scholarly journals The role of primary emission and transboundary transport in the air quality changes during and after the COVID‐19 lockdown in China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hao Fan ◽  
Yuan Wang ◽  
Chuanfeng Zhao ◽  
Yikun Yang ◽  
Xingchuan Yang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Quality Changes ◽  
Transboundary Transport

scholarly journals From Black to Blue Skies: Civil Society Perceptions of Air Pollution in Shanghai

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Amanda K. Winter ◽  
Huong Le ◽  
Simon Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Ecological Civilization ◽  
Civil Society Participation ◽  
Quality Indexes

Abstract This paper explores the perception and politics of air pollution in Shanghai. We present a qualitative case study based on a literature review of relevant policies and research on civil society and air pollution, in dialogue with air quality indexes and field research data. We engage with the concept of China's authoritarian environmentalism and the political context of ecological civilization. We find that discussions about air pollution are often placed in a frame that is both locally temporal (environment) and internationally developmentalist (economy). We raise questions from an example of three applications with different presentations of air quality index measures for the same time and place. This example and frame highlight the central role and connection between technology, data and evidence, and pollution visibility in the case of the perception of air pollution. Our findings then point to two gaps in authoritarian environmentalism research, revealing a need to better understand (1) the role of technology within this governance context, and (2) the tensions created from this non-participatory approach with ecological civilization, which calls for civil society participation.

scholarly journals Air quality changes in cities during the COVID-19 lockdown: A critical review

2021 ◽  
pp. 105823
Author(s):  
Max G. Adam ◽  
Phuong T.M. Tran ◽  
Rajasekhar Balasubramanian
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Quality Changes

scholarly journals A new diagnostic for tropospheric ozone production

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter M. Edwards ◽  
Mathew J. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Tropospheric Ozone ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Chemical Transport ◽  
Ozone Production ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Organic Species ◽  
Earth’S Climate ◽  
Oxidation Of Organics

Abstract. Tropospheric ozone is important for the Earth’s climate and air quality. It is produced during the oxidation of organics in the presence of nitrogen oxides. Due to the range of organic species emitted and the chain like nature of their oxidation, this chemistry is complex and understanding the role of different processes (emission, deposition, chemistry) is difficult. We demonstrate a new methodology for diagnosing ozone production based on the processing of bonds contained within emitted molecules, the fate of which is determined by the conservation of spin of the bonding electrons. Using this methodology to diagnose ozone production in the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model, we demonstrate its advantages over the standard diagnostic. We show that the number of bonds emitted, their chemistry and lifetime, and feedbacks on OH are all important in determining the ozone production within the model and its sensitivity to changes. This insight may allow future model-model comparisons to better identify the root causes of model differences.

Measuring the Role of Urban Vegetation on Air Quality: The Case Study of the Real Bosco di Capodimonte in Naples, Italy

2017 ◽  
pp. 13-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffaela Esposito ◽  
Gabriele Guidolotti ◽  
Emanuele Pallozzi ◽  
Corrado Leone ◽  
Michele Mattioni ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Urban Vegetation ◽  
The Real

scholarly journals The role of emission reductions and the meteorological situation for air quality improvements during the COVID-19 lockdown period in central Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (18) ◽  
pp. 13931-13971
Author(s):  
Volker Matthias ◽  
Markus Quante ◽  
Jan A. Arndt ◽  
Ronny Badeke ◽  
Lea Fink ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Central Europe ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Quality Improvements ◽  
Emission Data ◽  
Emission Reductions ◽  
Meteorological Situation ◽  
Weather Situation

Abstract. The lockdown measures taken to prevent a rapid spreading of the coronavirus in Europe in spring 2020 led to large emission reductions, particularly in road traffic and aviation. Atmospheric concentrations of NO2 and PM2.5 were mostly reduced when compared to observations taken for the same time period in previous years; however, concentration reductions may not only be caused by emission reductions but also by specific weather situations. In order to identify the role of emission reductions and the meteorological situation for air quality improvements in central Europe, the meteorology chemistry transport model system COSMO-CLM/CMAQ was applied to Europe for the period 1 January to 30 June 2020. Emission data for 2020 were extrapolated from most recent reported emission data, and lockdown adjustment factors were computed from reported activity data changes, e.g. Google mobility reports. Meteorological factors were investigated through additional simulations with meteorological data from previous years. The results showed that lockdown effects varied significantly among countries and were most prominent for NO2 concentrations in urban areas with 2-week-average reductions up to 55 % in the second half of March. Ozone concentrations were less strongly influenced (up to ±15 %) and showed both increasing and decreasing concentrations due to lockdown measures. This depended strongly on the meteorological situation and on the NOx / VOC emission ratio. PM2.5 revealed 2 %–12 % reductions of 2-week-average concentrations in March and April, which is much less than a different weather situation could cause. Unusually low PM2.5 concentrations as observed in northern central Europe were only marginally caused by lockdown effects. The lockdown can be seen as a big experiment about air quality improvements that can be achieved through drastic traffic emission reductions. From this investigation, it can be concluded that NO2 concentrations can be largely reduced, but effects on annual average values are small when the measures last only a few weeks. Secondary pollutants like ozone and PM2.5 depend more strongly on weather conditions and show a limited response to emission changes in single sectors.

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