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Atmosphere
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Haze and Related Aerosol Air Pollution in Remote and Urban...
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Haze and Related Aerosol Air Pollution in Remote and Urban Areas

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (2 August 2024) | Viewed by 14506

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Mark C. Green

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV 89512, USA
Interests: aerosol; visibility; particulate matter; monitoring; network design; transport

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The editors of Atmosphere are soliciting manuscripts for a Special Issue on haze and related aerosol air pollution in remote and urban areas. Some topics that are appropriate for this Special Issue are provided below (manuscripts on topics that are not specified here will also be considered):

Visibility and aerosol trends in areas with protected visibility status.

Modeling and/or data analysis to apportion haze to sources, including specific sources, source types, and source regions.

Description of monitoring networks for light extinction components (i.e., scattering, absorption, and extinction) and related aerosols and results from such networks.

New techniques for measuring aerosols and their optical effects.

Visibility and aerosol trends in non-protected remote and urban areas.

Theoretical studies of the optical effects of aerosols.

Prof. Dr. Mark C. Green
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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

  • haze
  • atmospheric visibility
  • light extinction
  • apportionment
  • aerosol
  • modeling

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 4518 KiB  
Article
The Characteristics of the Chemical Composition of PM2.5 during a Severe Haze Episode in Suzhou, China
by Xiangpeng Huang, Yusheng Chen, Yue’e Li and Junfeng Wang
Atmosphere 2024, 15(10), 1204; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15101204 - 9 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1196
Abstract
During the past decade, the air quality has been greatly improved in China since the implementation of the “Clean Air Act”. However, haze events are still being reported in some regions of China, and the pollution mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we [...] Read more.
During the past decade, the air quality has been greatly improved in China since the implementation of the “Clean Air Act”. However, haze events are still being reported in some regions of China, and the pollution mechanism remains unclear. In this study, we investigate the chemical characteristics of the pollution mechanism of the PM2.5 composition in Suzhou from October 18 to December 15, 2020. A notable declining trend in temperature was observed from 18 to 27 November, which indicates the seasonal transition from fall to the winter season. Four representative periods were identified based on meteorological parameters and the PM2.5 mass concentrations. The heavy pollution period had the typical characteristics of a relatively low temperature, a high relative humidity, and mass loadings of atmospheric pollutants; nitrate was the dominant contributor to the haze pollution during this period. The nitrate formation mechanism was driven by the planetary boundary layer dynamics. The potential source contribution function model (PSCF) showed that the major PM2.5 composition originated from the northwest direction of the sampling site. The aerosol liquid water content presented increasing trends with an increasing relative humidity. The pH was the highest during the heavy pollution period, which was influenced by the aerosol liquid water content and the mass loadings of NO3−, SO42−, NH4+, and Cl−. The comprehensive analysis in this paper could improve our understanding of the nitrate pollution mechanism and environmental effects in this region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Haze and Related Aerosol Air Pollution in Remote and Urban Areas)
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18 pages, 4171 KiB  
Article
Long-Term Wind and Air Temperature Patterns in the Southeastern Region of Iran through Model Simulation and Ground Observations
by Nasim Hossein Hamzeh, Abbas Ranjbar Saadat Abadi, Khan Alam, Karim Abdukhakimovich Shukurov and Christian Opp
Atmosphere 2024, 15(8), 993; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15080993 - 19 Aug 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1086
Abstract
Dust storms are one of the important natural hazards that affect the lives of inhabitants all around the world, especially in North Africa and the Middle East. In this study, wind speed, wind direction, and air temperature patterns are investigated in one of [...] Read more.
Dust storms are one of the important natural hazards that affect the lives of inhabitants all around the world, especially in North Africa and the Middle East. In this study, wind speed, wind direction, and air temperature patterns are investigated in one of the dustiest cities in Sistan Basin, Zahedan City, located in southeast Iran, over a 17-year period (2004–2020) using a WRF model and ground observation data. The city is located near a dust source and is mostly affected by local dust storms. The World Meteorology Organization (WMO) dust-related codes show that the city was affected by local dust, with 52 percent of the total dust events occurring during the period (2004–2021). The city’s weather station reported that 17.5% and 43% were the minimum and maximum dusty days, respectively, during 2004–2021. The summer and July were considered the dustiest season and month in the city. Since air temperature, wind speed, and wind direction are important factors in dust rising and propagation, these meteorological factors were simulated using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for the Zahedan weather station. The WRF model’s output was found to be highly correlated with the station data; however, the WRF simulation mostly overestimated when compared with station data during the study period (2004–2020). The model had a reasonable performance in wind class frequency distribution at the station, demonstrating that 42.6% of the wind was between 0.5 and 2, which is in good agreement with the station data (42% in the range of 0.5–2). So, the WRF model effectively simulated the wind class frequency distribution and the wind direction at Zahedan station, despite overestimating the wind speed as well as minimum, maximum, and average air temperatures during the 17-year period. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Haze and Related Aerosol Air Pollution in Remote and Urban Areas)
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20 pages, 32718 KiB  
Article
Characterizing Dust and Biomass Burning Events from Sentinel-2 Imagery
by Simone Lolli, Luciano Alparone, Alberto Arienzo and Andrea Garzelli
Atmosphere 2024, 15(6), 672; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15060672 - 31 May 2024
Viewed by 1190
Abstract
The detection and evaluation of biomass burning and dust events are critical for understanding their impact on air quality, climate, and human health, particularly in the Mediterranean region. This research pioneers an innovative methodology that uses Sentinel-2 multispectral (MS) imagery to meticulously pinpoint [...] Read more.
The detection and evaluation of biomass burning and dust events are critical for understanding their impact on air quality, climate, and human health, particularly in the Mediterranean region. This research pioneers an innovative methodology that uses Sentinel-2 multispectral (MS) imagery to meticulously pinpoint and analyze long-transport dust outbreaks and biomass burning phenomena, originating both locally and transported from remote areas. We developed the dust/biomass burning (DBB) composite normalized differential index, a tool that identifies clear, dusty, and biomass burning scenarios in the selected region. The DBB index jointly employs specific Sentinel-2 bands: B2-B3-B4 for visible light analysis, and B11 and B12 for short-wave infrared (SWIR), exploiting the specificity of each wavelength to assess the presence of different aerosols. A key feature of the DBB index is its normalization by the surface reflectance of the scene, which ensures independence from the underlying texture, such as streets and buildings, for urban areas. The differentiation involves the comparison of the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) reflectance values from aerosol events with those from clear-sky reference images, thereby constituting a sort of calibration. The index is tailored for urban settings, where Sentinel-2 imagery provides a decametric spatial resolution and revisit time of 5 days. The average values of DBB achieve a 96% match with the coarse-mode aerosol optical depths (AOD), measured by a local station of the AERONET network of sun-photometers. In future studies, the map of DBB could be integrated with that achieved from Sentinel-3 images, which offer similar spectral bands, albeit with much less fine spatial resolution, yet benefit from daily coverage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Haze and Related Aerosol Air Pollution in Remote and Urban Areas)
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14 pages, 3865 KiB  
Article
Differences in Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation from α-Pinene Photooxidation in a Chamber with Purified Air and Ambient Air as Matrices: Preliminary Results
by Xinyi Li, Zhuoyue Ren, Xiangyu Zhang, Xiaodie Pang, Wei Song, Yanli Zhang and Xinming Wang
Atmosphere 2024, 15(2), 204; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15020204 - 6 Feb 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1649
Abstract
α-Pinene is a biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) that significantly contributes to secondary organic aerosols (SOA) in the atmosphere due to its high emission rate, reactivity, and SOA yield. However, the SOA yield measured in chamber studies from α-pinene photooxidation is limited in [...] Read more.
α-Pinene is a biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) that significantly contributes to secondary organic aerosols (SOA) in the atmosphere due to its high emission rate, reactivity, and SOA yield. However, the SOA yield measured in chamber studies from α-pinene photooxidation is limited in a purified air matrix. Assessing SOA formation from α-pinene photooxidation in real urban ambient air based on studies conducted in purified air matrices may be subject to uncertainties. In this study, α-pinene photooxidation and SOA yield were investigated in a smog chamber in the presence of NO and SO2 under purified air and ambient air matrices. With the accumulation of ozone (O3) during the photooxidation, an increasing part of α-pinene was consumed by O3 and finally nearly half of the α-pinene was oxidized by O3, facilitating the production of highly oxidized organic molecules and thereby SOA formation. Although the ambient air we introduced as matrix air was largely clean, with initial organic aerosol mass concentrations of ~1.5 μg m−3, the α-pinene SOA yield in the ambient air matrix was 42.3 ± 5.3%, still higher than that of 32.4 ± 0.4% in the purified air matrix. The chemical characterization of SOA by the high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) revealed that CxHy accounted for 53.7 ± 1.1% of the total signal in the ambient air matrix experiments, higher than 48.1 ± 0.3% in the purified air, while CxHyO and CxHyO>1 together constituted 45.0 ± 0.9% in the ambient air matrix, lower than 50.1 ± 1.0% in the purified air. The O:C ratio in the ambient air matrix experiments was 0.41 ± 0.01, lower than 0.46 ± 0.01 in the purified air. The higher SOA yield of α-pinene in the ambient air matrix compared to that in the purified air matrix was partly due to the presence of initial aerosols in the ambient air, which facilitated the low volatile organic compounds produced from photochemical oxidation to enter the aerosol phase through gas-particle partitioning. The in-situ aerosol acidity calculated by the ISORROPIA-II model in the ambient air matrix experiments was approximately six times higher than that in purified air, and the higher SOA yield in the ambient air matrix experiments might also be attributed to acid-catalyzed SOA formation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Haze and Related Aerosol Air Pollution in Remote and Urban Areas)
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17 pages, 2908 KiB  
Article
Assessment of Particulate Matters, Metals, and PAHs’ Air Pollution in Industrial vs. Animal Husbandry Areas
by Luoana-Florentina Pascu, Valeriu Danciulescu, Simona Mariana Calinescu, Vasile Ion Iancu, Ileana Nicolescu, Alina Roxana Banciu, Mihai Nita-Lazar and Gabriela-Geanina Vasile
Atmosphere 2024, 15(1), 141; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15010141 - 22 Jan 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2135
Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs) have been noted to generate a high risk for human health. Their presence and concentration have not been equally distributed in the environment and various anthropic activities favored the environmental presence of specific pollution components. The economic sector of [...] Read more.
Polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAHs) have been noted to generate a high risk for human health. Their presence and concentration have not been equally distributed in the environment and various anthropic activities favored the environmental presence of specific pollution components. The economic sector of bakery, as well as intensive animal breeding, are well spread worldwide and they represent a priority economic sector due to their direct link to the food industry. In this study, particulate matter (PM) and PAH pollutant compounds were monitored and their presence and concentration were correlated with specific anthropic activities such as bakery and animal husbandry. For the first time, the data analysis established correlations between PM10 or PM2.5 sizes and concentrations with a specific anthropic activity (bakery vs. animal husbandry). PM10 seemed to be more present at sites of animal husbandry activities than bakery ones. The vast majority of high PAH concentrations were detected in industrial sites such as bakeries. Spearman statistical correlation tests of intensive breeding of animals and bakery fields showed a moderate correlation between dimensional fractions of particulate matters, which indicated several emission sources, with different characteristics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Haze and Related Aerosol Air Pollution in Remote and Urban Areas)
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20 pages, 10422 KiB  
Article
Distribution and Meteorological Control of PM2.5 and Its Effect on Visibility in Northern Thailand
by Teerachai Amnuaylojaroen, Phonwilai Kaewkanchanawong and Phatcharamon Panpeng
Atmosphere 2023, 14(3), 538; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14030538 - 11 Mar 2023
Cited by 26 | Viewed by 5832
Abstract
In the dry season, the north of Thailand always experiences reduced air quality, reduced visibility, and public health exposure from the burning of biomass domestically and in surrounding countries. The purpose of this research was to investigate the distribution and the meteorological control [...] Read more.
In the dry season, the north of Thailand always experiences reduced air quality, reduced visibility, and public health exposure from the burning of biomass domestically and in surrounding countries. The purpose of this research was to investigate the distribution and the meteorological control of PM2.5 accumulation, as well as its effect on visibility in northern Thailand in 2020. The Geographic Information System (GIS) was applied for the analysis of the spatial distribution, while Pearson’s correlation coefficient was utilized to examine the association between PM2.5 and meteorological variables. The results showed that the PM2.5 concentrations were in the range of 16–195 μg/m3 in 2020. The high level of PM2.5 in Lampang, Chiang Rai, and Chiang Mai provinces was in the range of 150 to 195 μg/m3 from January to May. Favorable meteorological conditions included low wind and relative humidity, and high temperatures contributed to high PM2.5 concentrations in northern Thailand. Domestic burning and burning in neighboring countries contribute to huge amounts of smoke that cause low visibility in northern Thailand, especially at 1 km above ground level, with a reduced visibility in the range of 70–90% for all provinces in April. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Haze and Related Aerosol Air Pollution in Remote and Urban Areas)
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