Article
Engineering, Environmental
Jingran Zhang, Yiliang Jiang, Yunjie Wang, Shaojun Zhang, Ye Wu, Shuxiao Wang, Chris P. Nielsen, Michael B. McElroy, Jiming Hao
Summary: China's booming civil aviation market has led to increased aircraft emissions, which have been found to be a significant contributor to air pollution and health issues. This study used flight trajectory data to simulate the impact of aviation emissions on ground-level air pollution in China, and the results show that aviation emissions have become a major source of ambient air pollution, causing health problems in densely populated regions, especially the eastern coastal areas.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Ahmad Bin Thaneya, Joshua S. Apte, Arpad Horvath
Summary: An exposure-based traffic assignment model has been developed to quantify PM2.5 exposure due to on-road vehicle flow. The study compares the exposure impacts of two optimization scenarios and finds that reducing exposure damages leads to an increase in travel time costs. The model can be used to evaluate different transportation exposure reduction strategies and assess the exposure impacts of new transportation infrastructure.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Ahmad Bin Thaneya, Arpad Horvath
Summary: An exposure-based traffic assignment model is used to quantify PM2.5 exposure from on-road vehicle flow in the Chicago Metropolitan Area. The study finds that exposure-based vehicle rerouting can reduce PM2.5 exposure and associated damages. Additionally, the adoption of various exposure reduction strategies can further enhance the mitigation potential.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Yu Wang, Mo Dan, Yan Dou, Ling Guo, Zhizhen Xu, Ding Ding, Mushui Shu
Summary: Air pollution has a significant impact on public health. The air quality health index (AQHI) provides a comprehensive approach to measuring mixtures of air pollutants and assessing short-term health effects. This study established an AQHI and cumulative risk index (CRI)-AQHI for Tianjin using single-and multi-pollutant models. The results showed that AQHI and CRI-AQHI were more closely correlated with the total mortality effects on residents compared to the popular air quality index (AQI).
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Chuanqi Xu, Zhi Zhang, Guangjiu Ling, Guoqiang Wang, Mingzhu Wang
Summary: North China has been greatly affected by frequent air pollution incidents, making it crucial to study the characteristics of air pollution and its impact on human health. This study analyzed the spatiotemporal variations of air pollutants in North China from 2016 to 2019 and assessed health risks using different indices. The results showed a decrease in pollutant concentrations (except for ozone) due to government emission reduction policies. However, ozone concentrations increased due to complex precursor emissions. The aggregate air quality index accurately assessed air pollution, with 55% of the population in the study region exposed to polluted air. The study also found that PM10 and PM2.5 had significant health risks.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Bhupendra Das, Prakash Bhave, Siva Praveen Puppala, Sagar Adhikari, Shreeti Sainju, Enna Mool, Rejina M. Byanju
Summary: A comprehensive emission inventory of the transport sector in Nepal was developed for the first time using fuel-based emission factors (EFs). The study estimated air pollutant emissions from diesel vehicles, compared diesel consumption by vehicle category with national sales data, and used Monte Carlo to estimate uncertainties. Tail pipe emission measurements were conducted using Ratnoze1 and Microaeth, and fuel-based EFs of CO2, CO, BC, and PM2.5 were calculated through the carbon mass balance method.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Temitope Christina Adebayo-Ojo, Janine Wichmann, Oluwaseyi Olalekan Arowosegbe, Nicole Probst-Hensch, Christian Schindler, Nino Kunzli
Summary: This study developed an Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) based on global scientific evidence and applied it to data from Cape Town, South Africa. The study found that between 2006 and 2015, 87% of the days posed moderate to high risk to Cape Town's population, mainly due to PM10 and NO2 levels. The seasonal pattern of air quality shows high risk occurring mostly during the colder months of July-September.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Joseph Sanchez-Balseca, Agusti Perez-Foguet
Summary: Human mortality data are often modeled using a demographic approach, but additional information such as social, economic, and environmental factors are needed for better fitting the model. This study evaluated the association between human mortality data and meteorological and air pollutant covariates, with the proposed approach showing good performance in cases of limited data.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Ioana Tanasa, Marius Cazacu, Brindusa Sluser
Summary: The purpose of this study was to evaluate air quality in four cities in Romania (Brasov, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, and Timisoara) over the period 2011-2021, focusing on arsenic, carbon monoxide, and PM2.5 as pollutants of interest. Data on pollutant concentrations were collected from public reports by the National Environmental Protection Agency and statistically analyzed to identify air quality trends and assess environmental and health impacts. The results showed high concentrations of PM2.5 in Iasi and significant levels of arsenic pollution in Timisoara, posing major risks to human health.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Jenjira Kaewrat, Rungruang Janta, Surasak Sichum, Chuthamat Rattikansukha, Wittaya Tala, Thongchai Kanabkaew
Summary: Thailand was initially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and implemented lockdown measures to control the spread of the virus. This study evaluated the long-term air quality improvement resulting from these restrictions and found that the overall air quality index (AQI) improved by 30%. The subindex of most pollutants significantly improved in metropolitan areas, but the changes in human activities were not clearly related to air quality improvement in suburban areas. The overall health risk assessment also decreased due to the reduction of traffic-related pollutants, but remained above recommended limits for adults in all areas.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Agnieszka Gruszecka-Kosowska, Jacek Dajda, Ewa Adamiec, Edeltrauda Helios-Rybicka, Marek Kisiel-Dorohinicki, Radoslaw Klimek, Dariusz Palka, Jaroslaw Was
Summary: Air pollution poses a significant health risk to both local residents and tourists in popular tourist areas, with pollutant concentrations exceeding recommended levels of PM10 and PM2.5. The presence of PM2.5 was identified as the most crucial contaminant in the risk analysis.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Steven T. Turnock, Carly L. Reddington, J. Jason West, Fiona M. O'Connor
Summary: This study uses the Earth system model UKESM1 to simulate the changes in surface ozone and PM2.5 concentrations under different NTCF mitigation scenarios. The results show that reducing pollutant emissions can greatly improve human health, especially in Asia. However, if emissions continue at current rates, the health impacts will worsen over South Asia in the short term and across Africa in the long term. Future climate change could offset some of the health benefits achieved by emission reduction measures.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Waseem Qader, Reyaz Ahmad Dar, Irfan Rashid
Summary: The diverse composition and abundance of suspended particulate matter make it difficult to identify the exact precursors for atmospheric pollutants. Phytoliths, microscopic biogenic silica deposited by plants, are dispersed into the atmosphere through dust storms, forest fires, and stubble burning. Due to their durability, chemical composition, and diverse morphology, phytoliths are considered a possible particulate matter that can impact air quality, climate, and human health. Estimating the phytolith particulate matter, its toxicity, and environmental impacts will help develop effective policies for improving air quality and reducing health risks.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2023)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Huiling Ouyang, Xu Tang, Rajesh Kumar, Renhe Zhang, Guy Brasseur, Ben Churchill, Mozaharul Alam, Haidong Kan, Hong Liao, Tong Zhu, Emily Ying Yang Chan, Ranjeet Sokhi, Jiacan Yuan, Alexander Baklanov, Jianmin Chen, Maria Katherina Patdu
Summary: Air pollution is estimated to contribute to approximately 7 million premature deaths, with around 4.5 million deaths linked to ambient (outdoor) air pollution. Implementing the stricter WHO 2021 AQGs in the Asian region is expected to generate the greatest health benefits, as deaths attributed to air pollution rank the highest in this region. Key messages and recommendations have been presented to promote the strategies for implementation at national, regional, and global levels in Asia.
BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
Huiling Ouyang, Xu Tang, Rajesh Kumar, Renhe Zhang, Guy Brasseur, Ben Churchill, Mozaharul Alam, Haidong Kan, Hong Liao, Tong Zhu, Emily Ying Yang Chan, Ranjeet Sokhi, Jiacan Yuan, Alexander Baklanov, Jianmin Chen, Maria Katherina Patdu
Summary: Air pollution is responsible for millions of premature deaths, particularly in the Asian region. Implementing stricter global air quality guidelines, released by the WHO, will bring significant health benefits, especially in Asia. This article presents key messages and recommendations to promote the implementation of the ambitious WHO 2021 AQGs in Asia.
BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN METEOROLOGICAL SOCIETY
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Akshat Agarwal, Vincent R. Meijer, Sebastian D. Eastham, Raymond L. Speth, Steven R. H. Barrett
Summary: Model-based estimates of aviation's climate impacts have found that contrails contribute significantly to aviation's radiative forcing. However, current models overestimate the number and lifetime of contrails, and reanalysis data incorrectly identify the regions where contrails can form.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Prakash Prashanth, Sebastian D. Eastham, Raymond L. Speth, Steven R. H. Barrett
Summary: Aviation emissions, particularly nitrogen oxides (NOx) and sulfur oxides (SOx), have significant impacts on human health and climate change. This study quantifies the contributions of aviation emissions to the formation of secondary aerosols and radiative forcing. The results show that aviation NOx emissions play a dominant role in the formation of nitrate and sulfate aerosols, and they also significantly affect near-surface aerosol concentrations.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Thermodynamics
Anthony S. Walker, Raymond L. Speth, Kyle E. Niemeyer
Summary: This study introduces an adaptive preconditioning method to reduce the cost of integrating large chemical kinetic models, resulting in significant speedup in performance and improved efficiency.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMBUSTION INSTITUTE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Cassandre V. M. Pradon, Sebastian D. Eastham, Guillaume Chossiere, Jayant Sabnis, Raymond L. Speth, Steven R. H. Barrett, J. Andre Jooste
Summary: Rocket launches emit gases that contribute to climate change and ozone depletion. Between 2009 and 2018, a total of 140 kt of carbon dioxide, 79 kt of water vapor, 5 kt of chlorine, and 8 kt of alumina were emitted. The majority of emissions came from launches conducted by Russia and the United States.
JOURNAL OF SPACECRAFT AND ROCKETS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Prakash Prashanth, Laurens J. A. Voet, Raymond L. Speth, Jayant S. Sabnis, Choon S. Tan, Steven R. H. Barrett
Summary: The commercial supersonic transport (SST) aircraft, like Concorde, have used repurposed engines or derivative engines based on existing donor engines rather than purpose-designed clean-sheet engines. This approach is currently being adopted in the development of new SSTs. By comparing the derivative engines with purpose-designed engines, this study identifies the constraints imposed by the donor engines and quantifies their impact on fuel consumption, certification noise, and NOx emissions. The results can provide policymakers with a quantitative comparison of clean-sheet purpose-built engines and derivative engines from an environmental perspective as they develop updated environmental standards for civil supersonic aircraft.
JOURNAL OF PROPULSION AND POWER
(2023)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Lyssa M. Freese, Guillaume P. Chossiere, Sebastian D. Eastham, Alan Jenn, Noelle E. Selin
Summary: This article assesses the impacts of a nuclear phase-out in the United States on ground-level ozone and fine particulate matter (PM2.5), discussing the effects on air pollution, climate, and health. By developing a dispatch model and a chemical transport model, the authors estimate emissions and calculate the effects on ozone and PM2.5. The results indicate that the removal of nuclear power leads to increased PM2.5 and ozone levels, resulting in an additional 5,200 annual deaths.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Sebastian D. Eastham, Erwan Monier, Daniel Rothenberg, Sergey Paltsev, Noelle E. Selin
Summary: This study developed a computationally efficient approach to quantify the effects of combined climate and air quality interventions on air quality outcomes. By fitting individual response surfaces to simulation output for worldwide locations, we found that the sensitivity of air quality to climate change and emission reductions differs by region, highlighting the importance of considering simultaneous air quality interventions in climate policy assessments.
ACS ENVIRONMENTAL AU
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Fangqun Yu, Gan Luo, Arshad Arjunan Nair, Sebastian Eastham, Christina J. Williamson, Agnieszka Kupc, Charles A. Brock
Summary: While the formation and growth of particles in the troposphere have been extensively studied, limited research has been done in the stratosphere. Using laboratory measurements and in situ observations, this study aims to understand nucleation mechanisms and evaluate model-simulated particle size distributions in the lowermost stratosphere. The results show that the existing models overpredict nucleation rates and particle number concentrations, and suggest the importance of considering ion-mediated nucleation and the effect of charges on coagulation and growth in stratospheric aerosol injection simulations.
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Viral Shah, Daniel J. Jacob, Ruijun Dang, Lok N. Lamsal, Sarah A. Strode, Stephen D. Steenrod, K. Folkert Boersma, Sebastian D. Eastham, Thibaud M. Fritz, Chelsea Thompson, Jeff Peischl, Ilann Bourgeois, Ilana B. Pollack, Benjamin A. Nault, Ronald C. Cohen, Pedro Campuzano-Jost, Jose L. Jimenez, Simone T. Andersen, Lucy J. Carpenter, Tomas Sherwen, Mat J. Evans
Summary: Satellite-based retrievals of tropospheric NO2 columns are widely used to infer NOx emissions. These retrievals rely on model information for the vertical distribution of NO2. Free tropospheric background above 2 km is important for these retrievals and has a significant impact on tropospheric OH and ozone concentrations.
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
(2023)
Review
Environmental Sciences
Samantha M. Tracy, Jonathan M. Moch, Sebastian D. Eastham, Jonathan J. Buonocore
Summary: This article explores the potential impacts of solar radiation management (SRM), specifically stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), on global public health. SAI has been extensively studied and has been shown to decrease global temperatures, but it also has direct effects on ecosystems and public health.
ELEMENTA-SCIENCE OF THE ANTHROPOCENE
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Randall Martin, Sebastian D. Eastham, Liam Bindle, Elizabeth W. Lundgren, Thomas L. Clune, Christoph A. Keller, William Downs, Dandan Zhang, Robert A. Lucchesi, Melissa P. Sulprizio, Robert M. Yantosca, Yanshun Li, Lucas Estrada, William M. Putman, Benjamin M. Auer, Atanas L. Trayanov, Steven Pawson, Daniel J. Jacob
Summary: This article describes the development and improvements of the new generation GCHP global model of atmospheric composition based on GEOS-Chem. GCHP is an offline implementation driven by NASA GEOS meteorological data, offering higher resolution, more accurate transport, and better parallelization.
GEOSCIENTIFIC MODEL DEVELOPMENT
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Thibaud M. Fritz, Sebastian D. Eastham, Louisa K. Emmons, Haipeng Lin, Elizabeth W. Lundgren, Steve Goldhaber, Steven R. H. Barrett, Daniel J. Jacob
Summary: This study implements the GEOS-Chem chemistry module as a chemical mechanism in CESM and compares it with the CAM-chem chemistry module, identifying some differences in atmospheric chemistry properties between them. Embedding GEOS-Chem in CESM helps accelerate progress in atmospheric science.
GEOSCIENTIFIC MODEL DEVELOPMENT
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sebastian D. Eastham, Thibaud Fritz, Ines Sanz-Morere, Prakash Prashanth, Florian Allroggen, Ronald G. Prinn, Raymond L. Speth, Steven R. H. Barrett
Summary: Supersonic aircraft, with current-generation engine technology and fossil-based kerosene fuel, can have impacts on atmospheric composition and non-CO2 climate forcing. The use of zero-sulfur fuel reduces ozone depletion but increases non-CO2 climate impact. The fleet size, flight altitude, and fuel emission also influence ozone depletion and radiative forcing.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE-ATMOSPHERES
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
William Atkinson, Sebastian D. Eastham, Y-H Henry Chen, Jennifer Morris, Sergey Paltsev, C. Adam Schlosser, Noelle E. Selin
Summary: Air pollution is a significant sustainability challenge, and future anthropogenic precursor and greenhouse gas emissions will have a great impact on human well-being. The development of a public Tool for Air Pollution Scenarios (TAPS) helps assess and address these issues by evaluating pollutant emissions from various climate and air quality actions, coupled with socioeconomic modeling of climate change mitigation.
GEOSCIENTIFIC MODEL DEVELOPMENT
(2022)