Synoptic classification of meteorological patterns and their impact on air pollution episodes and new particle formation processes in a south European air basin

Salvador, P.; Barreiro, Marcos; Gómez-Moreno, F.J.; Alonso‐Blanco, Elisabeth; Artı́ñano, Begoña

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2020.118016

Cited by 27 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…On the other hand, cases with higher mixing layer heights or aloft layer containing significant load of aerosols will produce lower values, for instance the second case (Figure 4b.1,b.2) produces 0.47 and the third (Figure 4c.1,c.2), 0.34. This last value is one of the lowest values obtained, and these cases normally correspond to strong Saharan dust events with elevated layers that contribute a large portion of the AOD, as it was documented in previous studies [36].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 66%

“…Saharan dust intrusions have been established that can significantly affect aerosol concentrations measured in the Madrid region in certain meteorological situations [35]. On the contrary, the cleansing effect on the Madrid atmosphere is generally linked with the arrival of Atlantic air masses, producing a significant reduction in the particulate matter levels [36]. Simultaneous ground-based remote sensing measurements were carried out at the site with the following instruments: the vertically resolved aerosol profile was provided by a multiwavelength advanced lidar system (Madrid-CIEMAT ACTRIS station) and the column-integrated optical properties were derived from sky and direct sun measurements provided by an automatic photometer (AEMET-AERONET station).…”

Section: Experimental Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

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Effect of Vertical Profile of Aerosols on the Local Shortwave Radiative Forcing Estimation

et al. 2021

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In this work, the effect of the aerosol vertical distribution on the local shortwave aerosol radiative forcing is studied. We computed the radiative forcing at the top and bottom of the atmosphere between 0.2 and 4 microns using the libRadTran package and compared the results with those provided by AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork). Lidar measurements were employed to characterize the aerosol vertical profile, and collocated AERONET measurements provided aerosol optical parameters required to calculate its radiative forcing. A good correlation between the calculated radiative forcings and those provide by AERONET, with differences smaller than 1 W m−2 (15% of estimated radiative forcing), is obtained when a gaussian vertical aerosol profile is assumed. Notwithstanding, when a measured aerosol profile is inserted into the model, differences between radiative forcings can vary up to 6.54 W m−2 (15%), with a mean of differences = −0.74 ± 3.06 W m−2 at BOA and −3.69 W m−2 (13%), with a mean of differences = −0.27 ± 1.32 W m−2 at TOA due to multiple aerosol layers and aerosol types. These results indicate that accurate information about aerosol vertical distribution must be incorporated in the radiative forcing calculation in order to reduce its uncertainties.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 66%

Section: Experimental Sitementioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Vertical Profile of Aerosols on the Local Shortwave Radiative Forcing Estimation

et al. 2021

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“…It is one of the statistical methods most widely used for classification of atmospheric circulation patterns ( Huth et al, 2008 and references therein). Some recently published papers have demonstrated the robustness of the k-means cluster analysis method for characterizing atmospheric processes with high impact in air quality levels at a study area, such as long-range transport of African dust over regions of the western Mediterranean basin ( Salvador et al, 2014 ), the transport and NO 2 background concentration over regions of the Iberian Peninsula ( Valverde et al, 2015 ) or the development of high air pollution episodes and new particle formation processes in the Madrid metropolitan area ( Salvador et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Learning from the COVID-19 lockdown in berlin: Observations and modelling to support understanding policies to reduce NO2.

Schneidemesser

Sibiya

Caseiro

et al. 2021

Atmospheric Environment: X

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Urban air pollution is a substantial threat to human health. Traffic emissions remain a large contributor to air pollution in urban areas. The mobility restrictions put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic provided a large-scale real-world experiment that allows for the evaluation of changes in traffic emissions and the corresponding changes in air quality. Here we use observational data, as well as modelling, to analyse changes in nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and particulate matter resulting from the COVID-19 restrictions at the height of the lockdown period in Spring of 2020. Accounting for the influence of meteorology on air quality, we found that reduction of ca. 30–50 % in traffic counts, dominated by changes in passenger cars, corresponded to reductions in median observed nitrogen dioxide concentrations of ca. 40 % (traffic and urban background locations) and a ca. 22 % increase in ozone (urban background locations) during weekdays. Lesser reductions in nitrogen dioxide concentrations were observed at urban background stations at weekends, and no change in ozone was observed. The modelled reductions in median nitrogen dioxide at urban background locations were smaller than the observed reductions and the change was not significant. The model results showed no significant change in ozone on weekdays or weekends. The lack of a simulated weekday/weekend effect is consistent with previous work suggesting that NOx emissions from traffic could be significantly underestimated in European cities by models. These results indicate the potential for improvements in air quality due to policies for reducing traffic, along with the scale of reductions that would be needed to result in meaningful changes in air quality if a transition to sustainable mobility is to be seriously considered. They also confirm once more the highly relevant role of traffic for air quality in urban areas.

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“…Urban climate and air quality drivers are linked of heavy air pollution episodes for several days ( Pandolfi et al, 2014 ) that can be associated with events like haze, lower atmospheric inversions ( Yuan et al, 2021 ; Zoran et al, 2008 ; Baldasano, 2020 ) and transborder air pollution (Saharan dust intrusions, or other industrial pollutants) ( Salvador et al, 2021 ). Is well known that during stagnant anticyclonic air conditions, that favour accumulation at the ground level of air pollutants, outdoor exposure to high levels of air pollutants can increase the susceptibility to morbidity and mortality from respiratory infections ( Mu et al, 2021 ; Zhou et al, 2021 ; Romano et al, 2020 ; Cohen and Kupferschmidt, 2020 ; Perrone et al, 2012 ; Perrone et al, 2014 ; Wang et al, 2022 ; Wang et al, 2021 ; Coccia, 2020 ; Manoj et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of exposure to air pollution, radon and climate drivers on the COVID-19 pandemic in Bucharest, Romania: A time series study

Zoran

Savastru

Săvăstru

et al. 2022

Environmental Research

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Synoptic classification of meteorological patterns and their impact on air pollution episodes and new particle formation processes in a south European air basin

Cited by 27 publications

References 49 publications

Effect of Vertical Profile of Aerosols on the Local Shortwave Radiative Forcing Estimation

Effect of Vertical Profile of Aerosols on the Local Shortwave Radiative Forcing Estimation

Learning from the COVID-19 lockdown in berlin: Observations and modelling to support understanding policies to reduce NO2.

Impacts of exposure to air pollution, radon and climate drivers on the COVID-19 pandemic in Bucharest, Romania: A time series study

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