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Toxics
Special Issues
Monitoring and Modeling of Air Pollution
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Monitoring and Modeling of Air Pollution

A special issue of Toxics (ISSN 2305-6304). This special issue belongs to the section "Air Pollution and Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 9 July 2026 | Viewed by 4315

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Cheng Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, East China University of Technology, Nanchang 330013, China
Interests: air pollution; boundary-layer meteorology; atmospheric environment; numerical simulation; atmospheric physics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yongjing Ma

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
Interests: atmospheric boundary layer; Doppler wind lidar; large-eddy simulation; turbulent flows; machine learning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yangzhou Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Guangxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control Theory and Technology, College of Environment Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Interests: atmospheric chemistry; secondary aerosol formation; brown carbon light absorption; ozone-precursor relationship; source apportionment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Air pollution, driven by complex interactions between anthropogenic emissions, natural sources, and meteorological dynamics, poses significant threats to human health and the environment. Effective monitoring and accurate modelling are crucial for understanding its sources, distribution, and impacts. While significant advancements have been made in monitoring technologies and modelling approaches, key scientific gaps persist in air pollutant transport mechanisms, interaction with meteorology, source apportionment, and dynamic health risk assessment. This Special Issue, “Monitoring and Modeling of Air Pollution”, aims to collect cutting-edge research in these fields. We seek contributions on advanced monitoring technologies, including sensor networks and satellite remote sensing, as well as innovative modelling approaches like machine learning and high-resolution simulations. Manuscripts submitted to this Special Issue may include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

  1. Physical and chemical characteristics of air pollutants and their interplay with meteorological conditions
  2. Machine learning and high-resolution simulations of air pollutants
  3. Emission characteristics and health risk assessment of indoor-outdoor air pollutants
  4. Multi-source apportionment of atmospheric pollutants
  5. Aerosols-Atmospheric boundary layer interaction

Dr. Cheng Liu
Dr. Yongjing Ma
Dr. Yangzhou Wu
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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. Toxics 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 2600 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 pollution
  • anthropogenic emissions
  • meteorological conditions
  • source apportionment
  • health risk
  • numerical simulations

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 4435 KB  
Article
Spatial Characteristics, Sources of Volatile Organic Compounds and Effects on O3 Formation in Summer in Taiyuan, China
by Lili Guo, Tianyu Gao, Bingxi Wang, Yang Cui, Qiusheng He, Zhentao Wang, Xiaojing Hu and Xinming Wang
Toxics 2026, 14(3), 220; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics14030220 - 4 Mar 2026
Viewed by 687
Abstract
Many previous studies on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have focused on Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Station (PAMS) VOCs at a single site, yet there is limited understanding of the spatial heterogeneity of both PAMS VOCs and oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) across multiple functional zones at [...] Read more.
Many previous studies on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have focused on Photochemical Assessment Monitoring Station (PAMS) VOCs at a single site, yet there is limited understanding of the spatial heterogeneity of both PAMS VOCs and oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs) across multiple functional zones at the city scale. To better understand the characteristics, sources and the effects of VOCs on O3, we conducted simultaneous measurements of 71 VOCs (57 PAMS VOCs and 14 OVOCs) at three urban sites (Taoyuan, TY; Jinyuan, JY; Xiaodian, XD) and one suburban site (Shanglan, SL) in Taiyuan, a heavily industrialized city in northern China, during the summertime of 2022 and 2023. Total VOCs (TVOCs) concentrations were comparable at SL (21.9 ± 7.7 ppbv) and JY (21.9 ± 8.7 ppbv), but higher than those at TY (20.3 ± 6.3 ppbv) and XD (19.5 ± 6.4 ppbv). OVOCs were the dominant component at all sites, accounting for over 60% of TVOCs, with formaldehyde as the most abundant species. Ozone formation potential (OFP) followed the order of SL (119.6 ± 47.7 ppbv) > JY (112.0 ± 58.2 ppbv) > TY (100.4 ± 34.2 ppbv) > XD (97.1 ± 34.1 ppbv), with OVOCs contributing over 75% to the total OFP. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) resolved seven sources, with secondary formation as the largest contributor at all sites (24.6–32.5% of TVOCs, 30.5–37.0% of OFP). The second-largest source of VOCs and OFP exhibited a systematic spatial gradient: biogenic sources at SL (22.0%, 28.9%), gasoline vehicle exhausts at TY (22.5%, 21.8%), coking sources at JY (23.9%, 22.8%), and combustion sources at XD (23.6%, 26.0%). The lack of OVOCs could lead to an overestimation of primary sources and an underestimation of photochemical processing in source apportionment studies. These findings demonstrate that zone-specific measures should be complemented by regional precursor reductions for effective O3 mitigation in Taiyuan. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring and Modeling of Air Pollution)
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18 pages, 6556 KB  
Article
Impacts of Cross-Regional Transport on Ozone Pollution in the Fen-Wei Plain: Insights from Multi-Source Observations and Model Simulation
by Yufei Han, Danni Xu, Anjie Yin, Chang Liu, Yuheng Chen and Kaihui Zhao
Toxics 2026, 14(3), 189; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics14030189 - 24 Feb 2026
Viewed by 623
Abstract
Unfavorable terrain conditions and intensive emissions have led to a deteriorating trend of ozone (O3) pollution in the Fenwei Plain (FWP), which has attracted increasing attention. However, the lack of observations and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) component observation data has seriously [...] Read more.
Unfavorable terrain conditions and intensive emissions have led to a deteriorating trend of ozone (O3) pollution in the Fenwei Plain (FWP), which has attracted increasing attention. However, the lack of observations and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) component observation data has seriously constrained an in-depth understanding of the formation mechanisms of O3 pollution. The multi-source observations conducted in this study provides first-hand evidence for characterizing the evolution of O3 pollution in the FWP. O3 lidar vertical profiles reported high-concentration layers exceeding 130 µg/m3, O3 vertical flux high-concentration layers exceeding −50 µg/(m2⋅s), confirming downward transport to the surface. The VOCs components were dominated by Oxygenated Volatile Organic Compounds (OVOCs) (>300 ppbv) and alkanes (>20 ppbv). O3 source apportionment technology analysis indicated transport from the Henan (HN) and Hubei (HB) contributed 24.99% and 40.02% of surface O3 enhancement. Interestingly, a close linkage between O3 precursor sensitivity (OPS) variations and contribution from potential source regions was noticed. Large contributions from HN and HB drove the OPS toward a VOC-limited regime, with a concurrent drop in the HCHO/NO2 indicator to 1.73. Our results underscore the great importance of the impacts of regional transport on OPS from different source areas when formulating strategies for regional joint prevention and control. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring and Modeling of Air Pollution)
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13 pages, 2545 KB  
Article
Source-Specific PM2.5 Exposure and Associated Health Risks During Beijing Winter
by Xin Liu, Zhiqing Liu, Wenming Pei, Xiaoyu Zhang, Xiaoting Jie, Zhi Yang, Liwei Liu, Yuxing Gao, Ruoyu Hu and Mingzhu Zhang
Toxics 2025, 13(12), 1081; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13121081 - 16 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1235
Abstract
Atmospheric fine particles (PM2.5, aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm) have a serious effect on human health. This study combined concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) analysis with the HYSPLIT trajectory ensemble (Ens-HYSPLIT-CWT), to separate the sources of PM2.5 transported to Beijing, and [...] Read more.
Atmospheric fine particles (PM2.5, aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 µm) have a serious effect on human health. This study combined concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) analysis with the HYSPLIT trajectory ensemble (Ens-HYSPLIT-CWT), to separate the sources of PM2.5 transported to Beijing, and further investigate the effect of PM2.5 originated from different sources on human health. We found that north region air masses usually come with clean events under the blessing of meteorological conditions, combined with the clean air mass transported from the north, as high wind speed near the surface promotes the horizontal diffusion of pollutants. Additionally, north region air masses contribute to the decrease in aerosol optical depth (AOD) at Beijing and surrounding areas, with AF (daily attributable fraction associated with short-term PM2.5 exposure) values of Beijing only at 0.14. During the study period (from January to March 2024), south region air masses usually come with high PM2.5 values, which is correlated to the meteorological conditions and pollutant spatial distribution. The air masses coming from the south region contain high temperature and relative humidity (RH), promoting the occurrence of high pollution events. AOD spatial distribution observed from satellites showed that except for the dominance of north region air mass sources, the south region presents high AOD values, further resulting in the highest AF value of 0.75 obtained at Beijing, which is 5 times higher than the north region’s dominant AF mean value. It is worth noting that the air mass originated from the east region, which originally contributed relatively clean air masses before emission reduction, increased its contribution to air mass pollution after emission reduction due to the decrease in pollution concentration in other regions. As a result, the mean PM2.5 in this source area was second only to south region air masses and local emission sources, and the AF value even exceeded local emissions, second only to south region air mass sources, reaching 0.5. This result emphasizes that in future pollution control policy adjustments and research on human health, attention needs to be paid to the contribution of eastward air masses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring and Modeling of Air Pollution)
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18 pages, 2368 KB  
Article
Evolution and Key Drivers of Typical Air Pollutants in Binzhou, China: A Case Study of the Yellow River Delta’s Central City (2019–2024)
by Yan Xu, Jingyu Wen, Mingwei Zhang, Yapeng Li, Yinxiao Zhang, Yueyuan Niu and Xiaotong Jiang
Toxics 2025, 13(12), 1007; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics13121007 - 21 Nov 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 871
Abstract
In recent years, combined pollution of PM2.5 and O3 has emerged as a major constraint on improvement of air quality in urban China. This study investigates Binzhou, an industrial–agricultural city within the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei air pollution transport corridor. Based on air quality [...] Read more.
In recent years, combined pollution of PM2.5 and O3 has emerged as a major constraint on improvement of air quality in urban China. This study investigates Binzhou, an industrial–agricultural city within the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei air pollution transport corridor. Based on air quality monitoring and socioeconomic data from 2019 to 2024, we analyze the temporal variations, driving mechanisms, and economic effects of PM2.5-O3 compound pollution. Results show that the annual mean PM2.5 concentrations decreased initially and then increased, while O3 levels exhibited a fluctuating increase. Seasonal patterns were distinct: PM2.5 pollution was more severe in autumn and winter, and O3 dominated in spring and summer. The number of compound pollution days decreased from 24 in 2019 to 12 in 2024, with a notable concentration in spring (March–May), accounting for 40–54% of the annual total, highlighting this period as critical for coordinated control. Correlation analysis revealed a weak positive association between PM2.5 and O3 in spring, summer, and autumn (strongest in summer) but a weak negative correlation in winter. Economic development demonstrated a phased decoupling from pollution: Binzhou’s GDP grew by 38.6% cumulatively during the study period, while compound pollution days declined, with significant decoupling in 2020 and 2022. However, pollution rebounded with economic recovery. Key drivers identified include coal combustion and industrial emissions, while industrial restructuring and regional joint prevention policies have contributed to pollution mitigation. This study provides scientific support for formulating differentiated air quality strategies tailored to seasonal and regional characteristics, thereby supporting both clean air and high-quality development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Monitoring and Modeling of Air Pollution)
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