An air quality assessment in the industrialised western Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa

Venter, Andrew D.; Vakkari, Ville; Beukes, J. P.; Zyl, P. G. van; Laakso, H.; Mabaso, D.; Tiitta, Petri; Josipovic, Miroslav; Kulmala, Markku; Pienaar, Jacobus J.; Laakso, Lauri

doi:10.4102/sajs.v108i9/10.1059

Cited by 93 publications

(182 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Laakso et al, 2008Laakso et al, , 2012Vakkari et al, 2011Vakkari et al, , 2013Venter et al, 2012;Jaars et al, 2014;Beukes et al, 2013). So far, regional modeling studies for southern Africa have mainly focused on the meteorology (e.g.…”

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confidence: 99%

The anthropogenic contribution to atmospheric black carbon concentrations in southern Africa: a WRF-Chem modeling study

et al. 2015

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Abstract. South Africa has one of the largest industrialized economies in Africa. Emissions of air pollutants are particularly high in the Johannesburg-Pretoria metropolitan area, the Mpumalanga Highveld and the Vaal Triangle, resulting in local air pollution. This study presents and evaluates a setup for conducting modeling experiments over southern Africa with the Weather Research and Forecasting model including chemistry and aerosols (WRF-Chem), and analyzes the contribution of anthropogenic emissions to the total black carbon (BC) concentrations from September to December 2010.The modeled BC concentrations are compared with measurements obtained at the Welgegund station situated ca. 100 km southwest of Johannesburg. An evaluation of WRF-Chem with observational data from ground-based measurement stations, radiosondes, and satellites shows that the meteorology is modeled mostly reasonably well, but precipitation amounts are widely overestimated and the onset of the wet season is modeled approximately 1 month too early in 2010. Modeled daily mean BC concentrations show a temporal correlation of 0.66 with measurements, but the total BC concentration is underestimated in the model by up to 50 %.Sensitivity studies with anthropogenic emissions of BC and co-emitted species turned off show that anthropogenic sources can contribute up to 100 % to BC concentrations in the industrialized and urban areas, and anthropogenic BC and co-emitted species together can contribute up to 60 % to PM 1 levels. Particularly the co-emitted species contribute significantly to the aerosol optical depth (AOD). Furthermore, in areas of large-scale biomass-burning atmospheric heating rates are increased through absorption by BC up to an altitude of about 600 hPa.

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confidence: 99%

The anthropogenic contribution to atmospheric black carbon concentrations in southern Africa: a WRF-Chem modeling study

et al. 2015

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“…As is evident from the results indicated in Fig. 13, sulphate (SO 4 2-) was the dominant anionic species, while calcium (Ca 2+ ) and magnesium (Mg 2+ ) were the dominant cationic species. It was also obvious that most of the water-soluble species occurred in the PM 1 fraction, while the concentrations of the cations and anions decreased with an increase in particle size.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 59%

“…However, the~2.5-hour duration of the braai cannot be compared directly to these annual limits. SO 4 2-was the dominant anionic, while Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ were the dominant cationic water-soluble species present in the braai aerosols. The PM 1 size fraction also had the largest water-soluble cation and anion load.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Detailed descriptions of the measurement station, as well as procedures for quality assurance, maintenance and data analysis were presented in previous papers. 4,[12][13][14]19 Various continuous measurements of atmospheric gaseous species and aerosols are performed at the Welgegund station. Atmospheric gaseous species, i.e.…”

Section: Sampling Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, wood and charcoal are commonly burned in many households for cooking and space heating, especially in semiformal and informal settlements, which significantly contributes to poor air quality. 4,5 Alternative, cleaner burning fuels have been suggested to replace wood-fired braais used by meat traders and households. 6 Historically, wood was the most widely used braai fuel.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Plume characterization of a typical South African braai

Venter¹,

Jaars²,

Booyens³

et al. 2015

S.Afr.j.chem.

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To braai is part of the South African heritage that transcends ethnic barriers and socio-economic groups. In this paper, a comprehensive analysis of atmospheric gaseous and aerosol species within a plume originating from a typical South African braai is presented. Braai experiments were conducted at Welgegund -a comprehensively equipped regional background atmospheric air quality and climate change monitoring station.

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OMI Satellite and Ground‐Based Pandora Observations and Their Application to Surface NO₂ Estimations at Terrestrial and Marine Sites

et al. 2018

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The Pandora spectrometer that uses direct‐Sun measurements to derive total column amounts of gases provides an approach for (1) validation of satellite instruments and (2) monitoring of total column (TC) ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). We use for the first time Pandora and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) observations to estimate surface NO2 over marine and terrestrial sites downwind of urban pollution and compared with in situ measurements during campaigns in contrasting regions: (1) the South African Highveld (at Welgegund, 26°34′10″S, 26°56′21″E, 1,480 m asl, ~120 km southwest of the Johannesburg‐Pretoria megacity) and (2) shipboard U.S. mid‐Atlantic coast during the 2014 Deposition of Atmospheric Nitrogen to Coastal Ecosystems (DANCE) cruise. In both cases, there were no local NOx sources but intermittent regional pollution influences. For TC NO2, OMI and Pandora difference is ~20%, with Pandora higher most times. Surface NO2 values estimated from OMI and Pandora columns are compared to in situ NO2 for both locations. For Welgegund, the planetary boundary layer (PBL) height, used in converting column to surface NO2 value, has been estimated by three methods: co‐located Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) observations; a model simulation; and radiosonde data from Irene, 150 km northeast of the site. AIRS PBL heights agree within 10% of radiosonde‐derived values. Absolute differences between Pandora‐ and OMI‐estimated surface NO2 and the in situ data are better at the terrestrial site (~0.5 ppbv and ~1 ppbv or greater, respectively) than under clean marine air conditions, with differences usually >3 ppbv. Cloud cover and PBL variability influence these estimations.

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An air quality assessment in the industrialised western Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa

Cited by 93 publications

References 14 publications

The anthropogenic contribution to atmospheric black carbon concentrations in southern Africa: a WRF-Chem modeling study

The anthropogenic contribution to atmospheric black carbon concentrations in southern Africa: a WRF-Chem modeling study

Plume characterization of a typical South African braai

OMI Satellite and Ground‐Based Pandora Observations and Their Application to Surface NO₂ Estimations at Terrestrial and Marine Sites

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An air quality assessment in the industrialised western Bushveld Igneous Complex, South Africa

Cited by 93 publications

References 14 publications

The anthropogenic contribution to atmospheric black carbon concentrations in southern Africa: a WRF-Chem modeling study

The anthropogenic contribution to atmospheric black carbon concentrations in southern Africa: a WRF-Chem modeling study

Plume characterization of a typical South African braai

OMI Satellite and Ground‐Based Pandora Observations and Their Application to Surface NO2 Estimations at Terrestrial and Marine Sites

Contact Info

Product

Resources

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OMI Satellite and Ground‐Based Pandora Observations and Their Application to Surface NO₂ Estimations at Terrestrial and Marine Sites