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Abstract

Spatial and temporal variation of fine particulate pollution in a complex small coastal city, Macau, was investigated by using a mobile air quality monitoring platform. Real-time street level measurements of aerosol size distribution were carried out three times per day by using an on-board wide-range particle spectrometer along a designed route covering the main area of the city for one week. The measured distributions were then transformed into PM2.5 mass concentrations for assessment based on an empirical relation estimated from a co-located measurement calibration process. Within this week, the averaged PM2.5 mass concentrations of the morning, afternoon, and evening sessions are 51.76 μg m-3, 28.87 μg m-3 and 30.77 μg m-3, respectively. By comparing the spatial statistics of the estimated PM2.5 concentrations with the US 24-hour primary NAAQS as a reference, a significant probability of exceedance (> 86%) was observed in 1/3 of the monitoring sessions, particularly in the morning of high traffic volume. Meanwhile, majority of the hotspots were found in the districts of the Macau peninsula. In addition, by performing analysis of the backward trajectories, daily MODIS images, and comparison of the PM2.5 patterns of the entire route of three selected measuring sessions during weekdays and weekend, it was observed that long range transport of fine particulates may affect Macau in a larger scale. Therefore, regional land source influence could shadow the local one when the ambient conditions are met.

Quantifying the contribution of individual sources to air pollution in one area is the first essential step in managing air quality in this region. This is of great interest especially in areas with combined urban and industrial emission sources. The area of Western Macedonia is a very complex in terms of air quality management problem because of large and complex pollution sources operating in the region. The emissions from five lignite power plants (LPP) operating in this region, the corresponding opencast lignite mining, as well as the urban activities in the industrial axis, is a complex problem to quantify the contribution of these sources in a spatial and temporal scale in the region. This paper attempts to quantify the contribution of LPP to the particulate pollution of this region, using PM10 concentrations measurements and simulations. Specifically were used: a) suspended particulate PM10 concentration measurements for a two years period (2009-2010) at various locations in the region and b) simulations of atmospheric dispersion. The results showed that the LPPs contribution to the PM10 concentrations of the regions studied ranged from 27-84% when the background was removed. These results were also confirmed by the corresponding Index of Agreement (IOA) between the mean monthly model calculations and the station measurements after removing the background. The LPPs contribution to the PM10 concentrations was a factor of the distance between the receptor area and the LPP, while the presence of other PM10 sources was found also to contribute at a higher or a lesser extent, depending on the area’s activities (e.g. urban, agricultural etc) and seasonal characteristics.

This study offers a combined analysis of personal exposure to noise and air pollution within the metropolitan centre of Thessaloniki, Greece. The area is selected on the grounds that it is considered as one of the most polluted cities in Europe, especially with respect to air pollution. An extensive survey has been designed to provide detailed information on CO and VOC concentrations and noise pollution levels in the main modes of transport and along heavy traffic routes inside the core of the urban area under consideration. Air pollution and noise measurements were performed simultaneously along several commuting routes, during morning and evening rush hours. Personal portable devices were used. The results highlight the magnitude of air and noise urban scale personal exposure, since they depict a considerable environmental burden for the citizens of Thessaloniki, especially for VOCs and noise pollution levels. Furthermore, they provide, for the first time, a combined exposure assessment to these environmental pollutants for Thessaloniki and in this sense they are of importance for local public authorities and decision makers. The material herein points out the importance of micro-environmental monitoring and the necessity of considering environmental pollution in urban areas in a more holistic way.

This study aims to identify the pollutant dispersion patterns in complex terrain under various meteorological conditions. The study area is situated at Chania plain on the island of Crete, Greece, where the topography is fairly complex. Thus, the local meteorology is expected to be deeply affected by this complex morphology. The main source of air pollution in the region is a diesel power generating plant. The daily averaged ground level distributions of sulfur dioxide, emitted from the power plant, were predicted using the AERMOD modeling system. In order to assess the meteorological conditions in the wider region, a meteorological monitoring network with six stations was installed and operated for two years. A detailed spatial and temporal analysis of the meteorological parameters is performed in order to determine their ability to characterize the transport and dispersion conditions in the area of concern. The model was applied for days with well established wind flows and the case studies indicate that such a model is capable of predicting the general pattern of ground-level concentrations of sulphur dioxide in the area of the power plant.