Origin and Background Estimation of Sulfur Dioxide in Ulaanbaatar, 2017

Abstract

Particulate matter studies have been conducted regularly in the capital city of Mongolia. In contrast, studies related to the source and general estimation of levels of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) over whole years are lacking. To explore the yearly trend in SO 2 , whole-year data of air pollutants were obtained from the Air Pollution Reducing Department. The results showed that the annual average concentration of SO 2 was 32.43 µg/m 3 at the Amgalan official monitoring station in 2017, which changed from 53 µg/m 3 in 2016, representing a reduction of around 40%. The back-trajectory model and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s hybrid single particle Lagrangian integrated trajectory model (HYPSLIT) were used to determine the source of SO 2 . A total of 8760 backward trajectories were divided into eight groups. The results showed that 78.8% of the total trajectories in Ulaanbaatar came from an area inside Mongolia. The results showed that pollutants enter Ulaanbaatar mainly from the northwest and north during the winter season. There are industrial cities, such as Darkhan and Sukhbaatar, in North Mongolia. Air pollutants created in the industrial area traveled into Ulaanbaatar during the winter season.

Urban Air Quality Studies in Mongolia: Pollution Characteristics and Future Research Needs

“…According to the observational data from 1996-2009 at the AQ monitoring sites in Ulaanbaatar (UB1, UB2, UB3, and UB4, see Table 1), the daily mean concentrations of SO2 were 27.3±24.7 µg m -3 and increased dramatically during the study period (Luvsan et al, 2012). The observed results are attributed to the use of raw coal in ger area for heat production over the years, where this coal without a washing pretreatment contains a significant amount of sulfur (Prikaz et al, 2018). The main SO2 emitters in Ulaanbaatar are combustion sources such as ger stoves, traffic and power plants.…”

“…(2018) investigated source areas of SO2 in Ulaanbaatar based on whole-year data of air pollutants (NOx, NO, NO2, O3, CO, PM10, PM2.5, and PM1) measured at the APRD3 site (Fig. 1) and using HYSPLIT backward trajectory analyses (Prikaz et al, 2018). According to the results, in 2017, the annual average concentration of SO2 at the site was 32.43 µg m -3 and the hourly maximum concentration reached 233.2 µg m -3 in January.…”

Preface: Special Issue on Air Quality Assessment for Environmental Policy Support: Sources, Emissions, Exposures, and Health Impacts

“…Several studies on PM levels in large cities have been conducted, while studies related to the source and general estimation of levels of SO 2 over whole years are lacking. Prikaz and collaborators [10] explored the yearly trend in SO 2 in Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia); their results showed a reduction of around 40% of the annual average concentration of SO 2 from 2016 (53 µg/m 3 ) to 2017 (32.43 µg/m 3 ). Furthermore, the back-trajectory model and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s hybrid single particle Lagrangian integrated trajectory model (HYPSLIT) were used to determine the source of SO 2 .…”