contribute to the decision-making process of important national planning related to large-scale industrial developments and energy supply policies (eg., operations of coal-fired power plants and diesel cars) and emission control plan, where many controversies and concerns are currently concentrated among local governments in Korea. With this kind of approach, various environmental and social problems related to air quality can also be identified early so that a sustainable and environmentally sound plan can be established by providing data infrastructures to be utilized

  2. 77 FR 52277 - Approval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; California; South Coast Air Quality Management...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-08-29

    ... Quality Implementation Plans; California; South Coast Air Quality Management District; Prevention of... rule. SUMMARY: EPA is proposing approval of a permitting rule submitted for the South Coast Air Quality Management District (District) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). The State is...

  3. Modeling green infrastructure land use changes on future air ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Green infrastructure can be a cost-effective approach for reducing stormwater runoff and improving water quality as a result, but it could also bring co-benefits for air quality: less impervious surfaces and more vegetation can decrease the urban heat island effect, and also result in more removal of air pollutants via dry deposition with increased vegetative surfaces. Cooler surface temperatures can also decrease ozone formation through the increases of NOx titration; however, cooler surface temperatures also lower the height of the boundary layer resulting in more concentrated pollutants within the same volume of air, especially for primary emitted pollutants (e.g. NOx, CO, primary particulate matter). To better understand how green infrastructure impacts air quality, the interactions between all of these processes must be considered collectively. In this study, we use a comprehensive coupled meteorology-air quality model (WRF-CMAQ) to simulate the influence of planned land use changes that include green infrastructure in Kansas City (KC) on regional meteorology and air quality. Current and future land use data was provided by the Mid-America Regional Council for 2012 and 2040 (projected land use due to population growth, city planning and green infrastructure implementation). These land use datasets were incorporated into the WRF-CMAQ modeling system allowing the modeling system to propagate the changes in vegetation and impervious surface coverage on meteoro

  4. Comparative Evaluation of the Impact of WRF-NMM and WRF-ARW Meteorology on CMAQ Simulations for O3 and Related Species During the 2006 TexAQS/GoMACCS Campaign

    EPA Science Inventory

    In this paper, impact of meteorology derived from the Weather, Research and Forecasting (WRF)– Non–hydrostatic Mesoscale Model (NMM) and WRF–Advanced Research WRF (ARW) meteorological models on the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) simulations for ozone and its related prec...

  5. Indoor Air Quality in Chemistry Laboratories.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hays, Steve M.

    This paper presents air quality and ventilation data from an existing chemical laboratory facility and discusses the work practice changes implemented in response to deficiencies in ventilation. General methods for improving air quality in existing laboratories are presented and investigation techniques for characterizing air quality are…

  6. Can commercial low-cost sensor platforms contribute to air quality monitoring and exposure estimates?

    PubMed

    Castell, Nuria; Dauge, Franck R; Schneider, Philipp; Vogt, Matthias; Lerner, Uri; Fishbain, Barak; Broday, David; Bartonova, Alena

    2017-02-01

    The emergence of low-cost, user-friendly and very compact air pollution platforms enable observations at high spatial resolution in near-real-time and provide new opportunities to simultaneously enhance existing monitoring systems, as well as engage citizens in active environmental monitoring. This provides a whole new set of capabilities in the assessment of human exposure to air pollution. However, the data generated by these platforms are often of questionable quality. We have conducted an exhaustive evaluation of 24 identical units of a commercial low-cost sensor platform against CEN (European Standardization Organization) reference analyzers, evaluating their measurement capability over time and a range of environmental conditions. Our results show that their performance varies spatially and temporally, as it depends on the atmospheric composition and the meteorological conditions. Our results show that the performance varies from unit to unit, which makes it necessary to examine the data quality of each node before its use. In general, guidance is lacking on how to test such sensor nodes and ensure adequate performance prior to marketing these platforms. We have implemented and tested diverse metrics in order to assess if the sensor can be employed for applications that require high accuracy (i.e., to meet the Data Quality Objectives defined in air quality legislation, epidemiological studies) or lower accuracy (i.e., to represent the pollution level on a coarse scale, for purposes such as awareness raising). Data quality is a pertinent concern, especially in citizen science applications, where citizens are collecting and interpreting the data. In general, while low-cost platforms present low accuracy for regulatory or health purposes they can provide relative and aggregated information about the observed air quality. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  7. Enhancing indoor air quality -The air filter advantage.

    PubMed

    Vijayan, Vannan Kandi; Paramesh, Haralappa; Salvi, Sundeep Santosh; Dalal, Alpa Anil Kumar

    2015-01-01

    Air pollution has become the world's single biggest environmental health risk, linked to around 7 million deaths in 2012 according to a recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report. The new data further reveals a stronger link between, indoor and outdoor air pollution exposure and cardiovascular diseases, such as strokes and ischemic heart disease, as well as between air pollution and cancer. The role of air pollution in the development of respiratory diseases, including acute respiratory infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, is well known. While both indoor and outdoor pollution affect health, recent statistics on the impact of household indoor pollutants (HAP) is alarming. The WHO factsheet on HAP and health states that 3.8 million premature deaths annually - including stroke, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer are attributed to exposure to household air pollution. Use of air cleaners and filters are one of the suggested strategies to improve indoor air quality. This review discusses the impact of air pollutants with special focus on indoor air pollutants and the benefits of air filters in improving indoor air quality.

  8. Colorado Air Quality Control Regulations and Ambient Air Quality Standards.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Colorado State Dept. of Health, Denver. Div. of Air Pollution Control.

    Regulations and standards relative to air quality control in Colorado are defined in this publication. Presented first are definitions of terms, a statement of intent, and general provisions applicable to all emission control regulations adopted by the Colorado Air Pollution Control Commission. Following this, three regulations are enumerated: (1)…

  9. Field assessment of the Village Green Project: an autonomous community air quality monitoring system.

    PubMed

    Jiao, Wan; Hagler, Gayle S W; Williams, Ronald W; Sharpe, Robert N; Weinstock, Lewis; Rice, Joann

    2015-05-19

    Continuous, long-term, and time-resolved measurement of outdoor air pollution has been limited by logistical hurdles and resource constraints. Measuring air pollution in more places is desired to address community concerns regarding local air quality impacts related to proximate sources, to provide data in areas lacking regional air monitoring altogether, or to support environmental awareness and education. This study integrated commercially available technologies to create the Village Green Project (VGP), a durable, solar-powered air monitoring park bench that measures real-time ozone, PM2.5, and meteorological parameters. The data are wirelessly transmitted via cellular modem to a server, where automated quality checks take place before data are provided to the public nearly instantaneously. Over 5500 h of data were successfully collected during the first ten months of pilot testing in Durham, North Carolina, with about 13 days (5.5%) of downtime because of low battery power. Additional data loss (4-14% depending on the measurement) was caused by infrequent wireless communication interruptions and instrument maintenance. The 94.5% operational time via solar power was within 1.5% of engineering calculations using historical solar data for the location. The performance of the VGP was evaluated by comparing the data to nearby air monitoring stations operating federal equivalent methods (FEM), which exhibited good agreement with the nearest benchmark FEMs for hourly ozone (r(2) = 0.79) and PM2.5 (r(2) = 0.76).

  10. Air quality impacts of implementing emission reduction strategies at southern California airports

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Benosa, Guillem; Zhu, Shupeng; Kinnon, Michael Mac; Dabdub, Donald

    2018-07-01

    Reducing aviation emissions will be a major concern in the coming years, as the relative contribution of aviation to overall emissions is projected to increase in the future. The South Coast Air Basin of California (SoCAB) is an extreme nonattainment area with many airports located upwind of the most polluted regions in the basin. Techniques to reduce aviation emissions have been studied in the past, and strategies that can be implemented at airports include taxi-out times reduction, ground support equipment electrification and aviation biofuel implementation. These strategies have been analyzed only at the national scale, their effectiveness to improve air quality within the SoCAB given the local meteorology and chemical regimes is unclear. This work studies how the adoption of the techniques at commercial SoCAB airports affect ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentrations. In addition, potential impacts on public exposure to PM2.5 and O3 resulting from changes in the concentration of these pollutants are estimated. In addition, the work calculates aviation emissions for each scenario and simulate the transport and atmospheric chemistry of the pollutants using the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. The simultaneous application of all reduction strategies is projected to reduce the aviation-attributable population weighted ground-level PM2.5 by 36% in summer and 32% in winter. On the other hand, O3 increases by 16% in winter. Occurring mostly in densely populated areas, the decrease in ground-level PM2.5 would have a positive health impact and help the region achieve attainment of national ambient air quality standards.

  11. Indoor Air Quality in Schools: Clean Air Is Good Business.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Guarneiri, Michele A.

    2003-01-01

    Describes the effect of poor indoor air quality (IAQ) on student health, the cost of safeguarding good IAQ, the cause of poor IAQ in schools, how to tell whether a school has an IAQ problem, and how the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency can help schools improve indoor air quality though the use of their free "Indoor Air Quality Tools for…

  12. Measurements and Modeling of The Air Pollution and The Meteorology On A Complex Topography Region: Case Study Grenoble 1998/1999

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Couach, O.; Balin, I.; Jimenez, R.; Quaglia, P.; Kirchner, F.; Ristori, P.; Simeonov, V.; Clappier, A.; van den Bergh, H.; Calpini, B.

    In order to understand, to predict and to elaborate solutions concerning the photo- chemical and meteorological processes, which occur often in the summer time over the Grenoble city and its three surroundings valleys, both modeling and measurement approaches were considered. Two intensive air pollution and meteorological measure- ments campaigns were performed in 1998 and 1999. Ozone (O3) and other pollutants (NOx, CH2O, SO2, etc) as well as wind, temperature, solar radiation and relative hu- midity were intensively measured at surface level combined with 3D measurements range by using: an instrumented aircraft (Metair), two ozone lidars (e.g. EPFL ozone dial lidar) and wind profilers (e.g.Degreane). This poster will focus on the main results of these measurements like the 3D ozone distribution, the mixing height/planetary boundary layer evolution, the meteorological behavior, and the other pollutants evalu- ation. The paper also highlights the use of these measurements as a necessary database for comparison and checking (validation) of the model performances and thus to allow modeling solutions in predicting the air pollution events and thus permitting to build the right abatement strategies.

  13. AICE Survey of USSR Air Pollution Literature, Volume 12: Technical Papers from the Leningrad International Symposium on the Meteorological Aspects of Atmospheric Pollution, Part I.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nuttonson, M. Y.

    Twelve papers dealing with the meteorological aspects of air pollution were translated. These papers were initially presented at an international symposium held in Leningrad during July 1968. The papers are: Status and prospective development of meteorological studies of atmospheric pollution, Effect of the stability of the atmosphere on the…

  14. Research and application of a novel hybrid air quality early-warning system: A case study in China.

    PubMed

    Li, Chen; Zhu, Zhijie

    2018-06-01

    As one of the most serious meteorological disasters in modern society, air pollution has received extensive attention from both citizens and decision-makers. With the complexity of pollution components and the uncertainty of prediction, it is both critical and challenging to construct an effective and practical early-warning system. In this paper, a novel hybrid air quality early-warning system for pollution contaminant monitoring and analysis was proposed. To improve the efficiency of the system, an advanced attribute selection method based on fuzzy evaluation and rough set theory was developed to select the main pollution contaminants for cities. Moreover, a hybrid model composed of the theory of "decomposition and ensemble", an extreme learning machine and an advanced heuristic algorithm was developed for pollution contaminant prediction; it provides deterministic and interval forecasting for tackling the uncertainty of future air quality. Daily pollution contaminants of six major cities in China were selected as a dataset to evaluate the practicality and effectiveness of the developed air quality early-warning system. The superior experimental performance determined by the values of several error indexes illustrated that the proposed early-warning system was of great effectiveness and efficiency. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  15. (?) The Air Force Geophysics Laboratory: Aeronomy, aerospace instrumentation, space physics, meteorology, terrestrial sciences and optical physics

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    McGinty, A. B.

    1982-04-01

    Contents: The Air Force Geophysics Laboratory; Aeronomy Division--Upper Atmosphere Composition, Middle Atmosphere Effects, Atmospheric UV Radiation, Satellite Accelerometer Density Measurement, Theoretical Density Studies, Chemical Transport Models, Turbulence and Forcing Functions, Atmospheric Ion Chemistry, Energy Budget Campaign, Kwajalein Reference Atmospheres, 1979, Satellite Studies of the Neutral Atmosphere, Satellite Studies of the Ionosphere, Aerospace Instrumentation Division--Sounding Rocket Program, Satellite Support, Rocket and Satellite Instrumentation; Space Physics Division--Solar Research, Solar Radio Research, Environmental Effects on Space Systems, Solar Proton Event Studies, Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, Ionospheric Effects Research, Spacecraft Charging Technology; Meteorology Division--Cloud Physics, Ground-Based Remote-Sensing Techniques, Mesoscale Observing and Forecasting, Design Climatology, Aircraft Icing Program, Atmospheric Dynamics; Terrestrial Sciences Division--Geodesy and Gravity, Geokinetics; Optical Physics Division--Atmospheric Transmission, Remote Sensing, INfrared Background; and Appendices.

  16. Impacts of 2000-2050 Climate Change on Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Air Quality in China Based on Statistical Projections Using an Ensemble of Global Climate Models

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Leung, D. M.; Tai, A. P. K.; Shen, L.; Moch, J. M.; van Donkelaar, A.; Mickley, L. J.

    2017-12-01

    Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) air quality is strongly dependent on not only on emissions but also meteorological conditions. Here we examine the dominant synoptic circulation patterns that control day-to-day PM2.5 variability over China. We perform principal component (PC) analysis on 1998-2016 NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis I daily meteorological fields to diagnose distinct synoptic meteorological modes, and perform PC regression on spatially interpolated 2014-2016 daily mean PM2.5 concentrations in China to identify modes dominantly explaining PM2.5 variability. We find that synoptic systems, e.g., cold-frontal passages, maritime inflow and frontal precipitation, can explain up to 40% of the day-to-day PM2.5 variability in major metropolitan regions in China. We further investigate how annually changing frequencies of synoptic systems, as well as changing local meteorology, drive interannual PM2.5 variability. We apply a spectral analysis on the PC time series to obtain the 1998-2016 annual median synoptic frequency, and use a forward-selection multiple linear regression (MLR) model of satellite-derived 1998-2015 annual mean PM2.5 concentrations on local meteorology and synoptic frequency, selecting predictors that explain the highest fraction of interannual PM2.5 variability while guarding against multicollinearity. To estimate the effect of climate change on future PM2.5 air quality, we project a multimodel ensemble of 15 CMIP5 models under the RCP8.5 scenario on the PM2.5-to-meteorology sensitivities derived for the present-day from the MLR model. Our results show that climate change could be responsible for increases in PM2.5 of more than 25 μg m-3 in northwestern China and 10 mg m-3 in northeastern China by the 2050s. Increases in synoptic frequency of cold-frontal passages cause only a modest 1 μg m-3 decrease in PM2.5 in North China Plain. Our analyses show that climate change imposes a significant penalty on air quality over China and poses serious threat on

  17. New Developments in Wildfire Pollution Forecasting at the Canadian Meteorological Centre

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Pavlovic, Radenko; Chen, Jack; Munoz-Alpizar, Rodrigo; Davignon, Didier; Beaulieu, Paul-Andre; Landry, Hugo; Menard, Sylvain; Gravel, Sylvie; Moran, Michael

    2017-04-01

    Environment and Climate Change Canada's air quality forecast system with near-real-time wildfire emissions, named FireWork, was developed in 2012 and has been run by the Canadian Meteorological Centre Operations division (CMCO) since 2013. In June 2016 this system was upgraded to operational status and wildfire smoke forecasts for North America are now available to the general public. FireWork's ability to model the transport and diffusion of wildfire smoke plumes has proved to be valuable to regional air quality forecasters and emergency first responders. Some of the most challenging issues with wildfire pollution modelling concern the production of wildfire emission estimates and near-source dispersion within the air quality model. As a consequence, FireWork is undergoing constant development. During the massive Fort McMurray wildfire event in western Canada in May 2016, for example, different wildfire emissions processing approaches and wildfire emissions injection and dispersion schemes were tested within the air quality model. Work on various FireWork components will continue in order to deliver a new operational version of the forecasting system for the 2017 wildfire season. Some of the proposed improvements will be shown in this presentation along with current and planned FireWork post-processing products.

  18. Impacts of potential CO2-reduction policies on air quality in the United States.

    PubMed

    Trail, Marcus A; Tsimpidi, Alexandra P; Liu, Peng; Tsigaridis, Kostas; Hu, Yongtao; Rudokas, Jason R; Miller, Paul J; Nenes, Athanasios; Russell, Armistead G

    2015-04-21

    Impacts of emissions changes from four potential U.S. CO2 emission reduction policies on 2050 air quality are analyzed using the community multiscale air quality model (CMAQ). Future meteorology was downscaled from the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) ModelE General Circulation Model (GCM) to the regional scale using the Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) model. We use emissions growth factors from the EPAUS9r MARKAL model to project emissions inventories for two climate tax scenarios, a combined transportation and energy scenario, a biomass energy scenario and a reference case. Implementation of a relatively aggressive carbon tax leads to improved PM2.5 air quality compared to the reference case as incentives increase for facilities to install flue-gas desulfurization (FGD) and carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies. However, less capital is available to install NOX reduction technologies, resulting in an O3 increase. A policy aimed at reducing CO2 from the transportation sector and electricity production sectors leads to reduced emissions of mobile source NOX, thus reducing O3. Over most of the U.S., this scenario leads to reduced PM2.5 concentrations. However, increased primary PM2.5 emissions associated with fuel switching in the residential and industrial sectors leads to increased organic matter (OM) and PM2.5 in some cities.

  19. Towards an agent based traffic regulation and recommendation system for the on-road air quality control.

    PubMed

    Sadiq, Abderrahmane; El Fazziki, Abdelaziz; Ouarzazi, Jamal; Sadgal, Mohamed

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents an integrated and adaptive problem-solving approach to control the on-road air quality by modeling the road infrastructure, managing traffic based on pollution level and generating recommendations for road users. The aim is to reduce vehicle emissions in the most polluted road segments and optimizing the pollution levels. For this we propose the use of historical and real time pollution records and contextual data to calculate the air quality index on road networks and generate recommendations for reassigning traffic flow in order to improve the on-road air quality. The resulting air quality indexes are used in the system's traffic network generation, which the cartography is represented by a weighted graph. The weights evolve according to the pollution indexes and path properties and the graph is therefore dynamic. Furthermore, the systems use the available pollution data and meteorological records in order to predict the on-road pollutant levels by using an artificial neural network based prediction model. The proposed approach combines the benefits of multi-agent systems, Big data technology, machine learning tools and the available data sources. For the shortest path searching in the road network, we use the Dijkstra algorithm over Hadoop MapReduce framework. The use Hadoop framework in the data retrieve and analysis process has significantly improved the performance of the proposed system. Also, the agent technology allowed proposing a suitable solution in terms of robustness and agility.

  20. Using self-organizing maps to develop ambient air quality classifications: a time series example

    PubMed Central

    2014-01-01

    Background Development of exposure metrics that capture features of the multipollutant environment are needed to investigate health effects of pollutant mixtures. This is a complex problem that requires development of new methodologies. Objective Present a self-organizing map (SOM) framework for creating ambient air quality classifications that group days with similar multipollutant profiles. Methods Eight years of day-level data from Atlanta, GA, for ten ambient air pollutants collected at a central monitor location were classified using SOM into a set of day types based on their day-level multipollutant profiles. We present strategies for using SOM to develop a multipollutant metric of air quality and compare results with more traditional techniques. Results Our analysis found that 16 types of days reasonably describe the day-level multipollutant combinations that appear most frequently in our data. Multipollutant day types ranged from conditions when all pollutants measured low to days exhibiting relatively high concentrations for either primary or secondary pollutants or both. The temporal nature of class assignments indicated substantial heterogeneity in day type frequency distributions (~1%-14%), relatively short-term durations (<2 day persistence), and long-term and seasonal trends. Meteorological summaries revealed strong day type weather dependencies and pollutant concentration summaries provided interesting scenarios for further investigation. Comparison with traditional methods found SOM produced similar classifications with added insight regarding between-class relationships. Conclusion We find SOM to be an attractive framework for developing ambient air quality classification because the approach eases interpretation of results by allowing users to visualize classifications on an organized map. The presented approach provides an appealing tool for developing multipollutant metrics of air quality that can be used to support multipollutant health studies

  1. The effects of global change upon United States air quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gonzalez-Abraham, R.; Chung, S. H.; Avise, J.; Lamb, B.; Salathé, E. P., Jr.; Nolte, C. G.; Loughlin, D.; Guenther, A.; Wiedinmyer, C.; Duhl, T.; Zhang, Y.; Streets, D. G.

    2015-11-01

    To understand more fully the effects of global changes on ambient concentrations of ozone and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) in the United States (US), we conducted a comprehensive modeling effort to evaluate explicitly the effects of changes in climate, biogenic emissions, land use and global/regional anthropogenic emissions on ozone and PM2.5 concentrations and composition. Results from the ECHAM5 global climate model driven with the A1B emission scenario from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were downscaled using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to provide regional meteorological fields. We developed air quality simulations using the Community Multiscale Air Quality Model (CMAQ) chemical transport model for two nested domains with 220 and 36 km horizontal grid cell resolution for a semi-hemispheric domain and a continental United States (US) domain, respectively. The semi-hemispheric domain was used to evaluate the impact of projected global emissions changes on US air quality. WRF meteorological fields were used to calculate current (2000s) and future (2050s) biogenic emissions using the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN). For the semi-hemispheric domain CMAQ simulations, present-day global emissions inventories were used and projected to the 2050s based on the IPCC A1B scenario. Regional anthropogenic emissions were obtained from the US Environmental Protection Agency National Emission Inventory 2002 (EPA NEI2002) and projected to the future using the MARKet ALlocation (MARKAL) energy system model assuming a business as usual scenario that extends current decade emission regulations through 2050. Our results suggest that daily maximum 8 h average ozone (DM8O) concentrations will increase in a range between 2 to 12 parts per billion (ppb) across most of the continental US. The highest increase occurs in the South, Central and Midwest regions of the US due to

  2. The effects of global change upon United States air quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gonzalez-Abraham, R.; Avise, J.; Chung, S. H.; Lamb, B.; Salathé, E. P., Jr.; Nolte, C. G.; Loughlin, D.; Guenther, A.; Wiedinmyer, C.; Duhl, T.; Zhang, Y.; Streets, D. G.

    2014-12-01

    To understand more fully the effects of global changes on ambient concentrations of ozone and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) in the US, we conducted a comprehensive modeling effort to evaluate explicitly the effects of changes in climate, biogenic emissions, land use, and global/regional anthropogenic emissions on ozone and PM2.5 concentrations and composition. Results from the ECHAM5 global climate model driven with the A1B emission scenario from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were downscaled using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to provide regional meteorological fields. We developed air quality simulations using the Community Multiscale Air Quality Model (CMAQ) chemical transport model for two nested domains with 220 and 36 km horizontal grid cell resolution for a semi-hemispheric domain and a continental United States (US) domain, respectively. The semi-hemispheric domain was used to evaluate the impact of projected Asian emissions changes on US air quality. WRF meteorological fields were used to calculate current (2000s) and future (2050s) biogenic emissions using the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN). For the semi-hemispheric domain CMAQ simulations, present-day global emissions inventories were used and projected to the 2050s based on the IPCC A1B scenario. Regional anthropogenic emissions were obtained from the US Environmental Protection Agency National Emission Inventory 2002 (EPA NEI2002) and projected to the future using the MARKet ALlocation (MARKAL) energy system model assuming a business as usual scenario that extends current decade emission regulations through 2050. Our results suggest that daily maximum 8 h average ozone (DM8O) concentrations will increase in a range between 2 to 12 ppb across most of the continental US, with the highest increase in the South, Central, and Midwest regions of the US, due to increases in temperature, enhanced

  3. Parents' Guide to School Indoor Air Quality.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Healthy Schools Network, Inc., Albany, NY.

    This parents' guide presents articles on school indoor air pollution, children's health and the symptoms of indoor air pollution, and how schools can improve their air quality. Also included are tips on what to do if the school ignores air quality problems, and some examples of what school districts should be doing to improve their air quality.…

  4. Ambient air pollution and semen quality.

    PubMed

    Nobles, Carrie J; Schisterman, Enrique F; Ha, Sandie; Kim, Keewan; Mumford, Sunni L; Buck Louis, Germaine M; Chen, Zhen; Liu, Danping; Sherman, Seth; Mendola, Pauline

    2018-05-01

    Ambient air pollution is associated with systemic increases in oxidative stress, to which sperm are particularly sensitive. Although decrements in semen quality represent a key mechanism for impaired fecundability, prior research has not established a clear association between air pollution and semen quality. To address this, we evaluated the association between ambient air pollution and semen quality among men with moderate air pollution exposure. Of 501 couples in the LIFE study, 467 male partners provided one or more semen samples. Average residential exposure to criteria air pollutants and fine particle constituents in the 72 days before ejaculation was estimated using modified Community Multiscale Air Quality models. Generalized estimating equation models estimated the association between air pollutants and semen quality parameters (volume, count, percent hypo-osmotic swollen, motility, sperm head, morphology and sperm chromatin parameters). Models adjusted for age, body mass index, smoking and season. Most associations between air pollutants and semen parameters were small. However, associations were observed for an interquartile increase in fine particulates ≤2.5 µm and decreased sperm head size, including -0.22 (95% CI -0.34, -0.11) µm 2 for area, -0.06 (95% CI -0.09, -0.03) µm for length and -0.09 (95% CI -0.19, -0.06) µm for perimeter. Fine particulates were also associated with 1.03 (95% CI 0.40, 1.66) greater percent sperm head with acrosome. Air pollution exposure was not associated with semen quality, except for sperm head parameters. Moderate levels of ambient air pollution may not be a major contributor to semen quality. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  5. Relationship between air quality and economic development in the provincial capital cities of China.

    PubMed

    Chen, Nengcheng; Xu, Lei

    2017-01-01

    Air pollution in China has become increasingly severe with rapid economic growth in recent years. We analyzed the relationship between the gross regional product (GRP) per capita and the Integrated Air Pollution Index (IAPI) in all the provincial capital cities in China from 2003 to 2014 and clustered them into six urban development patterns. These patterns are as follows: inverse U-shaped, N-1-shaped, N-2-shaped, U-shaped, linear decline, and stable. The majority of the provincial capitals are N-1, N-2, and U types, suggesting that the air quality is deteriorating currently or will deteriorate in the future. Meteorological conditions and industrial structure are taken into consideration when testing the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis between the economy and air pollutant concentration. Results show that there exists no direct relationship between three main pollutants and GRP per capita, while an inverse U-shaped relationship with the secondary industry and a U-shaped relationship with the tertiary industry. These results will be a meaningful reference for policy makers to develop policies that coordinate the environmental protection and economic development.

  6. Meteorological radar services: a brief discussion and a solution in practice

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Nicolaides, K. A.

    2014-08-01

    The Department of Meteorology is the organization designated by the Civil Aviation Department and by the National Supervisory Authority of the Republic of Cyprus, as an air navigation service provider, based on the regulations of the Single European Sky. Department of Meteorology holds and maintains also an ISO: 9001/2008, Quality System, for the provision of meteorological and climatological services to aeronautic and maritime community, but also to the general public. In order to fulfill its obligations the Department of Meteorology customs the rather dense meteorological stations network, with long historical data series, installed and maintained by the Department, in parallel with modelling and Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP), along with training and gaining of expertise. Among the available instruments in the community of meteorologists is the meteorological radar, a basic tool for the needs of very short/short range forecasting (nowcasting). The Department of Meteorology installed in the mid 90's a C-band radar over «Throni» location and expanded its horizons in nowcasting, aviation safety and warnings issuance. The radar has undergone several upgrades but today technology has over passed its rather old technology. At the present the Department of Meteorology is in the process of buying Meteorological Radar Services as a result of a public procurement procedure. Two networked X-band meteorological radar will be installed (the project now is in the phase of infrastructure establishment while the hardware is in the process of assemble), and maintained from Space Hellas (the contractor) for a 13 years' time period. The present article must be faced as a review article of the efforts of the Department of Meteorology to support its weather forecasters with data from meteorological radar.

  7. Performance evaluation of air quality models for predicting PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations at urban traffic intersection during winter period.

    PubMed

    Gokhale, Sharad; Raokhande, Namita

    2008-05-01

    There are several models that can be used to evaluate roadside air quality. The comparison of the operational performance of different models pertinent to local conditions is desirable so that the model that performs best can be identified. Three air quality models, namely the 'modified General Finite Line Source Model' (M-GFLSM) of particulates, the 'California Line Source' (CALINE3) model, and the 'California Line Source for Queuing & Hot Spot Calculations' (CAL3QHC) model have been identified for evaluating the air quality at one of the busiest traffic intersections in the city of Guwahati. These models have been evaluated statistically with the vehicle-derived airborne particulate mass emissions in two sizes, i.e. PM10 and PM2.5, the prevailing meteorology and the temporal distribution of the measured daily average PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in wintertime. The study has shown that the CAL3QHC model would make better predictions compared to other models for varied meteorology and traffic conditions. The detailed study reveals that the agreements between the measured and the modeled PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations have been reasonably good for CALINE3 and CAL3QHC models. Further detailed analysis shows that the CAL3QHC model performed well compared to the CALINE3. The monthly performance measures have also led to the similar results. These two models have also outperformed for a class of wind speed velocities except for low winds (<1 m s(-1)), for which, the M-GFLSM model has shown the tendency of better performance for PM10. Nevertheless, the CAL3QHC model has outperformed for both the particulate sizes and for all the wind classes, which therefore can be optional for air quality assessment at urban traffic intersections.

  8. [Airports and air quality: a critical synthesis of the literature].

    PubMed

    Cattani, Giorgio; Di Menno di Bucchianico, Alessandro; Gaeta, Alessandra; Romani, Daniela; Fontana, Luca; Iavicoli, Ivo

    2014-01-01

    This work reviewed existing literature on airport related activities that could worsen surrounding air quality; its aim is to underline the progress coming from recent-year studies, the knowledge emerging from new approaches, the development of semi-empiric analytical methods as well as the questions still needing to be clarified. To estimate pollution levels, spatial and temporal variability, and the sources relative contributions integrated assessment, using both fixed point measurement and model outputs, are needed. The general picture emerging from the studies was a non-negligible and highly spatially variable (within 2-3 km from the fence line) airport contribution; even if it is often not dominant compared to other concomitant pollution sources. Results were highly airport-specific. Traffic volumes, landscape and meteorology were the key variables that drove the impacts. Results were thus hardly exportable to other contexts. Airport related pollutant sources were found to be characterized by unusual emission patterns (particularly ultrafine particles, black carbon and nitrogen oxides during take-off); high time-resolution measurements allow to depict the rapidly changing take-off effect on air quality that could not be adequately observed otherwise. Few studies used high time resolution data in a successful way as statistical models inputs to estimate the aircraft take-off contribution to the observed average levels. These findings should not be neglected when exposure of people living near airports is to be assessed.

  9. Analysis of the US Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Imagery for Global Lightning

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Scharfen, Gregory R.

    1999-01-01

    The U. S. Air Force operates the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), a system of near-polar orbiting satellites designed for use in operational weather forecasting and other applications. DMSP satellites carry a suite of sensors that provide images of the earth and profiles of the atmosphere. The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado has been involved with the archival of DMSP data and its use for several research projects since 1979. This report summarizes the portion of this involvement funded by NASA.

  10. Evaluation of WRF Parameterizations for Air Quality Applications over the Midwest USA

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Zheng, Z.; Fu, K.; Balasubramanian, S.; Koloutsou-Vakakis, S.; McFarland, D. M.; Rood, M. J.

    2017-12-01

    Reliable predictions from Chemical Transport Models (CTMs) for air quality research require accurate gridded weather inputs. In this study, a sensitivity analysis of 17 Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) model runs was conducted to explore the optimum configuration in six physics categories (i.e., cumulus, surface layer, microphysics, land surface model, planetary boundary layer, and longwave/shortwave radiation) for the Midwest USA. WRF runs were initally conducted over four days in May 2011 for a 12 km x 12 km domain over contiguous USA and a nested 4 km x 4 km domain over the Midwest USA (i.e., Illinois and adjacent areas including Iowa, Indiana, and Missouri). Model outputs were evaluated statistically by comparison with meteorological observations (DS337.0, METAR data, and the Water and Atmospheric Resources Monitoring Network) and resulting statistics were compared to benchmark values from the literature. Identified optimum configurations of physics parametrizations were then evaluated for the whole months of May and October 2011 to evaluate WRF model performance for Midwestern spring and fall seasons. This study demonstrated that for the chosen physics options, WRF predicted well temperature (Index of Agreement (IOA) = 0.99), pressure (IOA = 0.99), relative humidity (IOA = 0.93), wind speed (IOA = 0.85), and wind direction (IOA = 0.97). However, WRF did not predict daily precipitation satisfactorily (IOA = 0.16). Developed gridded weather fields will be used as inputs to a CTM ensemble consisting of the Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions to study impacts of chemical fertilizer usage on regional air quality in the Midwest USA.

  11. Assessing measurement uncertainty in meteorology in urban environments

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Curci, S.; Lavecchia, C.; Frustaci, G.; Paolini, R.; Pilati, S.; Paganelli, C.

    2017-10-01

    Measurement uncertainty in meteorology has been addressed in a number of recent projects. In urban environments, uncertainty is also affected by local effects which are more difficult to deal with than for synoptic stations. In Italy, beginning in 2010, an urban meteorological network (Climate Network®) was designed, set up and managed at national level according to high metrological standards and homogeneity criteria to support energy applications. The availability of such a high-quality operative automatic weather station network represents an opportunity to investigate the effects of station siting and sensor exposure and to estimate the related measurement uncertainty. An extended metadata set was established for the stations in Milan, including siting and exposure details. Statistical analysis on an almost 3-year-long operational period assessed network homogeneity, quality and reliability. Deviations from reference mean values were then evaluated in selected low-gradient local weather situations in order to investigate siting and exposure effects. In this paper the methodology is depicted and preliminary results of its application to air temperature discussed; this allowed the setting of an upper limit of 1 °C for the added measurement uncertainty at the top of the urban canopy layer.

  12. 30 CFR 75.321 - Air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Air quality. 75.321 Section 75.321 Mineral... SAFETY STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Ventilation § 75.321 Air quality. (a)(1) The air in areas where... air current in these areas shall be sufficient to dilute, render harmless, and carry away flammable...

  13. 30 CFR 75.321 - Air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Air quality. 75.321 Section 75.321 Mineral... SAFETY STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Ventilation § 75.321 Air quality. (a)(1) The air in areas where... air current in these areas shall be sufficient to dilute, render harmless, and carry away flammable...

  14. 30 CFR 75.321 - Air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Air quality. 75.321 Section 75.321 Mineral... SAFETY STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Ventilation § 75.321 Air quality. (a)(1) The air in areas where... air current in these areas shall be sufficient to dilute, render harmless, and carry away flammable...

  15. 30 CFR 75.321 - Air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Air quality. 75.321 Section 75.321 Mineral... SAFETY STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Ventilation § 75.321 Air quality. (a)(1) The air in areas where... air current in these areas shall be sufficient to dilute, render harmless, and carry away flammable...

  16. 30 CFR 75.321 - Air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Air quality. 75.321 Section 75.321 Mineral... SAFETY STANDARDS-UNDERGROUND COAL MINES Ventilation § 75.321 Air quality. (a)(1) The air in areas where... air current in these areas shall be sufficient to dilute, render harmless, and carry away flammable...

  17. [Improvement of Air Quality During APEC in Beijing in 2014].

    PubMed

    Cheng, Nian-liang; Li, Yun-ting; Zhang, Da-wei; Chen, Tian; Li, Ling-jun; Li, Jin; Jiang, Lei

    2016-01-15

    Variations of air quality, meteorological conditions and the effect of pollution control measures on particle matter concentrations in Beijing were all analyzed during APEC (from 1st to 12th in November) in 2014 based on the atmospheric pollutant monitoring data, monitoring components of PM2.5, meteorological and remote sensing data and CMB model. The results showed that the average concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2 were 43,62,8,46 [g.m respectively during APEC and the average concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2 were decreased by 45%, 43%, 64% and 31% compared to those in the same period of the last 5 years (PM2. was the average of the last 2 years); the concentrations of PM25 at different sites were decreased by 27.4%-35.5%; the concentrations of PM2.5 in the center of city and northern mountainous areas were the lowest, which dropped by 30%-45% compared to those in the same period of the last 5 years while in the southern area the decrement was below 25%; the main component SO4(2-), the substance of the crust, and NO3- were decreased by 50%, 76%, 35% respectively compared to those in the same period in 2013 and the chemical mass balance (CMB) model analysis results indicated that contributions of coal boiler, dust, motor vehicle were 2%, 7%, 30% respectively during APEC; air pollution control measures (coal, dust and traffic management) had a significant effect on reducing pollutant emissions and the pollutant emissions control reduced the concentration peak and delayed the accumulation speed.

  18. Ensemble Statistical Post-Processing of the National Air Quality Forecast Capability: Enhancing Ozone Forecasts in Baltimore, Maryland

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Garner, Gregory G.; Thompson, Anne M.

    2013-01-01

    An ensemble statistical post-processor (ESP) is developed for the National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) to address the unique challenges of forecasting surface ozone in Baltimore, MD. Air quality and meteorological data were collected from the eight monitors that constitute the Baltimore forecast region. These data were used to build the ESP using a moving-block bootstrap, regression tree models, and extreme-value theory. The ESP was evaluated using a 10-fold cross-validation to avoid evaluation with the same data used in the development process. Results indicate that the ESP is conditionally biased, likely due to slight overfitting while training the regression tree models. When viewed from the perspective of a decision-maker, the ESP provides a wealth of additional information previously not available through the NAQFC alone. The user is provided the freedom to tailor the forecast to the decision at hand by using decision-specific probability thresholds that define a forecast for an ozone exceedance. Taking advantage of the ESP, the user not only receives an increase in value over the NAQFC, but also receives value for An ensemble statistical post-processor (ESP) is developed for the National Air Quality Forecast Capability (NAQFC) to address the unique challenges of forecasting surface ozone in Baltimore, MD. Air quality and meteorological data were collected from the eight monitors that constitute the Baltimore forecast region. These data were used to build the ESP using a moving-block bootstrap, regression tree models, and extreme-value theory. The ESP was evaluated using a 10-fold cross-validation to avoid evaluation with the same data used in the development process. Results indicate that the ESP is conditionally biased, likely due to slight overfitting while training the regression tree models. When viewed from the perspective of a decision-maker, the ESP provides a wealth of additional information previously not available through the NAQFC alone

  19. CityAir app: Mapping air-quality perception using people as sensors

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Castell, Nuria; Fredriksen, Mirjam; Cole-Hunter, Thomas; Robinson, Johanna; Keune, Hans; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark; Bartonova, Alena

    2016-04-01

    Outdoor air pollution is a major environmental health problem affecting all people in developed and developing countries alike. Ambient (outdoor) air pollution in both cities and rural areas was estimated to cause 3.7 million premature deaths worldwide in 2012. In modern society, people are expending an increasing amount of time in polluted urban environments, thus increasing their exposure and associated health responses. Some cities provide information about air pollution levels to their citizens using air quality monitoring networks. However, due to their high cost and maintenance, the density of the monitoring networks is very low and not capable to capture the high temporal and spatial variability of air pollution. Thus, the citizen lacks a specific answer to the question of "how the air quality is in our surroundings". In the framework of the EU-funded CITI-SENSE project the innovative concept of People as Sensors is being applied to the field of outdoor air pollution. This is being done in eight European cities, including Barcelona, Belgrade, Edinburgh, Haifa, Ljubljana, Oslo, Ostrava and Vienna. People as Sensors defines a measurement model, in which measurements are not only taken by hardware sensors, but in which also humans can contribute with their individual "measurements" such as their subjective perception of air quality and other personal observations. In order to collect the personal observations a mobile app, CityAir, has been developed. CityAir allows citizens to rate the air quality in their surroundings with colour at their current location: green if air quality is very good, yellow if air quality is good, orange if air quality is poor and red if air quality is very poor. The users have also the possibility of indicating the source of pollution (i.e. traffic, industry, wood burning) and writing a comment. The information is on-line and accessible for other app users, thus contributing to create an air-quality map based on citizens' perception

  20. Community Multiscale Air Quality Modeling System (CMAQ)

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    CMAQ is a computational tool used for air quality management. It models air pollutants including ozone, particulate matter and other air toxics to help determine optimum air quality management scenarios.

  1. Evaluating the performance of ENVI-met model in diurnal cycles for different meteorological conditions

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Acero, Juan A.; Arrizabalaga, Jon

    2018-01-01

    Urban areas are known to modify meteorological variables producing important differences in small spatial scales (i.e. microscale). These affect human thermal comfort conditions and the dispersion of pollutants, especially those emitted inside the urban area, which finally influence quality of life and the use of public open spaces. In this study, the diurnal evolution of meteorological variables measured in four urban spaces is compared with the results provided by ENVI-met (v 4.0). Measurements were carried out during 3 days with different meteorological conditions in Bilbao in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. The evaluation of the model accuracy (i.e. the degree to which modelled values approach measured values) was carried out with several quantitative difference metrics. The results for air temperature and humidity show a good agreement of measured and modelled values independently of the regional meteorological conditions. However, in the case of mean radiant temperature and wind speed, relevant differences are encountered highlighting the limitation of the model to estimate these meteorological variables precisely during diurnal cycles, in the considered evaluation conditions (sites and weather).

  2. The Interaction Effects of Meteorological Factors and Air Pollution on the Development of Acute Coronary Syndrome

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Huang, Ching-Hui; Lin, Heng-Cheng; Tsai, Chen-Dao; Huang, Hung-Kai; Lian, Ie-Bin; Chang, Chia-Chu

    2017-03-01

    This study investigated the interaction effects of meteorological factors and air pollutants on the onset of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Data of ACS patients were obtained from the Taiwan ACS Full Spectrum Registry and comprised 3164 patients with a definite onset date during the period October 2008 and January 2010 at 39 hospitals. Meteorological conditions and air pollutant concentrations at the 39 locations during the 488-day period were obtained. Time-lag Poisson and logistic regression were used to explore their association with ACS incidence. One-day lag atmospheric pressure (AP), humidity, particulate matter (PM2.5, and PM10), and carbon monoxide (CO) all had significant interaction effects with temperature on ACS occurrence. Days on which high temperatures (>26 °C) and low AP (<1009 hPa) occurred the previous day were associated with a greater likelihood of increased incidence of developing ACS. Typhoon Morakot was an example of high temperature with extremely low AP associated with higher ACS incidence than the daily average. Combinations of high concentrations of PM or CO with low temperatures (<21 °C) and high humidity levels with low temperatures were also associated with increased incidence of ACS. Atmospheric pollution and weather factors have synergistic effects on the incidence of ACS.

  3. Meteorological factors, air pollutants, and emergency department visits for otitis media: a time series study.

    PubMed

    Gestro, Massimo; Condemi, Vincenzo; Bardi, Luisella; Fantino, Claudio; Solimene, Umberto

    2017-10-01

    AbstractOtitis media (OM) is a very common disease in children, which results in a significant economic burden to the healthcare system for hospital-based outpatient departments, emergency departments (EDs), unscheduled medical examinations, and antibiotic prescriptions. The aim of this retrospective observational study is to investigate the association between climate variables, air pollutants, and OM visits observed in the 2007-2010 period at the ED of Cuneo, Italy. Measures of meteorological parameters (temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind) and outdoor air pollutants (particulate matter, ozone, nitrous dioxide) were analyzed at two statistical stages and in several specific steps (crude and adjusted models) according to Poisson's regression. Response variables included daily examinations for age groups 0-3, 0-6, and 0-18. Control variables included upper respiratory infections (URI), flu (FLU), and several calendar factors. A statistical procedure was implemented to capture any delayed effects. Results show a moderate association for temperature (T), age 0-3, and 0-6 with P < 0.05, as well as nitrous dioxide (NO 2 ) with P < 0.005 at age 0-18. Results of subsequent models point out to URI as an important control variable. No statistical association was observed for other pollutants and meteorological variables. The dose-response models (DLNM-final stage) implemented separately on a daily and hourly basis point out to an association between temperature (daily model) and RR 1.44 at age 0-3, CI 1.11-1.88 (lag time 0-1 days) and RR 1.43, CI 1.05-1.94 (lag time 0-3 days). The hourly model confirms a specific dose-response effect for T with RR 1.20, CI 1.04-1.38 (lag time range from 0 to 11 to 0-15 h) and for NO 2 with RR 1.03, CI 1.01-1.05 (lag time range from 0 to 8 to 0-15 h). These results support the hypothesis that the clinical context of URI may be an important risk factor in the onset of OM diagnosed at ED level. The study highlights the

  4. Meteorological factors, air pollutants, and emergency department visits for otitis media: a time series study

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gestro, Massimo; Condemi, Vincenzo; Bardi, Luisella; Fantino, Claudio; Solimene, Umberto

    2017-10-01

    Abstract Otitis media (OM) is a very common disease in children, which results in a significant economic burden to the healthcare system for hospital-based outpatient departments, emergency departments (EDs), unscheduled medical examinations, and antibiotic prescriptions. The aim of this retrospective observational study is to investigate the association between climate variables, air pollutants, and OM visits observed in the 2007-2010 period at the ED of Cuneo, Italy. Measures of meteorological parameters (temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind) and outdoor air pollutants (particulate matter, ozone, nitrous dioxide) were analyzed at two statistical stages and in several specific steps (crude and adjusted models) according to Poisson's regression. Response variables included daily examinations for age groups 0-3, 0-6, and 0-18. Control variables included upper respiratory infections (URI), flu (FLU), and several calendar factors. A statistical procedure was implemented to capture any delayed effects. Results show a moderate association for temperature ( T), age 0-3, and 0-6 with P < 0.05, as well as nitrous dioxide (NO2) with P < 0.005 at age 0-18. Results of subsequent models point out to URI as an important control variable. No statistical association was observed for other pollutants and meteorological variables. The dose-response models (DLNM—final stage) implemented separately on a daily and hourly basis point out to an association between temperature (daily model) and RR 1.44 at age 0-3, CI 1.11-1.88 (lag time 0-1 days) and RR 1.43, CI 1.05-1.94 (lag time 0-3 days). The hourly model confirms a specific dose-response effect for T with RR 1.20, CI 1.04-1.38 (lag time range from 0 to 11 to 0-15 h) and for NO2 with RR 1.03, CI 1.01-1.05 (lag time range from 0 to 8 to 0-15 h). These results support the hypothesis that the clinical context of URI may be an important risk factor in the onset of OM diagnosed at ED level. The study highlights the

  5. Impact of WRF model PBL schemes on air quality simulations over Catalonia, Spain.

    PubMed

    Banks, R F; Baldasano, J M

    2016-12-01

    Here we analyze the impact of four planetary boundary-layer (PBL) parametrization schemes from the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) numerical weather prediction model on simulations of meteorological variables and predicted pollutant concentrations from an air quality forecast system (AQFS). The current setup of the Spanish operational AQFS, CALIOPE, is composed of the WRF-ARW V3.5.1 meteorological model tied to the Yonsei University (YSU) PBL scheme, HERMES v2 emissions model, CMAQ V5.0.2 chemical transport model, and dust outputs from BSC-DREAM8bv2. We test the performance of the YSU scheme against the Assymetric Convective Model Version 2 (ACM2), Mellor-Yamada-Janjic (MYJ), and Bougeault-Lacarrère (BouLac) schemes. The one-day diagnostic case study is selected to represent the most frequent synoptic condition in the northeast Iberian Peninsula during spring 2015; regional recirculations. It is shown that the ACM2 PBL scheme performs well with daytime PBL height, as validated against estimates retrieved using a micro-pulse lidar system (mean bias=-0.11km). In turn, the BouLac scheme showed WRF-simulated air and dew point temperature closer to METAR surface meteorological observations. Results are more ambiguous when simulated pollutant concentrations from CMAQ are validated against network urban, suburban, and rural background stations. The ACM2 scheme showed the lowest mean bias (-0.96μgm -3 ) with respect to surface ozone at urban stations, while the YSU scheme performed best with simulated nitrogen dioxide (-6.48μgm -3 ). The poorest results were with simulated particulate matter, with similar results found with all schemes tested. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. The AirQuality SenseBox

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Demuth, Dustin; Nuest, Daniel; Bröring, Arne; Pebesma, Edzer

    2013-04-01

    In the past year, a group of open hardware enthusiasts and citizen scientists had large success in the crowd-funding of an open hardware-based sensor platform for air quality monitoring, called the Air Quality Egg. Via the kickstarter platform, the group was able to collect triple the amount of money than needed to fulfill their goals. Data generated by the Air Quality Egg is pushed to the data logging platform cosm.com, which makes the devices a part of the Internet of Things. The project aims at increasing the participation of citizens in the collection of data, the development of sensors, the operation of sensor stations, and, as data on cosm is publicly available, the sharing, visualization and analysis of data. Air Quality Eggs can measure NO2 and CO concentrations, as well as relative humidity and temperature. The chosen sensors are low-cost and have limited precision and accurracy. The Air Quality Egg consists of a stationary outdoor and a stationary indoor unit. Each outdoor unit will wirelessly transmit air quality measurements to the indoor unit, which forwards the data to cosm. Most recent versions of the Air Quality Egg allow a rough calibration of the gas sensors and on-the-fly conversion from raw sensor readings (impedance) to meaningful air quality data expressed in units of parts per billion. Data generated by these low-cost platforms are not intended to replace well-calibrated official monitoring stations, but rather augment the density of the total monitoring network with citizen sensors. To improve the usability of the Air Quality Egg, we present a new and more advanced concept, called the AirQuality SenseBox. We made the outdoor platform more autonomous and location-aware by adding solarpanels and rechargeable batteries as a power source. The AirQuality SenseBox knows its own position from a GPS device attached to the platform. As a mobile sensor platform, it can for instance be attached to vehicles. A low-cost and low-power wireless chipset

  7. Pre-monsoon air quality over Lumbini, a world heritage site along the Himalayan foothills

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Rupakheti, Dipesh; Adhikary, Bhupesh; Siva Praveen, Puppala; Rupakheti, Maheswar; Kang, Shichang; Singh Mahata, Khadak; Naja, Manish; Zhang, Qianggong; Panday, Arnico Kumar; Lawrence, Mark G.

    2017-09-01

    Lumbini, in southern Nepal, is a UNESCO world heritage site of universal value as the birthplace of Buddha. Poor air quality in Lumbini and surrounding regions is a great concern for public health as well as for preservation, protection and promotion of Buddhist heritage and culture. We present here results from measurements of ambient concentrations of key air pollutants (PM, BC, CO, O3) in Lumbini, first of its kind for Lumbini, conducted during an intensive measurement period of 3 months (April-June 2013) in the pre-monsoon season. The measurements were carried out as a part of the international air pollution measurement campaign; SusKat-ABC (Sustainable Atmosphere for the Kathmandu Valley - Atmospheric Brown Clouds). The main objective of this work is to understand and document the level of air pollution, diurnal characteristics and influence of open burning on air quality in Lumbini. The hourly average concentrations during the entire measurement campaign ranged as follows: BC was 0.3-30.0 µg m-3, PM1 was 3.6-197.6 µg m-3, PM2. 5 was 6.1-272.2 µg m-3, PM10 was 10.5-604.0 µg m-3, O3 was 1.0-118.1 ppbv and CO was 125.0-1430.0 ppbv. These levels are comparable to other very heavily polluted sites in South Asia. Higher fraction of coarse-mode PM was found as compared to other nearby sites in the Indo-Gangetic Plain region. The ΔBC / ΔCO ratio obtained in Lumbini indicated considerable contributions of emissions from both residential and transportation sectors. The 24 h average PM2. 5 and PM10 concentrations exceeded the WHO guideline very frequently (94 and 85 % of the sampled period, respectively), which implies significant health risks for the residents and visitors in the region. These air pollutants exhibited clear diurnal cycles with high values in the morning and evening. During the study period, the worst air pollution episodes were mainly due to agro-residue burning and regional forest fires combined with meteorological conditions conducive of

  8. Meteorological needs of the aviation community

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Luers, J. K.

    1977-01-01

    A study was conducted to determine the important meteorological needs of the aviation community and to recommend research in those areas judged most beneficial. The study was valuable in that it provided a comprehensive list of suspected meteorological deficiencies and ideas for research programs relative to these deficiencies. The list and ideas were generated from contacts with various pilots, air traffic controllers, and meteorologists.

  9. Deep learning architecture for air quality predictions.

    PubMed

    Li, Xiang; Peng, Ling; Hu, Yuan; Shao, Jing; Chi, Tianhe

    2016-11-01

    With the rapid development of urbanization and industrialization, many developing countries are suffering from heavy air pollution. Governments and citizens have expressed increasing concern regarding air pollution because it affects human health and sustainable development worldwide. Current air quality prediction methods mainly use shallow models; however, these methods produce unsatisfactory results, which inspired us to investigate methods of predicting air quality based on deep architecture models. In this paper, a novel spatiotemporal deep learning (STDL)-based air quality prediction method that inherently considers spatial and temporal correlations is proposed. A stacked autoencoder (SAE) model is used to extract inherent air quality features, and it is trained in a greedy layer-wise manner. Compared with traditional time series prediction models, our model can predict the air quality of all stations simultaneously and shows the temporal stability in all seasons. Moreover, a comparison with the spatiotemporal artificial neural network (STANN), auto regression moving average (ARMA), and support vector regression (SVR) models demonstrates that the proposed method of performing air quality predictions has a superior performance.

  10. New Federal Air Quality Standards.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stopinski, O. W.

    The report discusses the current procedures for establishing air quality standards, the bases for standards, and, finally, proposed and final National Primary and Secondary Ambient Air Quality Standards for sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, nonmethane hydrocarbons, photochemical oxidants, and nitrogen dioxide. (Author/RH)

  11. Comparative evaluation of the impact of GRAPES and MM5 meteorology on CMAQ prediction over Pearl River Delta, China

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Deng, T.; Chen, Y.; Wan, Q.

    2017-12-01

    The Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model was utilized for forecasting air quality over the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region from December 2013 to January 2014. The pollution forecasting performance of CMAQ coupled with the two different meteorological models, the Global/Regional Assimilation and Prediction System (GRAPES) and the 5th-generation Mesoscale Model (MM5), was assessed by combining observational data. The effect of meteorological factors and physical-chemical processes on forecast results was discussed through process analysis. The results showed that both models have similar good performance with better performance by GRAPES-CMAQ. GRAPES was superior in predicting the overall meteorological element variation tendencies but showed large deviations in atmospheric pressure and wind speed. It contributed to higher correlation coefficients of the pollutants with GRAPES-CMAQ, but with greater deviation. The underestimations of nitrate and ammonium salt contributed to the underestimations of Particle Matter (PM) and extinction coefficients. Surface layer SO2, CO and NO source emissions made the sole positive contribution. O3 originated mainly from horizontal and vertical transport and chemical processes were the main consumption item. On the contrary, NO2 derived mainly from chemical production.

  12. Remote Sensing of Urban Thermal Landscape Characteristics and Their Affects on Local and Regional Meteorology and Air Quality: An Overview of NASA EOS-IDS Project Atlanta

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Quattrochi, Dale A.; Luvall, Jeffrey C.; Estes, Maurice G., Jr.

    1999-01-01

    As an entity, the city is a manifestation of human "management" of the land. The act of city-building, however, drastically alters the biophysical environment, which ultimately, impacts local and regional land-atmosphere energy exchange processes. Because of the complexity of both the urban landscape and the attendant energy fluxes that result from urbanization, remote sensing offers the only real way to synoptically quantify these processes. One of the more important land-atmosphere fluxes that occurs over cities relates to the way that thermal energy is partitioned across the heterogeneous urban landscape. The individual land cover and surface material types that comprise the city, such as pavements and buildings, each have their own thermal energy regimes. As the collective urban landscape, the individual thermal energy responses from specific surfaces come together to form the urban heat island phenomena, which prevails as a dome of elevated air temperatures over cities. Although the urban heat island has been known to exist for well over 150 years, it is not understood how differences in thermal energy responses for land covers across the city interact to produce this phenomenon, or how the variability in thermal energy responses from different surface types drive its development. Additionally, it can be hypothesized that as cities grow in size through time, so do their urban heat islands. The interrelationships between urban sprawl and the respective growth of the urban heat island, however, have not been investigated. Moreover, little is known of the consequential effects of urban growth, land cover change, and the urban heat island as they impact local and regional meteorology and air quality.

  13. 77 FR 30087 - Air Quality Designations for the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-05-21

    ...This rule establishes initial air quality designations for most areas in the United States, including areas of Indian country, for the 2008 primary and secondary national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone. The designations for several counties in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin that the EPA is considering for inclusion in the Chicago nonattainment area will be designated in a subsequent action, no later than May 31, 2012. Areas designated as nonattainment are also being classified by operation of law according to the severity of their air quality problems. The classification categories are Marginal, Moderate, Serious, Severe, and Extreme. The EPA is establishing the air quality thresholds that define the classifications in a separate rule that the EPA is signing and publishing in the Federal Register on the same schedule as these designations. In accordance with that separate rule, six nonattainment areas in California are being reclassified to a higher classification.

  14. PREDICTING THE RELATIVE IMPACTS OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT POLICIES AND ON-ROAD VEHICLE TECHNOLOGIES ON AIR QUALITY IN THE UNITED STATES: MODELING AND ANALYSIS OF A CASE STUDY IN AUSTIN, TEXAS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Urban development results in changes to land use and land cover and, consequently, to biogenic and anthropogenic emissions, meteorological processes, and processes such as dry deposition that influence future predictions of air quality. This study examines the impacts of alter...

  15. A Study on the Potential Applications of Satellite Data in Air Quality Monitoring and Forecasting

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Li, Can; Hsu, N. Christina; Tsay, Si-Chee

    2011-01-01

    In this study we explore the potential applications of MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) -like satellite sensors in air quality research for some Asian regions. The MODIS aerosol optical thickness (AOT), NCEP global reanalysis meteorological data, and daily surface PM(sub 10) concentrations over China and Thailand from 2001 to 2009 were analyzed using simple and multiple regression models. The AOT-PM(sub 10) correlation demonstrates substantial seasonal and regional difference, likely reflecting variations in aerosol composition and atmospheric conditions, Meteorological factors, particularly relative humidity, were found to influence the AOT-PM(sub 10) relationship. Their inclusion in regression models leads to more accurate assessment of PM(sub 10) from space borne observations. We further introduced a simple method for employing the satellite data to empirically forecast surface particulate pollution, In general, AOT from the previous day (day 0) is used as a predicator variable, along with the forecasted meteorology for the following day (day 1), to predict the PM(sub 10) level for day 1. The contribution of regional transport is represented by backward trajectories combined with AOT. This method was evaluated through PM(sub 10) hindcasts for 2008-2009, using ohservations from 2005 to 2007 as a training data set to obtain model coefficients. For five big Chinese cities, over 50% of the hindcasts have percentage error less than or equal to 30%. Similar performance was achieved for cities in northern Thailand. The MODIS AOT data are responsible for at least part of the demonstrated forecasting skill. This method can be easily adapted for other regions, but is probably most useful for those having sparse ground monitoring networks or no access to sophisticated deterministic models. We also highlight several existing issues, including some inherent to a regression-based approach as exemplified by a case study for Beijing, Further studies will be

  16. Agriculture: Agriculture and Air Quality

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    Information on air emissions from agricultural practices, types of agricultural burning, air programs that may apply to agriculture, reporting requirements, and links to state and other federal air-quality information.

  17. Innovations in projecting emissions for air quality modeling

    EPA Science Inventory

    Air quality modeling is used in setting air quality standards and in evaluating their costs and benefits. Historically, modeling applications have projected emissions and the resulting air quality only 5 to 10 years into the future. Recognition that the choice of air quality mana...

  18. Indoor air quality: A psychosocial perspective

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Boxer, P.A.

    1990-05-01

    The incidence of indoor air quality problems has increased dramatically over the past decade. Investigation of these problems has yielded a definitive cause in only one third of the cases. Psychosocial factors may play a key role in the development and propagation of symptoms attributed to poor indoor air quality. Guidelines for managing indoor air quality problems from the organizational perspective are based upon psychosocial principles and elements of risk perception.

  19. Clean air through transportation : challenges in meeting national air quality standards

    DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

    1993-08-01

    This report, required by Section 108(f)(3) of the Clean Air Act, as amended in 1990, addresses the issues of motor vehicles and air quality. The report discusses the challenges faced in attempting to improve air quality through transportation program...

  20. Climate Change Impact on Air Quality in High Resolution Simulation for Central Europe

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Halenka, T.; Huszar, P.; Belda, M.

    2009-04-01

    Recently the effects of climate change on air-quality and vice-versa are studied quite extensively. In fact, even at regional and local scale especially the impact of climate change on the atmospheric composition and photochemical smog formation conditions can be significant when expecting e.g. more frequent appearance of heat waves etc. For the purpose of qualifying and quantifying the magnitude of such effects and to study the potential of climate forcing due to atmospheric chemistry/aerosols on regional scale, chemistry-transport model was coupled to RegCM on the Department of Meteorology and Environmental Protection, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University in Prague, for the simulations in framework of the EC FP6 Project CECILIA. Off-line one way coupling enables the simulation of distribution of pollutants over 1991-2001 in very high resolution of 10 km is compared to the EMEP observations for the area of Central Europe. Simulations driven by climate change boundary conditions for time slices 1991-2000, 2041-2050 and 2091-2100 are presented to show the effect of climate change on the air quality in the region.

  1. BOREAS AES READAC Surface Meteorological Data

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Atkinson, G. Barrie; Funk, Barry; Hall, Forrest G. (Editor); Knapp, David E. (Editor)

    2000-01-01

    Canadian AES personnel collected and processed data related to surface atmospheric meteorological conditions over the BOREAS region. This data set contains 15-minute meteorological data from one READAC meteorology station in Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan. Parameters include day, time, type of report, sky condition, visibility, mean sea level pressure, temperature, dewpoint, wind, altimeter, opacity, minimum and maximum visibility, station pressure, minimum and maximum air temperature, a wind group, precipitation, and precipitation in the last hour. The data were collected non-continuously from 24-May-1994 to 20-Sep-1994. The data are provided in tabular ASCII files, and are classified as AFM-Staff data.

  2. 78 FR 47191 - Air Quality Designations for the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) Primary National Ambient Air Quality...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-08-05

    ... Air Quality Designations for the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide (SO[bdi2]) Primary National Ambient Air Quality... air quality designations for certain areas in the United States for the 2010 primary Sulfur Dioxide... of this document? III. What is sulfur dioxide? IV. What is the 2010 SO 2 NAAQS and what are the...

  3. A Low Cost High Density Sensor Network for Air Quality at London Heathrow Airport

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Bright, V.; Mead, M. I.; Popoola, O. A.; Baron, R. P.; Saffell, J.; Stewart, G.; Kaye, P.; Jones, R.

    2012-12-01

    Atmospheric composition within urban areas has a direct effect on the air quality of an environment in which a large majority of people live and work. Atmospheric pollutants including ozone (O3), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulate matter (PM) can have a significant effect on human health. As such it is important to determine the potential exposure of individuals to these atmospheric constituents and investigate the processes that lead to the degradation of air quality within the urban environment. Whilst modelled pollutant levels on the local scale often suggest high degrees of spatial and temporal variability, the relatively sparse fixed site automated urban networks only provide low spatial resolution data that do not appear adequate in detecting such small scale variability. In this paper we demonstrate that measurements can now be made using networks of low-cost sensors that utilise a variety of techniques, including electrochemical and optical, to measure concentrations of atmospheric species. Once equipped with GPS and GPRS to determine position and transmit data respectively, these networks have the potential to provide valuable insights into pollutant variability inherent on the local or micro-scale. The methodology has been demonstrated successfully in field campaigns carried out in cities including London and Valencia, and is now being deployed as part of the Sensor Networks for Air Quality currently deployed at London Heathrow airport (SNAQ-Heathrow) which is outlined in the partner paper presented by Mead et al. (this conference). The SNAQ-Heathrow network of 50 sensor nodes will provide an unprecedented data set that includes measurements of O3, NO, NO2, CO, CO2, SO2, total VOCs, size-speciated PM as well as meteorological variables that include temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction. This network will provide high temporal (20 second intervals) and spatial (50 sites within the airport area

  4. Modelling the urban air quality in Hamburg with the new city-scale chemistry transport model CityChem

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Karl, Matthias; Ramacher, Martin; Aulinger, Armin; Matthias, Volker; Quante, Markus

    2017-04-01

    Air quality modelling plays an important role by providing guidelines for efficient air pollution abatement measures. Currently, most urban dispersion models treat air pollutants as passive tracer substances or use highly simplified chemistry when simulating air pollutant concentrations on the city-scale. The newly developed urban chemistry-transport model CityChem has the capability of modelling the photochemical transformation of multiple pollutants along with atmospheric diffusion to produce pollutant concentration fields for the entire city on a horizontal resolution of 100 m or even finer and a vertical resolution of 24 layers up to 4000 m height. CityChem is based on the Eulerian urban dispersion model EPISODE of the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU). CityChem treats the complex photochemistry in cities using detailed EMEP chemistry on an Eulerian 3-D grid, while using simple photo-stationary equilibrium on a much higher resolution grid (receptor grid), i.e. close to industrial point sources and traffic sources. The CityChem model takes into account that long-range transport contributes to urban pollutant concentrations. This is done by using 3-D boundary concentrations for the city domain derived from chemistry-transport simulations with the regional air quality model CMAQ. For the study of the air quality in Hamburg, CityChem was set-up with a main grid of 30×30 grid cells of 1×1 km2 each and a receptor grid of 300×300 grid cells of 100×100 m2. The CityChem model was driven with meteorological data generated by the prognostic meteorology component of the Australian chemistry-transport model TAPM. Bottom-up inventories of emissions from traffic, industry, households were based on data of the municipality of Hamburg. Shipping emissions for the port of Hamburg were taken from the Clean North Sea Shipping project. Episodes with elevated ozone (O3) were of specific interest for this study, as these are associated with exceedances of the World

  5. Distributions of eight meteorological variables at Cape Kennedy, Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Graves, M. E.; King, R. L.; Brown, S. C.

    1973-01-01

    Extreme values, median values, and nine percentile values are tabulated for eight meteorological variables at Cape Kennedy, Florida and at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The variables are temperature, relative humidity, station pressure, water vapor pressure, water vapor mixing ratio, density, and enthalpy. For each month eight hours are tabulated, namely, 0100, 0400, 0700, 1000, 1300, 1600, 1900, and 2200 local time. These statistics are intended for general use for the space shuttle design trade-off analysis and are not to be used for specific design values.

  6. Time to harmonize national ambient air quality standards.

    PubMed

    Kutlar Joss, Meltem; Eeftens, Marloes; Gintowt, Emily; Kappeler, Ron; Künzli, Nino

    2017-05-01

    The World Health Organization has developed ambient air quality guidelines at levels considered to be safe or of acceptable risk for human health. These guidelines are meant to support governments in defining national standards. It is unclear how they are followed. We compiled an inventory of ambient air quality standards for 194 countries worldwide for six air pollutants: PM 2.5 , PM 10 , ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide. We conducted literature and internet searches and asked country representatives about national ambient air quality standards. We found information on 170 countries including 57 countries that did not set any air quality standards. Levels varied greatly by country and by pollutant. Ambient air quality standards for PM 2.5 , PM 10 and SO 2 poorly complied with WHO guideline values. The agreement was higher for CO, SO 2 (10-min averaging time) and NO 2 . Regulatory differences mirror the differences in air quality and the related burden of disease around the globe. Governments worldwide should adopt science based air quality standards and clean air management plans to continuously improve air quality locally, nationally, and globally.

  7. Remote Sensing and Spatial Growth Modeling Coupled With Air Quality Modeling to Assess the Impact of Atlanta, Georgia on the Local and Regional Environment

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Quattrochi, D. A.; Estes, M. G.; Crosson, W. L.; Johnson, H.; Khan, M.

    2006-05-01

    The growth of cities, both in population and areal extent, appears as an inexorable process. Urbanization continues at a rapid rate, and it is estimated that by the year 2025, 60 percent of the world's population will live in cities. Urban expansion has profound impacts on a host of biophysical, environmental, and atmospheric processes within an urban ecosystems perspective. A reduction in air quality over cities is a major result of these impacts. Because of its complexity, the urban landscape is not adequately captured in air quality models such as the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model that is used to assess whether urban areas are in attainment of EPA air quality standards, primarily for ground level ozone. This inadequacy of the CMAQ model to sufficiently respond to the heterogeneous nature of the urban landscape can impact how well the model predicts ozone levels over metropolitan areas and ultimately, whether cities exceed EPA ozone air quality standards. We are exploring the utility of high-resolution remote sensing data and urban spatial growth modeling (SGM) projections as improved inputs to a meteorological/air quality modeling system focusing on the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area as a case study. These growth projections include "business as usual" and "smart growth" scenarios out to 2030. The growth projections illustrate the effects of employing urban heat island mitigation strategies, such as increasing tree canopy and albedo across the Atlanta metro area, which in turn, are used to model how air temperature can potentially be moderated as impacts on elevating ground-level ozone, as opposed to not utilizing heat island mitigation strategies. The National Land Cover Dataset at 30m resolution is being used as the land use/land cover input and aggregated to the 4km scale for the MM5 mesoscale meteorological model and the CMAQ modeling schemes. Use of these data has been found to better characterize low density/suburban development as

  8. 40 CFR 52.2682 - Air quality surveillance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Air quality surveillance. 52.2682... (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Guam § 52.2682 Air quality... Pollution Control Standards and Regulations” (buffer zones—air quality sampling) are not in conformance with...

  9. 40 CFR 52.2682 - Air quality surveillance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 5 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Air quality surveillance. 52.2682... (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Guam § 52.2682 Air quality... Pollution Control Standards and Regulations” (buffer zones—air quality sampling) are not in conformance with...

  10. 40 CFR 52.2682 - Air quality surveillance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 5 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Air quality surveillance. 52.2682... (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Guam § 52.2682 Air quality... Pollution Control Standards and Regulations” (buffer zones—air quality sampling) are not in conformance with...

  11. 40 CFR 52.2682 - Air quality surveillance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 5 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Air quality surveillance. 52.2682... (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Guam § 52.2682 Air quality... Pollution Control Standards and Regulations” (buffer zones—air quality sampling) are not in conformance with...

  12. 40 CFR 52.2682 - Air quality surveillance.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... 40 Protection of Environment 4 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Air quality surveillance. 52.2682... (CONTINUED) APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS (CONTINUED) Guam § 52.2682 Air quality... Pollution Control Standards and Regulations” (buffer zones—air quality sampling) are not in conformance with...

  13. Modeling of episodic particulate matter events using a 3-D air quality model with fine grid: Applications to a pair of cities in the US/Mexico border

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Choi, Yu-Jin; Hyde, Peter; Fernando, H. J. S.

    High (episodic) particulate matter (PM) events over the sister cities of Douglas (AZ) and Agua Prieta (Sonora), located in the US-Mexico border, were simulated using the 3D Eulerian air quality model, MODELS-3/CMAQ. The best available input information was used for the simulations, with pollution inventory specified on a fine grid. In spite of inherent uncertainties associated with the emission inventory as well as the chemistry and meteorology of the air quality simulation tool, model evaluations showed acceptable PM predictions, while demonstrating the need for including the interaction between meteorology and emissions in an interactive mode in the model, a capability currently unavailable in MODELS-3/CMAQ when dealing with PM. Sensitivity studies on boundary influence indicate an insignificant regional (advection) contribution of PM to the study area. The contribution of secondary particles to the occurrence of high PM events was trivial. High PM episodes in the study area, therefore, are purely local events that largely depend on local meteorological conditions. The major PM emission sources were identified as vehicular activities on unpaved/paved roads and wind-blown dust. The results will be of immediate utility in devising PM mitigation strategies for the study area, which is one of the US EPA-designated non-attainment areas with respect to PM.

  14. Air Quality Criteria for Ozone and Related Photochemical ...

    EPA Pesticide Factsheets

    In February 2006, EPA released the final document, Air Quality Criteria for Ozone and Other Photochemical Oxidants. Tropospheric or surface-level ozone (O3) is one of six major air pollutants regulated by National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) under the U.S. Clean Air Act. As mandated by the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must periodically review the scientific bases (or criteria) for the various NAAQS by assessing newly available scientific information on a given criteria air pollutant. This document, Air Quality Criteria for Ozone and Other Photochemical Oxidants, is an updated revision of the 1996 Ozone Air Quality Criteria Document (O3 AQCD) that provided scientific bases for the current O3 NAAQS set in 1997. The Clean Air Act mandates periodic review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for six common air pollutants, also referred to as criteria pollutants, including ozone.

  15. EARTH, WIND AND FIRE: BUILDING METEOROLOGICALLY-SENSITIVE BIOGENIC AND WILDLAND FIRE EMISSION ESTIMATES FOR AIR QUALITY MODELS

    EPA Science Inventory

    Emission estimates are important for ensuring the accuracy of atmospheric chemical transport models. Estimates of biogenic and wildland fire emissions, because of their sensitivity to meteorological conditions, need to be carefully constructed and closely linked with a meteorolo...

  16. Air Quality Criteria for Particulate Matter.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Air Pollution Control Administration (DHEW), Washington, DC.

    To assist states in developing air quality standards, this book offers a review of literature related to atmospheric particulates and the development of criteria for air quality. It not only summarizes the current scientific knowledge of particulate air pollution, but points up the major deficiencies in that knowledge and the need for further…

  17. Utilizing Operational and Improved Remote Sensing Measurements to Assess Air Quality Monitoring Model Forecasts

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Gan, Chuen-Meei

    Air quality model forecasts from Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) and Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) are often used to support air quality applications such as regulatory issues and scientific inquiries on atmospheric science processes. In urban environments, these models become more complex due to the inherent complexity of the land surface coupling and the enhanced pollutants emissions. This makes it very difficult to diagnose the model, if the surface parameter forecasts such as PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 microm) are not accurate. For this reason, getting accurate boundary layer dynamic forecasts is as essential as quantifying realistic pollutants emissions. In this thesis, we explore the usefulness of vertical sounding measurements on assessing meteorological and air quality forecast models. In particular, we focus on assessing the WRF model (12km x 12km) coupled with the CMAQ model for the urban New York City (NYC) area using multiple vertical profiling and column integrated remote sensing measurements. This assessment is helpful in probing the root causes for WRF-CMAQ overestimates of surface PM2.5 occurring both predawn and post-sunset in the NYC area during the summer. In particular, we find that the significant underestimates in the WRF PBL height forecast is a key factor in explaining this anomaly. On the other hand, the model predictions of the PBL height during daytime when convective heating dominates were found to be highly correlated to lidar derived PBL height with minimal bias. Additional topics covered in this thesis include mathematical method using direct Mie scattering approach to convert aerosol microphysical properties from CMAQ into optical parameters making direct comparisons with lidar and multispectral radiometers feasible. Finally, we explore some tentative ideas on combining visible (VIS) and mid-infrared (MIR) sensors to better separate aerosols into fine and coarse modes.

  18. BASIS FOR PRIMARY AIR QUALITY CRITERIA AND STANDARDS

    EPA Science Inventory

    The Environmental Criteria and Assessment Office and the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards are charged with responsibility for reviewing and assessing air quality criteria and air quality standards, respectively. Since adoption of the 1977 Clean Air Act Amendments, the...

  19. TRAFFIC AND METEOROLOGICAL IMPACTS ON NEAR-ROAD AIR QUALITY: SUMMARY OF METHODS AND TRENDS FROM THE RALEIGH NEAR-ROAD STUDY

    EPA Science Inventory

    There are adverse health effects in populations living, working or going to school near major roadways. A study was designed to assess traffic emissions impacts on air quality and particle toxicity near a heavily-traveled highway. Several real-time and time-integrated sampling d...

  20. Enhancing indoor air quality –The air filter advantage

    PubMed Central

    Vijayan, Vannan Kandi; Paramesh, Haralappa; Salvi, Sundeep Santosh; Dalal, Alpa Anil Kumar

    2015-01-01

    Air pollution has become the world's single biggest environmental health risk, linked to around 7 million deaths in 2012 according to a recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report. The new data further reveals a stronger link between, indoor and outdoor air pollution exposure and cardiovascular diseases, such as strokes and ischemic heart disease, as well as between air pollution and cancer. The role of air pollution in the development of respiratory diseases, including acute respiratory infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, is well known. While both indoor and outdoor pollution affect health, recent statistics on the impact of household indoor pollutants (HAP) is alarming. The WHO factsheet on HAP and health states that 3.8 million premature deaths annually - including stroke, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer are attributed to exposure to household air pollution. Use of air cleaners and filters are one of the suggested strategies to improve indoor air quality. This review discusses the impact of air pollutants with special focus on indoor air pollutants and the benefits of air filters in improving indoor air quality. PMID:26628762

  1. Vegetation-mediated Climate Impacts on Historical and Future Ozone Air Quality

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Tai, A. P. K.; Fu, Y.; Mickley, L. J.; Heald, C. L.; Wu, S.

    2014-12-01

    Changes in climate, natural vegetation and human land use are expected to significantly influence air quality in the coming century. These changes and their interactions have important ramifications for the effectiveness of air pollution control strategies. In a series of studies, we use a one-way coupled modeling framework (GEOS-Chem driven by different combinations of historical and future meteorological, land cover and emission data) to investigate the effects of climate-vegetation changes on global and East Asian ozone air quality from 30 years ago to 40 years into the future. We find that future climate and climate-driven vegetation changes combine to increase summertime ozone by 2-6 ppbv in populous regions of the US, Europe, East Asia and South Asia by year 2050, but including the interaction between CO2 and biogenic isoprene emission reduces the climate impacts by more than half. Land use change such as cropland expansion has the potential to either mostly offset the climate-driven ozone increases (e.g., in the US and Europe), or greatly increase ozone (e.g., in Southeast Asia). The projected climate-vegetation effects in East Asia are particularly uncertain, reflecting a less understood ozone production regime. We thus further study how East Asian ozone air quality has evolved since the early 1980s in response to climate, vegetation and emission changes to shed light on its likely future course. We find that warming alone has led to a substantial increase in summertime ozone in populous regions by 1-4 ppbv. Despite significant cropland expansion and urbanization, increased summertime leafiness of vegetation in response to warming and CO2 fertilization has reduced ozone by 1-2 ppbv, driven by enhanced ozone deposition dominating over elevated biogenic emission and partially offsetting the warming effect. The historical role of CO2-isoprene interaction in East Asia, however, remains highly uncertain. Our findings demonstrate the important roles of land cover

  2. Air pollution removal by urban trees and shrubs in the United States

    Treesearch

    David J. Nowak; Daniel E. Crane; Jack C. Stevens

    2006-01-01

    A modeling study using hourly meteorological and pollution concentration data from across the coterminous United States demonstrates that urban trees remove large amounts of air pollution that consequently improve urban air quality. Pollution removal (03, PM10, NO2, SO2, CO)...

  3. Analysis of airborne particulate matter pollution in Timisoara city urban area and correlations between measurements and meteorological data

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Lungu, Mihai; Lungu, Antoanetta; Stefu, Nicoleta; Neculae, Adrian; Strambeanu, Nicolae

    2017-01-01

    Air pollution is known to have many adverse effects, among which those on human health are considered the most important. Healthy people of all ages can be adversely affected by high levels of air pollutants. Nanoparticles can be considered among the most harmful of all pollutants as they can penetrate straight into the lungs and blood stream. Their role in the aging process has also recently been revealed. In Romania, practically in all important urban areas (Bucureşti, Iaşi, Timişoara, Braşov, Baia Mare, etc.) the daily limit values for airborne particulate matter are exceeded, so more efforts in controlling air quality are required, along with more research and policies with positive impact on reducing the pollutants concentration in air. The approaches that have been developed to assess the air quality and health impacts of pollution sources are based on analytical methods such as source apportionment, factor analyses, and the measurement of source-relevant indicator compounds. The goal of the present study is to offer preliminary but relevant information on the particulate matter distribution in the city of Timisoara, Romania. Measurements of inhalable coarse and fine particles in two areas of the city, the most affected by industrial particulate emissions, were performed in days with various meteorological conditions. Meteorological parameters for the specific measurement days were recorded (wind speed and direction, humidity, temperature, pressure, etc.) and the influence of these parameters on the particulate matter dispersion was studied. The results show that the meteorological conditions cause differences between airborne particulate matter distributions in different days in the same zones. Measurements were made in northern and southern areas of the city of Timisoara because previous results have shown high levels of airborne particulate matter in these areas.

  4. Tonopah Test Range Air Monitoring: CY2015 Meteorological, Radiological, and Airborne Particulate Observations

    DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

    Nikolich, George; Shadel, Craig; Chapman, Jenny

    2016-09-01

    In 1963, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) (formerly the Atomic Energy Commission [AEC]), implemented Operation Roller Coaster on the Tonopah Test Range (TTR) and an adjacent area of the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) (formerly the Nellis Air Force Range). The operation resulted in radionuclide-contaminated soils at the Clean Slate I, II, and III sites. This report documents observations made during ongoing monitoring of radiological, meteorological, and dust conditions at stations installed adjacent to Clean Slate I and Clean Slate III, and at the TTR Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) Range Operations Control (ROC) center. The primary objective ofmore » the monitoring effort is to determine if winds blowing across the Clean Slate sites are transporting particles of radionuclide-contaminated soil beyond the physical and administrative boundaries of the sites. Radionuclide assessment of airborne particulates in 2015 found the gross alpha and gross beta values of dust collected from the filters at the monitoring stations are consistent with background conditions. The meteorological and particle monitoring indicate that conditions for wind-borne contaminant movement exist at the Clean Slate sites and that, although the transport of radionuclide-contaminated soil by suspension has not been detected, movement by saltation is occurring.« less

  5. Forest ecosystem services: Carbon and air quality

    Treesearch

    David J. Nowak; Neelam C. Poudyal; Steve G. McNulty

    2017-01-01

    Forests provide various ecosystem services related to air quality that can provide substantial value to society. Through tree growth and alteration of their local environment, trees and forests both directly and indirectly affect air quality. Though forests affect air quality in numerous ways, this chapter will focus on five main ecosystem services or disservices...

  6. Instrumentation for air quality measurements.

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Loewenstein, M.

    1973-01-01

    Comparison of the new generation of air quality monitoring instruments with some more traditional methods. The first generation of air quality measurement instruments, based on the use of oxidant coulometric cells, nitrogen oxide colorimetry, carbon monoxide infrared analyzers, and other types of detectors, is compared with new techniques now coming into wide use in the air monitoring field and involving the use of chemiluminescent reactions, optical absorption detectors, a refinement of the carbon monoxide infrared analyzer, electrochemical cells based on solid electrolytes, and laser detectors.

  7. Lack of evidence for meteorological effects on infradian dynamics of testosterone

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Celec, Peter; Smreková, Lucia; Ostatníková, Daniela; Čabajová, Zlata; Hodosy, Július; Kúdela, Matúš

    2009-09-01

    Climatic factors are known to influence the endocrine system. Previous studies have shown that circannual seasonal variations of testosterone might be partly explained by changes in air temperature. Whether infradian variations are affected by meteorological factors is unknown. To analyze possible effects of meteorological parameters on infradian variations of salivary testosterone levels in both sexes, daily salivary testosterone levels were measured during 1 month in 14 men and 17 women. A correlation analysis between hormonal levels and selected meteorological parameters was performed. The results indicate that high testosterone levels are loosely associated with cold, sunny and dry weather in both sexes. However, only the correlations between testosterone and air temperature (men) and actual cloudiness (women) were statistically significant ( p < 0,05). Although some correlations reached the level of statistical significance, the effects of selected meteorological parameters on salivary testosterone levels remain unclear. Further longer-term studies concentrating on air temperature, cloudiness and average relative humidity in relation to the sex hormone axis are needed.

  8. 40 CFR 52.1234 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1234 Section 52.1234 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  9. 40 CFR 52.1884 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1884 Section 52.1884 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  10. 40 CFR 52.499 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.499 Section 52.499 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  11. 40 CFR 52.1180 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1180 Section 52.1180 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  12. 40 CFR 52.2827 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2827 Section 52.2827 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  13. 40 CFR 52.1689 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1689 Section 52.1689 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  14. 40 CFR 52.2676 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2676 Section 52.2676 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  15. 40 CFR 52.2779 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2779 Section 52.2779 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  16. 40 CFR 52.2729 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2729 Section 52.2729 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  17. 40 CFR 52.2497 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2497 Section 52.2497 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  18. 40 CFR 52.1603 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1603 Section 52.1603 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  19. 40 CFR 52.1165 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

    2010-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1165 Section 52.1165 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulation for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  20. 40 CFR 52.499 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... quality. 52.499 Section 52.499 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  1. 40 CFR 52.1884 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1884 Section 52.1884 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  2. 40 CFR 52.1165 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1165 Section 52.1165 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulation for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  3. 40 CFR 52.1165 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1165 Section 52.1165 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulation for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  4. 40 CFR 52.1180 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1180 Section 52.1180 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  5. 40 CFR 52.2729 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2729 Section 52.2729 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  6. 40 CFR 52.1884 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1884 Section 52.1884 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  7. 40 CFR 52.2779 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2779 Section 52.2779 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  8. 40 CFR 52.499 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... quality. 52.499 Section 52.499 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  9. 40 CFR 52.1603 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1603 Section 52.1603 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  10. 40 CFR 52.1234 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1234 Section 52.1234 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  11. 40 CFR 52.2497 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2497 Section 52.2497 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  12. 40 CFR 52.2497 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2497 Section 52.2497 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  13. 40 CFR 52.1603 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1603 Section 52.1603 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  14. 40 CFR 52.1884 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1884 Section 52.1884 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  15. 40 CFR 52.2676 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2676 Section 52.2676 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  16. 40 CFR 52.1603 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1603 Section 52.1603 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  17. 40 CFR 52.499 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... quality. 52.499 Section 52.499 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  18. 40 CFR 52.2676 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2676 Section 52.2676 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  19. 40 CFR 52.2779 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2779 Section 52.2779 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  20. 40 CFR 52.1234 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1234 Section 52.1234 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  1. 40 CFR 52.2676 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2676 Section 52.2676 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  2. 40 CFR 52.1165 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1165 Section 52.1165 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulation for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  3. 40 CFR 52.2827 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2827 Section 52.2827 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  4. 40 CFR 52.1165 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1165 Section 52.1165 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulation for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  5. 40 CFR 52.1180 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1180 Section 52.1180 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  6. 40 CFR 52.2676 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2676 Section 52.2676 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  7. 40 CFR 52.2497 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2497 Section 52.2497 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  8. 40 CFR 52.499 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

    2014-07-01

    ... quality. 52.499 Section 52.499 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  9. 40 CFR 52.2729 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2729 Section 52.2729 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  10. 40 CFR 52.1180 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1180 Section 52.1180 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  11. 40 CFR 52.2497 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2497 Section 52.2497 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  12. 40 CFR 52.1234 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1234 Section 52.1234 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  13. 40 CFR 52.2827 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2827 Section 52.2827 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  14. 40 CFR 52.1180 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1180 Section 52.1180 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  15. 40 CFR 52.1884 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1884 Section 52.1884 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  16. 40 CFR 52.2729 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2729 Section 52.2729 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  17. 40 CFR 52.2729 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

    2012-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2729 Section 52.2729 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  18. 40 CFR 52.2827 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

    2013-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2827 Section 52.2827 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  19. 40 CFR 52.2827 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... quality. 52.2827 Section 52.2827 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...

  20. 40 CFR 52.1234 - Significant deterioration of air quality.

    Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

    2011-07-01

    ... quality. 52.1234 Section 52.1234 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR... Significant deterioration of air quality. (a) The requirements of sections 160 through 165 of the Clean Air... deterioration of air quality. (b) Regulations for preventing significant deterioration of air quality. The...