Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.6
2.5
Journals
Atmosphere
Special Issues
Secondary Atmospheric Pollution Formations and Its Precursors
share announcement

Secondary Atmospheric Pollution Formations and Its Precursors

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 4527

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Fangcheng Su

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Environmental Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
Interests: VOCs; air quality model; SOA; O3
Dr. Huiyun Du

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Interests: air quality model; PM2.5; SIA; O3
Dr. Ke Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
Interests: energy policies evaluation; emissions inventory; model; PM2.5

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the further improvement of air quality, secondary aerosols and O3 have become the most significant factors affecting the atmospheric environment and with a great impact on human health. In different regions, the formation mechanisms of secondary aerosols and O3 may vary, necessitating in-depth research. In addition, special meteorological conditions and precursors or pollutants that travel from other regions may also have a significant impact on local air quality. Therefore, we aim to promote the publication of papers focusing on secondary aerosols and O3 formation mechanisms and transportation in this Special Issue. In particular, this Special Issue invites original research papers and review articles focusing on, but not limited to, the following topics:

  1. Exploring the impact of the regional transport of precursors or pollutants on air pollutants.
  2. Exploring the impact of precursor concentrations on the formation mechanism of secondary aerosol and O3.
  3. Assessing the impacts of meteorological conditions on the formation of secondary aerosol and O3.
  4. Discussing strategies and interventions for mitigating air pollution and improving air quality.

Dr. Fangcheng Su
Dr. Huiyun Du
Dr. Ke Wang
Guest Editors

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

  • secondary aerosol (SIA and SOA)
  • ozone
  • VOCs
  • emissions inventory
  • chemical mechanisms
  • model simulations
  • meteorological affect
  • policies evaluation

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

18 pages, 17383 KiB  
Article
High-Resolution Spatial Forecasting of Hourly Air Quality: A Fast Method for a Better Representation of Industrial Plumes and Traffic Emissions Contributions
by Agnieszka Rorat, Lucas Bouché, Mathis Pasquier, Hélène Cessey, Nathalie Pujol-Söhne and Benoit Rocq
Atmosphere 2025, 16(4), 439; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16040439 - 9 Apr 2025
Viewed by 546
Abstract
Efficiently mapping hourly air quality at a fine scale (25 m) remains a computational challenge. This difficulty is heightened when aiming to accurately capture industrial plumes and time-varying traffic emissions. This paper presents a method for generating hourly pollutant concentration maps across an [...] Read more.
Efficiently mapping hourly air quality at a fine scale (25 m) remains a computational challenge. This difficulty is heightened when aiming to accurately capture industrial plumes and time-varying traffic emissions. This paper presents a method for generating hourly pollutant concentration maps across an entire region for operational applications. Our approach assumes that concentration maps can be decomposed into three components: traffic concentrations, industrial concentrations and a residual “background” concentrations component. The background concentration is estimated using established fine-scale mapping methods involving ADMS-Urban dispersion simulations. Meanwhile, the traffic and industrial layers are derived using a KNN-based approach applied to a sample of hourly ADMS-Urban simulations. This method enhances the representation of industrial plumes and the temporal variability in traffic emissions while maintaining computational efficiency, making it suitable for the operational production of hourly air quality maps in the Hauts-de-France region (France). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Secondary Atmospheric Pollution Formations and Its Precursors)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 5494 KiB  
Article
Driving Force of Meteorology and Emissions on PM2.5 Concentration in Major Urban Agglomerations in China
by Jiqiang Niu, Hongrui Li, Xiaoyong Liu, Hao Lin, Peng Zhou and Xuan Zhu
Atmosphere 2024, 15(12), 1499; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15121499 - 16 Dec 2024
Viewed by 908
Abstract
Air pollution is influenced by a combination of pollutant emissions and meteorological conditions. Anthropogenic emissions and meteorological conditions are the two main causes of atmospheric pollution, and the contribution of meteorology and emissions to the reduction of PM2.5 concentrations across the country [...] Read more.
Air pollution is influenced by a combination of pollutant emissions and meteorological conditions. Anthropogenic emissions and meteorological conditions are the two main causes of atmospheric pollution, and the contribution of meteorology and emissions to the reduction of PM2.5 concentrations across the country has not yet been comprehensively examined. This study used the Kolmogorov–Zurbenko (KZ) filter and random forest (RF) model to decompose and reconstruct PM2.5 time series in five major urban agglomerations in China, analyzing the impact of meteorological factors on PM2.5 concentrations. From 2015 to 2021, PM2.5 concentrations significantly decreased in all urban agglomerations, with annual averages dropping by approximately 50% in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH), Yangtze River Delta (YRD), Pearl River Delta (PRD), Central Plain (CP), and Chengdu–Chongqing (CC). This reduction was due to both favorable meteorological conditions and emission reductions. The KZ filter effectively separated the PM2.5 time series, and the RF model achieved high squared correlation coefficient (R2) values between predicted and observed values, ranging from 0.94 to 0.98. Initially, meteorological factors had a positive contribution to PM2.5 reduction, indicating unfavorable conditions, but this gradually turned negative, indicating favorable conditions. By 2021, the rates of meteorological contribution to PM2.5 reduction in BTH, YRD, PRD, CP, and CC changed from 14.3%, 16.9%, 7.2%, 12.2%, and 11.5% to −36.5%, −31.5%, −26.9%, −30.3%, and −23.5%, respectively. Temperature and atmospheric pressure had the most significant effects on PM2.5 concentrations. The significant decline in PM2.5 concentrations in BTH and CP after 2017 indicated that emission control measures were gradually taking effect. This study confirms that effective pollution control measures combined with favorable meteorological conditions jointly contributed to the improvement in air quality. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Secondary Atmospheric Pollution Formations and Its Precursors)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 3187 KiB  
Article
Effects of Ammonia Mitigation on Secondary Organic Aerosol and Ammonium Nitrate Particle Formation in Photochemical Reacted Gasoline Vehicle Exhausts
by Hiroyuki Hagino and Risa Uchida
Atmosphere 2024, 15(9), 1061; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15091061 - 2 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1329
Abstract
Gaseous air pollutants emitted primarily by anthropogenic sources form secondary products through photochemical reactions, complicating the regulatory analysis of anthropogenic emissions in the atmosphere. We used an environmental chassis dynamometer and a photochemical smog chamber to conduct a parameter sensitivity experiment to investigate [...] Read more.
Gaseous air pollutants emitted primarily by anthropogenic sources form secondary products through photochemical reactions, complicating the regulatory analysis of anthropogenic emissions in the atmosphere. We used an environmental chassis dynamometer and a photochemical smog chamber to conduct a parameter sensitivity experiment to investigate the formation of secondary products from a gasoline passenger car. To simulate the mitigation of ammonia emissions from gasoline vehicle exhausts assuming future emission controls and to allow photochemical oxidation and aging of the vehicle exhaust, ammonia was selectively removed by a series of five denuders installed between the vehicle and photochemical smog chamber. Overall, there were no differences in the formation of secondary organic aerosols and ozone with or without ammonia mitigation. However, the potential for ammonium nitrate particle formation was significantly reduced with ammonia mitigation. In addition, ammonia mitigation resulted in increased aerosol acidity due to nitric acid in the gas phase not being neutralized by ammonia and condensing onto the liquid particle phase, indicating a potentially important secondary effect associated with ammonia mitigation. Thus, we provide new insights into the effects of ammonia mitigation on secondary emissions from gasoline vehicle exhaust and into a potentially useful experimental approach for determining primary and secondary emissions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Secondary Atmospheric Pollution Formations and Its Precursors)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

18 pages, 4219 KiB  
Article
VOCs Concentration, SOA Formation Contribution and Festival Effects during Heavy Haze Event: A Case Study in Zhengzhou, Central China
by Shijie Yu, Chaofang Xue, Fuwen Deng, Qixiang Xu and Bingnan Zhao
Atmosphere 2024, 15(8), 1009; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15081009 - 21 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1042
Abstract
In this study, online ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were collected at an urban site of Zhengzhou in Central China during February 2018. The VOCs characteristics, source contributions and the Chinese New Year (CNY) effects have been investigated. During the sampling period, three [...] Read more.
In this study, online ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were collected at an urban site of Zhengzhou in Central China during February 2018. The VOCs characteristics, source contributions and the Chinese New Year (CNY) effects have been investigated. During the sampling period, three haze periods have been identified, with the corresponding VOCs concentrations of (92 ± 45) ppbv, (62 ± 18) ppbv and (83 ± 34) ppbv; in contrast, the concentration during non-haze days was found to be (57 ± 27) ppbv. In addition, the festival effects of the CNY were investigated, and the concentration of particulate matter precursor decreased significantly. Meanwhile, firework-displaying events were identified, as the emission intensity had been greatly changed. Both potential source contribution function (PSCF) and the concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) models results indicated that short-distance transportation was the main influencing factor of the local VOCs pollution, especially by transport from the northeast. Source contribution results by the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model showed that vehicle exhaust (24%), liquid petroleum gas and natural gas (LPG/NG, 23%), coal combustion (21%), industrial processes (16%) and solvent usages (16%) were the major sources of ambient VOCs. Although industry and solvents have low contribution to the total VOCs, their secondary organic aerosol (SOA) contribution were found to be relatively high, especially in haze-1 and haze-3 periods. The haze-2 period had the lowest secondary organic aerosol potential (SOAp) during the sampling period; this is mainly caused by the reduction of industrial and solvent emissions due to CNY. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Secondary Atmospheric Pollution Formations and Its Precursors)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop