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Air Pollution Changes and Impacts during Abrupt Shifts in Anthropogenic...
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Air Pollution Changes and Impacts during Abrupt Shifts in Anthropogenic Activities

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Air Quality and Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2021) | Viewed by 15757

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Mihalis Vrekoussis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Laboratory for Modeling and Observation of the Earth System (LAMOS), Institute of Environmental Physics and Remote Sensing (IUP), University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
2. Center of Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
3. Climate and Atmosphere Research Center (CARE-C), Aglantzia 2121, Nicosia, Cyprus
Interests: atmospheric chemistry and physics; air quality; remote sensing
Prof. Dr. Maria Kanakidou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, 700 13 Heraklion, Greece;
2. Excellence Chair, University of Bremen, 28359 Bremen, Germany
Interests: atmospheric chemistry and physics; numerical modeling; biogeochemical cycles; air quality

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental problems of our era, causing deterioration of air quality and ecosystem health, climate change, and increased morbidity and mortality to humans. According to the World Health Organization (https://www.who.int/), nine out of ten people on our planet breathe polluted air. In order to achieve air pollutant reduction, a large number of countries worldwide have implemented strict control strategies aiming at decreasing anthropogenic emissions. On top of these long-term mitigation measures, short-term changes caused by temporary events may further perturb the system. Some of these instances include economic recession periods, lockdowns due to health-threatening deceases, and emission controls during athletic activities. All these events present a unique “natural laboratory” study opportunity that enables the assessment of the impact of further emissions reductions on air quality, economy, and human health.

Herewith, we invite papers tackling the spatial and temporal variability of trace gases and aerosols and their impacts during the abovementioned periods. We welcome studies using observational in situ and/or remote sensing data, as well as atmospheric models.

Prof. Dr. Mihalis Vrekoussis
Prof. Dr. Maria Kanakidou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Air quality observations and modeling
  • Anthropogenic emissions
  • Trace gases and aerosols
  • Lockdown periods
  • Economic recession
  • Emissions control during athletic events
  • Health impacts
  • Atmospheric deposition

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

30 pages, 5889 KiB  
Article
Air Quality in the Italian Northwestern Alps during Year 2020: Assessment of the COVID-19 «Lockdown Effect» from Multi-Technique Observations and Models
by Henri Diémoz, Tiziana Magri, Giordano Pession, Claudia Tarricone, Ivan Karl Friedrich Tombolato, Gabriele Fasano and Manuela Zublena
Atmosphere 2021, 12(8), 1006; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12081006 - 5 Aug 2021
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4726
Abstract
The effect of COVID-19 confinement regulations on air quality in the northwestern Alps is assessed here based on measurements at five valley sites in different environmental contexts. Surface concentrations of nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2), ozone (O3), particulate matter [...] Read more.
The effect of COVID-19 confinement regulations on air quality in the northwestern Alps is assessed here based on measurements at five valley sites in different environmental contexts. Surface concentrations of nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2), ozone (O3), particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), together with a thorough microphysical (size), chemical, and optical (light absorption) aerosol characterisation, complemented by observations along the vertical column are considered. Even in the relatively pristine environment of the Alps, the «lockdown effect» is well discernible, both in the early confinement phase and in late 2020. The variations observed during the first confinement period in the city of Aosta (−61% NO, −43% NO2, +5% O3, +9% PM2.5, −12% PM10, relative to average 2015–2019 conditions) are attributed to the competing effects of air pollution lockdown-induced changes (−74%, −52%, +18%, −13%, −27%, relative to the counterfactual scenario for 2020 provided by a predictive statistical model trained on past measurements) and meteorology (+52%, +18%, −11%, +25%, +20%, relative to average conditions). These changes agree well with the ones obtained from a chemical transport model with modified emissions according to the restrictions. With regard to column-integrated quantities and vertical profiles, the NO2 column density decreases by >20% due to the lockdown, whereas tropospheric aerosols are mainly influenced by large-scale dynamics (transport of secondary particles from the Po basin and mineral dust from the Sahara desert and the Caspian Sea), except a shallow layer about 500 m thick close to the surface, possibly sensitive to curtailed emissions (especially exhaust and non-exhaust particles from road traffic and fugitive emissions from the industry). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Pollution Changes and Impacts during Abrupt Shifts in Anthropogenic Activities)
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20 pages, 2866 KiB  
Article
Atmospheric Impacts of COVID-19 on NOx and VOC Levels over China Based on TROPOMI and IASI Satellite Data and Modeling
by Trissevgeni Stavrakou, Jean-François Müller, Maite Bauwens, Thierno Doumbia, Nellie Elguindi, Sabine Darras, Claire Granier, Isabelle De Smedt, Christophe Lerot, Michel Van Roozendael, Bruno Franco, Lieven Clarisse, Cathy Clerbaux, Pierre-François Coheur, Yiming Liu, Tao Wang, Xiaoqin Shi, Benjamin Gaubert, Simone Tilmes and Guy Brasseur
Atmosphere 2021, 12(8), 946; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12080946 - 23 Jul 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4100
Abstract
China was the first country to undergo large-scale lockdowns in response to the pandemic in early 2020 and a progressive return to normalization after April 2020. Spaceborne observations of atmospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs), including formaldehyde [...] Read more.
China was the first country to undergo large-scale lockdowns in response to the pandemic in early 2020 and a progressive return to normalization after April 2020. Spaceborne observations of atmospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs), including formaldehyde (HCHO), glyoxal (CHOCHO), and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), reveal important changes over China in 2020, relative to 2019, in response to the pandemic-induced shutdown and the subsequent drop in pollutant emissions. In February, at the peak of the shutdown, the observed declines in OVOC levels were generally weaker (less than 20%) compared to the observed NO2 reductions (−40%). In May 2020, the observations reveal moderate decreases in NO2 (−15%) and PAN (−21%), small changes in CHOCHO (−3%) and HCHO (6%). Model simulations using the regional model MAGRITTEv1.1 with anthropogenic emissions accounting for the reductions due to the pandemic explain to a large extent the observed changes in lockdown-affected regions. The model results suggest that meteorological variability accounts for a minor but non-negligible part (~−5%) of the observed changes for NO2, whereas it is negligible for CHOCHO but plays a more substantial role for HCHO and PAN, especially in May. The interannual variability of biogenic and biomass burning emissions also contribute to the observed variations, explaining e.g., the important column increases of NO2 and OVOCs in February 2020, relative to 2019. These changes are well captured by the model simulations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Pollution Changes and Impacts during Abrupt Shifts in Anthropogenic Activities)
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26 pages, 13942 KiB  
Article
Changes in Air Quality Associated with Mobility Trends and Meteorological Conditions during COVID-19 Lockdown in Northern England, UK
by Said Munir, Gulnur Coskuner, Majeed S. Jassim, Yusuf A. Aina, Asad Ali and Martin Mayfield
Atmosphere 2021, 12(4), 504; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12040504 - 16 Apr 2021
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 5822
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered catastrophic impacts on human life, but at the same time demonstrated positive impacts on air quality. In this study, the impact of COVID-19 lockdown interventions on five major air pollutants during the pre-lockdown, lockdown, and post-lockdown periods is analysed [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered catastrophic impacts on human life, but at the same time demonstrated positive impacts on air quality. In this study, the impact of COVID-19 lockdown interventions on five major air pollutants during the pre-lockdown, lockdown, and post-lockdown periods is analysed in three urban areas in Northern England: Leeds, Sheffield, and Manchester. A Generalised Additive Model (GAM) was implemented to eliminate the effects of meteorological factors from air quality to understand the variations in air pollutant levels exclusively caused by reductions in emissions. Comparison of lockdown with pre-lockdown period exhibited noticeable reductions in concentrations of NO (56.68–74.16%), NO2 (18.06–47.15%), and NOx (35.81–56.52%) for measured data. However, PM10 and PM2.5 levels demonstrated positive gain during lockdown ranging from 21.96–62.00% and 36.24–80.31%, respectively. Comparison of lockdown period with the equivalent period in 2019 also showed reductions in air pollutant concentrations, ranging 43.31–69.75% for NO, 41.52–62.99% for NOx, 37.13–55.54% for NO2, 2.36–19.02% for PM10, and 29.93–40.26% for PM2.5. Back trajectory analysis was performed to show the air mass origin during the pre-lockdown and lockdown periods. Further, the analysis showed a positive association of mobility data with gaseous pollutants and a negative correlation with particulate matter. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Air Pollution Changes and Impacts during Abrupt Shifts in Anthropogenic Activities)
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