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Atmosphere, Volume 7, Issue 9 (September 2016) – 13 articles

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5469 KiB  
Article
The Characteristics of Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Heavy-Duty Trucks in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) Region in China
by Yi Xing, Hongqing Song, Mingxu Yu, Cheng Wang, Yang Zhou, Guanghui Liu and Li Du
Atmosphere 2016, 7(9), 121; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos7090121 - 21 Sep 2016
Cited by 27 | Viewed by 5998
Abstract
This paper aims to study the characteristics of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from heavy-duty trucks in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region, which is located in Northern China. The multiyear emissions of GHG (CO2, CH4 and N2O) from heavy-duty trucks [...] Read more.
This paper aims to study the characteristics of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from heavy-duty trucks in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region, which is located in Northern China. The multiyear emissions of GHG (CO2, CH4 and N2O) from heavy-duty trucks fueled by diesel and natural gas during the period of 2006–2015 were compared and analyzed. The results show that the GHG emissions from heavy-duty trucks increase with time, which is consistent with the trend of the population growth. The total amount of carbon dioxide equivalence (CO2e) emissions in the BTH region was about 5.12 × 106 t in 2015. Among the three sub-regions, Hebei possesses the largest number of heavy-duty trucks due to the size of its heavy-duty industries. As a consequence, the GHG emissions are about 10 times compared to Beijing and Tianjin. Tractor trailers account for the major proportion of heavy-duty trucks and hence contribute to about 74% of GHG emissions. Diesel- and liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered heavy-duty trucks can reduce GHG emissions more effectively under current national standard IV than can the previous standard. The widespread utilization of the alternative fuel of LNG to mitigate emissions must be accompanied with engine technology development in China. This study has provided new insight on management methods and the policy-making as regards trucks in terms of environmental demand. Full article
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174 KiB  
Reply
A Reply to Keith Schofield: Comment on Ernest et al. Programmable Thermal Dissociation of Reactive Gaseous Mercury, a Potential Approach to Chemical Speciation: Results from a Field Study. Atmosphere 2014, 5, 575–596
by Anthony J. Hynes, Cheryl Tatum Ernest, Deanna Donohoue, Dieter Bauer and Arnout Ter Schure
Atmosphere 2016, 7(9), 120; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos7090120 - 19 Sep 2016
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2608
Abstract
Dr. Schofield [1] states that:[...] Full article
167 KiB  
Comment
Comment on Ernest et al. Programmable Thermal Dissociation of Reactive Gaseous Mercury, A Potential Approach to Chemical Speciation: Results from a Field Study. Atmosphere 2014, 5, 575–596
by Keith Schofield
Atmosphere 2016, 7(9), 119; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos7090119 - 19 Sep 2016
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3139
Abstract
The authors of this paper utilized a so-called “programmable thermal dissociation method” to monitor HgCl2 emitted from a coal-fired Florida combustion plant.[...] Full article
4471 KiB  
Article
A Case Study of a Heavy Rain over the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau
by Qichao Long, Quanliang Chen, Ke Gui and Ying Zhang
Atmosphere 2016, 7(9), 118; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos7090118 - 18 Sep 2016
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 5982
Abstract
This research systematically studied heavy rain that occurred on 5 August 2014 over the southeastern Tibetan Plateau (31°N–35°N, 96°E–103°E) using orbital data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation radar (PR), the TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) products, and the European Centre [...] Read more.
This research systematically studied heavy rain that occurred on 5 August 2014 over the southeastern Tibetan Plateau (31°N–35°N, 96°E–103°E) using orbital data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation radar (PR), the TRMM Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) products, and the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) Re-Analysis Interim reanalysis data (ERA-Interim). The data studied included spatial and temporal distributions of the precipitation; horizontal distributions and vertical structures of the precipitation system; convective storm top altitudes and types of rain; mean rainfall profiles; the influence of water vapor content before and after the rainfall; and the atmospheric circulation background. The results suggest that most precipitation on the Tibetan Plateau occurs in the southeast, and that the maximum near-surface precipitation rate for this event was more than 100 mm·h−1. The convection was so powerful that the convective storm top altitude surpassed 16 km. Furthermore, the water vapor content caused obvious changes in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) area. The mean rainfall profile can be roughly divided into four layers and showed that the maximum rainfall rate appeared at about 5.5 km. Deep weak precipitation provided the largest contribution to the total precipitation, while the highest average precipitation rate was from deep strong convective precipitation. The atmospheric circulation situation is conducive to the formation of strong convective weather, and the terrain is also an external factor affecting precipitation for this event. Full article
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1944 KiB  
Article
Submicron Particle-Bound Mercury in University Teaching Rooms: A Summer Study from Two Polish Cities
by Grzegorz Majewski, Karolina Kociszewska, Wioletta Rogula-Kozłowska, Halina Pyta, Patrycja Rogula-Kopiec, Walter Mucha and Józef S. Pastuszka
Atmosphere 2016, 7(9), 117; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos7090117 - 15 Sep 2016
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5033
Abstract
The goal of the study was to determine the concentrations of submicron particulate matter (PM1) and of the mercury contained in it (Hgp) in the air in two teaching rooms in two Polish cities, Gliwice and Warsaw. The levels [...] Read more.
The goal of the study was to determine the concentrations of submicron particulate matter (PM1) and of the mercury contained in it (Hgp) in the air in two teaching rooms in two Polish cities, Gliwice and Warsaw. The levels of atmospheric particulate matter (PM) differ greatly between these two cities. The relations between the indoor (I) and outdoor (O) 24-h concentrations for each PM1 and Hgp were determined and, based on the conclusions, an attempt was made to identify the main sources of the indoor Hgp in both cities. During the whole measuring period (April–June 2015), in both Warsaw and Gliwice, the 24-h outdoor PM1 concentrations were slightly higher than the indoor ones (outdoor and indoor averages were equal to 19.3 µg m−3 and 14.5 µg·m−3, respectively, in Gliwice and to 13.2 µg·m−3 and 9.5 µg·m−3 in Warsaw). In Gliwice, the indoor concentrations of Hgp (2.4 pg·m−3 to 27.7 pg·m−3) were much higher than the outdoor ones (1.1 pg·m−3 to 6.1 pg·m−3); in Warsaw the average concentrations of Hgp were equal to 1.4 pg m−3 indoors and outdoors. The 24-h concentrations of Hgp and the 24-h I/O ratios for Hgp varied more intensely in Gliwice than in Warsaw throughout the whole measuring period. In Warsaw, the teaching room Hgp came mainly from the infiltration of atmospheric (outdoor) Hgp. In Gliwice, a part of the indoor Hgp infiltrated into the teaching room with the outdoor PM1 that most probably was then enriched with gaseous indoor Hg, what resulted in the relatively high indoor Hgp concentrations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ultrafine Particles: Determination, Behavior and Human Health Effects)
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3905 KiB  
Review
ELF Electromagnetic Waves from Lightning: The Schumann Resonances
by Colin Price
Atmosphere 2016, 7(9), 116; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos7090116 - 15 Sep 2016
Cited by 55 | Viewed by 19346
Abstract
Lightning produces electromagnetic fields and waves in all frequency ranges. In the extremely low frequency (ELF) range below 100 Hz, the global Schumann Resonances (SR) are excited at frequencies of 8 Hz, 14 Hz, 20 Hz, etc. This review is aimed at the [...] Read more.
Lightning produces electromagnetic fields and waves in all frequency ranges. In the extremely low frequency (ELF) range below 100 Hz, the global Schumann Resonances (SR) are excited at frequencies of 8 Hz, 14 Hz, 20 Hz, etc. This review is aimed at the reader generally unfamiliar with the Schumann Resonances. First some historical context to SR research is given, followed by some theoretical background and examples of the extensive use of Schumann resonances in a variety of lightning-related studies in recent years, ranging from estimates of the spatial and temporal variations in global lighting activity, connections to global climate change, transient luminous events and extraterrestrial lightning. Both theoretical and experimental results of the global resonance phenomenon are presented. It is our hope that this review will increase the interest in SR among researchers previously unfamiliar with this phenomenon. Full article
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3605 KiB  
Article
Horizontal Electric Field in the Vicinity of Structures Hit by Lightning
by Celio Fonseca Barbosa
Atmosphere 2016, 7(9), 115; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos7090115 - 09 Sep 2016
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4267
Abstract
The horizontal electric field at the ground surface in the vicinity of structures hit by lightning flashes is relevant to the safety of human beings and livestock; it determines the touch and step voltages around the structure. This paper uses an approximate analytical [...] Read more.
The horizontal electric field at the ground surface in the vicinity of structures hit by lightning flashes is relevant to the safety of human beings and livestock; it determines the touch and step voltages around the structure. This paper uses an approximate analytical formula for calculating the horizontal electric field, which was adapted to take into account the effect of the structure foundation. The input for the calculation is the current waveform at the base of the structure, and the results agree well with those obtained by other authors using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The approximate formula is applied to calculate touch and step voltages in the vicinity of a structure and the results show that the use of the direct current (DC) approximation to calculate touch and step voltages may lead to significant errors; especially for fast-rising currents and relatively good-conducting soils. This means that DC approximation could be used for positive first stroke and poor-conducting ground (ρ ≥ 1000 Ω∙m), but cannot be used for subsequent strokes and good-conducting ground (ρ ≤ 100 Ω∙m). Moreover, step voltages differ more from the DC approximation than the touch voltages. Full article
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6927 KiB  
Article
Temperature Change of Shanghai and Its Response to Global Warming and Urbanization
by Wenchao Chu, Sijing Qiu and Jianhua Xu
Atmosphere 2016, 7(9), 114; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos7090114 - 08 Sep 2016
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 7553
Abstract
Shanghai is the biggest metropolis in China, and its local temperature change is affected not only by global warming but also by urbanization. Integrating the Mann-Kendall test, EMD (Empirical Mode Decomposition), Cross Wavelet Analysis and statistical methods, we studied the response of the [...] Read more.
Shanghai is the biggest metropolis in China, and its local temperature change is affected not only by global warming but also by urbanization. Integrating the Mann-Kendall test, EMD (Empirical Mode Decomposition), Cross Wavelet Analysis and statistical methods, we studied the response of the local temperature change in Shanghai to global warming and urbanization. The results indicate that the local temperature at Shanghai present a significant warming trend under the background of global warming over the past 135 years. The local temperature at Shanghai displays 2-year, 6-year, 15-year, 23-year and 68-year periodic fluctuation, whereas global temperature shows 4-year, 9-year, 15-year, 23-year and 68-year cyclic variation. Although the two cycles are not exactly the same, they show some comparability. Urbanization facilitated the warming process of Shanghai. In the most recent 50 years, temperature difference between urban and suburban Shanghai has increased nearly 0.4 °C. The related indicators of urban development, such as population, built-up area, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), energy consumption and number of vehicles show significantly positive correlation with the temperature difference between urban and suburban area. In addition, the frequency of extreme high temperature has become higher, whereas the frequency of extreme low temperature has become lower over the most recent 55 years. Full article
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3298 KiB  
Article
Possible Impact of Climate Change on the Quality of Apples from the Major Producing Areas of China
by Zhenjiang Qu and Guangsheng Zhou
Atmosphere 2016, 7(9), 113; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos7090113 - 07 Sep 2016
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 5522
Abstract
Meteorological conditions are important environmental factors affecting apple quality. To understand the possible impact of climate change on the apple quality of the major producing areas in China and assess the quality of major apple species (e.g., Fuji, Ralls, and Golden Delicious), we [...] Read more.
Meteorological conditions are important environmental factors affecting apple quality. To understand the possible impact of climate change on the apple quality of the major producing areas in China and assess the quality of major apple species (e.g., Fuji, Ralls, and Golden Delicious), we studied the variation trends and abrupt change characteristics of six major climate factors affecting seven physicochemical indices of apple quality across five apple regions, including the Loess Plateau, Bohai Bay, the Old Course of the Yellow River, Southwest Highlands, and Xinjiang, using statistical methods, meteorological indices, and the ArcGIS analysis tool based on the meteorological observational data from 1961 to 2013. The results show that the spatial and temporal distributions of annual average temperature, annual sunshine duration, average summer temperature, summer diurnal temperature range, and average summer relative humidity all significantly changed (except annual precipitation) and that abrupt changes occurred. The annual temperatures and average summer temperatures in the Loess Plateau apple region and the Liaoning producing region of Bohai Bay increased within optimal ranges. In addition, for high-value regions, the hours of sunshine decreased, helping to improve the fruit shape index, sugar-acid ratio, and vitamin C (VC) content. Relatively high temperatures continued to increase to high values which remained lower than the optimal upper limit; the diurnal temperature range continued to decrease; and the sunshine hours significantly decreased within the optimal range, which might have worsened fruit hardness, soluble sugar, and peel anthocyanin in the producing regions of Southwest Shandong of Bohai Bay, Southeast Hebei of the Old Course of the Yellow River, Northern Anhui, and Jiangsu. In the production regions of the Yun-Gui plateau in the Southwest highlands, increased summer temperature and the diurnal temperature range were both within the optimal ranges, which might have helped to reduce fruit hardness and increase soluble sugar content. However, continuously increased temperature and reduced sunshine might have worsened the apple shape index and fruit coloring. In the Xinjiang apple-producing region, the climate became warmer and more humid with reduced daily sunshine hours, which might have improved the exterior quality of apples and reduced fruit hardness. Thus, the climate changes over the last 50 years have positively affected the seven apple quality physicochemical properties in the Loess Plateau and Xinjiang, whereas the impacts on the different indices of apple quality in the other apple-producing regions are less coherent. In general, climate change has significantly affected the apple quality of the major production regions in China. Corresponding scientific measures are needed to assure high apple quality to increase the income of farmers in the future. Full article
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1759 KiB  
Article
Molecular Dications in Planetary Atmospheric Escape
by Stefano Falcinelli, Fernando Pirani, Michele Alagia, Luca Schio, Robert Richter, Stefano Stranges, Nadia Balucani and Franco Vecchiocattivi
Atmosphere 2016, 7(9), 112; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos7090112 - 26 Aug 2016
Cited by 25 | Viewed by 5428
Abstract
Fundamental properties of multiply charged molecular ions, such as energetics, structure, stability, lifetime and fragmentation dynamics, are relevant to understand and model the behavior of gaseous plasmas as well as ionosphere and astrophysical environments. Experimental determinations of the Kinetic Energy Released (KER) for [...] Read more.
Fundamental properties of multiply charged molecular ions, such as energetics, structure, stability, lifetime and fragmentation dynamics, are relevant to understand and model the behavior of gaseous plasmas as well as ionosphere and astrophysical environments. Experimental determinations of the Kinetic Energy Released (KER) for ions originating from dissociations reactions, induced by Coulomb explosion of doubly charged molecular ions (molecular dications) produced by double photoionization of CO2, N2O and C2H2 molecules of interest in planetary atmospheres, are reported. The KER measurement as a function of the ultraviolet (UV) photon energy in the range of 28–65 eV was extracted from the electron-ion-ion coincidence spectra obtained by using tunable synchrotron radiation coupled with ion imaging techniques at the ELETTRA Synchrotron Light Laboratory Trieste, Italy. These experiments, coupled with a computational analysis based on a Monte Carlo trajectory simulation, allow assessing the probability of escape for simple ionic species in the upper atmosphere of Mars, Venus and Titan. The measured KER in the case of H+, C+, CH+, CH2+, N+, O+, CO+, N2+ and NO+ fragment ions range between 1.0 and 5.5 eV, being large enough to allow these ionic species to participate in the atmospheric escape from such planets into space. In the case of Mars, we suggest a possible explanation for the observed behavior of the O+ and CO22+ ion density profiles. Full article
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5971 KiB  
Article
Effect of the Aerosol Type Selection for the Retrieval of Shortwave Ground Net Radiation: Case Study Using Landsat 8 Data
by Cristiana Bassani, Ciro Manzo, Ashraf Zakey and Emilio Cuevas-Agulló
Atmosphere 2016, 7(9), 111; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos7090111 - 25 Aug 2016
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4657
Abstract
This paper discusses the aerosol radiative effects involved in the accuracy of shortwave net radiation, R n . s w , with s w (400–900) nm, retrieved by the Operational Land Imager (OLI), the new generation sensor of the Landsat mission. Net [...] Read more.
This paper discusses the aerosol radiative effects involved in the accuracy of shortwave net radiation, R n . s w , with s w (400–900) nm, retrieved by the Operational Land Imager (OLI), the new generation sensor of the Landsat mission. Net radiation is a key parameter for the energy exchange between the land and atmosphere; thus, R n . s w retrieval from space is under investigation by exploiting the increased spatial resolution of the visible and near-infrared OLI data. We adopted the latest version of the Second Simulation of a Satellite Signal in the Solar Spectrum (6SV) atmospheric radiative transfer model implemented in the atmospheric correction algorithm (OLI Atmospherically-Corrected Reflectance Imagery (OLI@CRI)) developed specifically for OLI data. The values of R n . s w were obtained by varying the microphysical properties of the aerosol during the OLI@CRI retrieval of both the OLI surface reflectance, ρ p x l o l i , and the incoming solar irradiance at the surface. The analysis of the aerosol effects on the R n . s w was carried out on a spectrally-homogeneous desert area located in the southwestern Nile Delta. The results reveal that the R n . s w available for energy exchange between the land and atmosphere reduces the accuracy (NRMSE ≃ 14%) when the local aerosol microphysical properties are not considered during the processing of space data. Consequently, these findings suggest that the aerosol type should be considered for variables retrieved by satellite observations concerning the energy exchange in the natural ecosystems, such as Photosynthetically-Active Radiation (PAR). This will also improve the accuracy of land monitoring and of solar energy for power generation when space data are used. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Atmospheric Aerosols and Their Radiative Effects)
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1278 KiB  
Article
Importance of Gaseous Elemental Mercury Fluxes in Western Maryland
by Mark S. Castro and Christopher W. Moore
Atmosphere 2016, 7(9), 110; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos7090110 - 23 Aug 2016
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 4629
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of the gaseous elemental mercury (GEM, Hg°) fluxes between the atmosphere and soils. Moreover, we wanted to quantify the annual GEM flux, identify the controls, and compare the GEM flux to annual rates [...] Read more.
The purpose of this study was to increase our understanding of the gaseous elemental mercury (GEM, Hg°) fluxes between the atmosphere and soils. Moreover, we wanted to quantify the annual GEM flux, identify the controls, and compare the GEM flux to annual rates of gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM) dry deposition and wet deposition of total mercury. We measured GEM fluxes using the modified Bowen ratio (MBR) technique from 6 July 2009 to 6 July 2010 in western Maryland. The annual hourly mean (±std. dev.) GEM flux was −0.63 ± 31.0 ng·m−2·h−1. Hourly mean GEM fluxes were not strongly correlated with atmospheric trace gases, aerosols, or meteorology. However, hourly mean GEM emissions (15.3 ± 27.9 ng·m−2·h−1) and deposition (−14.6 ± 26.6 ng·m−2·h−1) were correlated with ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B), wind speed (WS), ozone (O3), and relative humidity (RH). The annual net GEM flux was −3.33 µg· m−2·year−1 and was similar to the annual dry deposition rate of GOM (2.5 to 3.2 µg·m−2·year−1), and 40% less than the annual mean wet deposition (8 µg·m−2·year−1) of total mercury. Thus, dry deposition of GEM accounted for approximately 25% of the total annual mercury deposition (~14 ug·m−2·year−1) measured at our study site. Full article
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4471 KiB  
Article
Intercomparison of Carbon Dioxide Products Retrieved from GOSAT Short-Wavelength Infrared Spectra for Three Years (2010–2012)
by Anjian Deng, Tao Yu, Tianhai Cheng, Xingfa Gu, Fengjie Zheng and Hong Guo
Atmosphere 2016, 7(9), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos7090109 - 23 Aug 2016
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4011
Abstract
This paper presents the comparison of two CO2 datasets from the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) of Japan and the Atmospheric CO2 Observations from Space (ACOS) of NASA for three years (2010 to 2012). Both CO2 datasets are retrieved [...] Read more.
This paper presents the comparison of two CO2 datasets from the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) of Japan and the Atmospheric CO2 Observations from Space (ACOS) of NASA for three years (2010 to 2012). Both CO2 datasets are retrieved from the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) short-wavelength infrared spectra over High gain surface land. In this three-year period, the yield of the NIES CO2 column averaged dry air mole fractions (XCO2) is about 71% of ACOS retrievals. The overall bias is 0.21 ± 1.85 ppm and −0.69 ± 2.13 ppm for ACOS and NIES XCO2, respectively, when compared with ground-based Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) observations from twelve Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) sites. The differences in XCO2 three-year means and seasonal means are within about 1 to 2 ppm. Strong consistency is obtained for the ACOS and NIES XCO2 monthly averages time series over different regions, with the greatest mean difference of ACOS to NIES monthly means over China (1.43 ± 0.60 ppm) and the least over Brazil (−0.03 ± 0.64 ppm). The intercomparison between the two XCO2 datasets indicates that the ACOS XCO2 is globally higher than NIES by about 1 ppm and has smaller bias and better consistency than NIES data. Full article
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