Assessment of human health impact from exposure to multiple air pollutants in China based on satellite observations

Assessment of human health impact caused by air pollution is crucial for evaluating environmental hazards. In this paper, concentrations of six air pollutants (PM₁₀, PM_2.5, NO₂, SO₂, O₃, and CO) were first derived from satellite observations, and then the overall human health risks in China caused by multiple air pollutants were assessed using an aggregated health risks index. Unlike traditional approach for human health risks assessment, which relied on the in-situ air pollution measurements, the spatial distribution of aggregated human health risks in China were obtained using satellite observations in this research. It was indicated that the remote sensing data have advantages over in-situ data in accessing human health impact caused by air pollution.     

Atmospheric pollution assessment near potential source of natural aerosols in the South Gobi Desert region,China

ABSTRACT

Rapid economic growth, a high degree of urbanization and the proximity of a large number of desert and semidesert landscapes can have a significant impact on the atmosphere of adjacent territories, leading to high levels of atmospheric pollution. Therefore, identifying possible sources of atmospheric pollution is one of the main tasks. In this study, we carried out an analysis of spatial and temporal characteristics of five main atmospheric pollutants (PM_2.5, PM₁₀, SO₂, NO₂, and CO) near potential source of natural aerosols, affecting seven cities (Wuhai, Alashan, Wuzhong, Zhongwei, Wuwei, Jinchang, Zhangye), located in immediate proximity to the South Gobi deserts. The results, obtained for the period from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2018, demonstrate total concentrations of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ are 38.2 ± 19.5 and 101 ± 80.7 μg/m³ exceeding the same established by the Chinese National Ambient Air Quality Standard (CNAAQS), being 35 and 70 μg/m³, respectively. Based on the data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) for the whole period, Clean Сontinental (71.49%) and Mixed (22.29%) types of aerosols prevail in the region. In the spring and winter seasons maximum concentrations of pollutants and high values of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) in the region atmosphere are observed. PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ ratio shows the presence of coarse aerosols in the total content with value 0.43. The highest concentrations of pollutants were in the period of dust storms activity, when PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ content exceeded 200 and 1000 µg/m³, and AOD value exceeded 1. UV Aerosol Index (UVAI), Aerosol Absorbing Optical Depth (AAOD), and Single Scattering Albedo (SSA), obtained from Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), demonstrate the high content of dust aerosols in the period of sandstorms. Analysis of backward trajectories shows that dust air masses moved from North to Northwest China, affecting large deserts such as Taklamakan, Gurbantunggut, Badain Jaran, Tengger, and Ulan Buh deserts.     

Spatiotemporal mixed effects modeling for the estimation of PM2.5 from MODIS AOD over the Indian subcontinent

ABSTRACT

The physical processes associated with the constituents of the troposphere, such as aerosols have an immediate impact on human health. This study employs a novel method to calibrate Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) obtained from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS – Terra satellite) for estimating surface PM_2.5 concentration. The Combined Deep Blue Deep Target daily product from the MODIS AOD data acquired across the Indian Subcontinent was used as input, and the daily averaged PM_2.5pollution level data obtained from 33 monitoring stations spread across the country was used for calibration. Mixed Effect Models (MEM) is a linear model to deal with non-independent data from multiple levels or hierarchy using fixed and random effects of dependent parameters. MEM was applied to the dataset obtained for the period from January to August 2017. The MEM considers a fixed and random component, where the random components model the daily variations of the AOD – PM_2.5 relationships, site-specific adjustment parameters, temporal (meteorological) variables such as temperature, and spatial variables such as the percentage of agricultural area, forest cover, barren land and road density with the resolution of 10 km × 10 km. Estimation accuracy was improved from an R² value of 0.66 from our earlier study (when PM_2.5 was modeled against only AOD and site-specific parameters) toR² value of 0.75 upon the inclusion of spatiotemporal (meteorological) variables with increased % within Expected Error from 18% to 35%, reduced Mean Bias Error from 3.22 to 0.11 and reduced RMSE from 29.11 to 20.09. We also found that spline interpolation performed better than IDW and Kriging inefficiently estimating the PM_2.5 concentrations wherever there were missing AOD data. The estimated minimum PM_2.5 is 93 ± 25μg/m³ which itself is in the upper limit of the hazardous level while the maximum is estimated as 170 ± 70μg/m³. The study has thus made it possible to determine the daily spatial variations of PM_2.5 concentrations across the Indian subcontinent utilizing satellite-based AOD data.     

风云三号D星MERSI AOD资料的同化应用研究

为了验证风云三号D星MERSI传感器的气溶胶光学厚度（AOD）数据对地面PM_2.5的污染过程预报的效果,本文基于WRF-Chem（Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry）大气化学模式和三维变分同化方法,针对2020-02-10—2020-02-12中国北方地区的一次PM_2.5重污染过程,进行了同化和预报试验研究。同化数据来自常规地面站点的PM_2.5浓度数据和风云三号D星MERSI传感器的气溶胶光学厚度（AOD）数据。控制试验不同化任何资料,3组同化试验分别为仅同化地面PM_2.5,仅同化卫星AOD,以及同时同化PM_2.5和卫星AOD两种资料。结果表明,3组同化试验都可以有效提高初始场准确率,以地面PM_2.5作为检验标准,仅同化PM_2.5、仅同化AOD、同时同化两种资料相对于控制试验,初始场的平均偏差分别降低54.9%、21.9%和49.0%,平均相关系数分别提升51.4%、16.0%和34.0%,平均均方根误差分别降低50.6%、17.2%和42.3%。以卫星AOD作为检验标准,3组同化试验相对于控制试验,初始场的平均偏差分别降低37.6%、78.4%和83%,平均均方根误差分别降低31.6%、62.2%和65.2%。同化后的初始场对预报有显著的改进,改进持续时间达24 h,以地面PM_2.5作为检验标准,同时同化两种资料的试验对24 h预报的平均偏差减少19.7%,相关系数提升8.8%,均方根误差减少17.2%;以卫星AOD作为检验标准,24 h预报的平均偏差减少40.1%,相关系数提升25.9%,均方根误差降低34.7%。试验结论为,相对于仅同化地面PM_2.5资料,同化风云卫星AOD资料可以提升后期预报效果。     

Design of an Integrated System for Modeling of Functional Air Quality Index Integrated with Health-GIS Using Bayesian Neural Network

Air pollution is a major problem, conscious both for health and surroundings. This is a novel approach for the design & development of a system for the monitoring of different air pollutants especially at remote places where it is difficult to install any conventional air quality monitoring stations as well as for the cities. In this research work, a framework of Functional air quality index which is an indicator of susceptibility to respiratory illness has been built using the Bayesian neural network to provide the random real-time data about a location through wireless communication. The monitoring system is integrated with different types of sensors to measure the level of different air pollutants or air quality parameters such as Suspended particulate matters, (PM_2.5), Nitrogen dioxide, Sulphur dioxide, Ozone which are directly associated with airways inflammatory diseases such as Asthma, Bronchitis, COPD. Each location in Map (GPS) can be updated automatically with fAQI to the user through mobile computing and satellite commutation. The user gets information about the neighborhood location with health-related information such as- whether a particular location is sensitive to respiratory diseases such as Bronchitis, asthma, COPD etc. due to suspended allergen/pollutants in the ambient air. This novel approach is designed with its’ own prototype and an application of Inter of Things in Health GIS for the benefit of humanity.     

土地利用视角空气污染空间分异的地理分析

针对土地利用/覆盖（land-use and land-cover,LULC）方式是否影响城市空气污染空间分异特征形成的问题,利用遥感技术和景观生态学方法分别获取长株潭城市群核心城区LULC及其景观格局,绘制空气污染物浓度与气象影响因子空间分异图,引入地理探测器定量分析土地因子在融合气象要素前后对NO₂、PM₁₀、O₃、PM_2.5浓度空间分布差异的贡献强度。结果表明,建设用地面积比例越高,林地越低,NO₂、PM_2.5浓度越高,O₃越低。非建设用地区域,污染物浓度随着土地景观格局破碎度、多样性指数值增大而升高,建设用地区域反之。LULC和土地景观格局的复合因子贡献力（P0.03~0.28）高于两者任意单独因子贡献力（P:0.01~0.11）,融合气象要素后,LULC对空气污染物空间分异特征形成的因子贡献力（P:0.18~0.53）显著增强。     

北京城市下垫面大气CO2反演算法

大气温室气体监测仪GMI（Greenhouse gases Monitor Instrument）是高分五号（GF-5）卫星载荷之一，主要用于全球温室气体含量监测和碳循环研究。高精度反演是卫星大气CO₂遥感的基本需求。地表反射率影响卫星遥感辐射量及辐射传输过程中的地气耦合过程，严重制约着CO₂的反演精度，针对GMI开发高精度的大气CO₂反演算法，地表反射是一个需要重点考虑的因素。城市是CO₂重要的发射源，且城市下垫面存在明显的二向反射特性，加上城市大气条件不良，复杂的地气耦合效应存在这都考验反演算法的准确性和鲁棒性。本文针对北京城市地区，利用2011年—2016年共5年的MODIS（MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer）地表二向反射分布函数BRDF（Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function）数据，构建了适合利用单次观测数据反演的BRDF模型，并提出一种同时反演地表BRDF参数和大气CO₂含量的算法。结果表明在550 nm波长处气溶胶光学厚度AOD（Aerosol Optical Depth）小于0.4时，大部分GMI模拟数据的反演误差控制在0.5%（~2 ppm）内。利用GOSAT （Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite）实测数据的反演结果与修正后的日本国立环境研究所NIES（National Institute for Environmental Studies）反演结果进行对比，其平均误差为1.25 ppm，相关性达到0.85。本算法满足GMI数据在北京城市区域高精度CO₂反演的需求，并使得反演高值气溶胶区域数据成为可能，增加了GMI观测数据的利用率。     

河南省夏季臭氧生成敏感性及其驱动因素分析

明确当地臭氧生成敏感性变化的主控因子是制定有效臭氧污染控制策略的前提。采用卫星观测OMI FNR（Ratio of the tropospheric columns of Formaldehyde to Nitrogen dioxide,HCHO/NO₂）指示剂将河南省夏季臭氧生成敏感性OFS（Ozone Formation Sensitivity）划分为VOCs控制区、协同控制区和NOx控制区。基于地理探测器,量化气象条件、人为源前体物及其交互作用与OFS的关系。研究揭示：（1）河南省夏季OFS以协同控制区为主,区域内臭氧污染严重,仅次于VOC_S控制区。2005年—2015年,FNR值波动下降,OFS向协同控制区转变,主要受NO_X减排的影响。2016年之后,FNR值变大,OFS有向NO_X控制区转变的趋势。（2）人为源排放是OFS变化的主要驱动因子,平均可解释FNR变化的40.5%（q＝0.405）。若CO、PM_2.5、NOx和非甲烷挥发性有机物NMVOC（Non-methane Volatile Organic Compounds）的排放量增加,FNR减小,河南省夏季OFS向VOCs控制区转变,对NOx减排的敏感性降低。（3）地表净太阳辐射SSR（q＝0.321, Surface net Solar Radiation）和大气柱总水量TCW（q＝0.302, Total Column Water）是河南省夏季OFS变化的主要气象驱动因素。SSR增加,FNR减小,使臭氧生成对VOCs更加敏感。TCW对OFS变化的影响较为复杂,当TCW<40 kg/m²时,TCW增加,FNR减小,臭氧生成对VOCs更加敏感;当TCW>40 kg/m²时,TCW增加,FNR增大,臭氧生成对NOx更加敏感。（4）因子间的交互作用对OFS空间分布的驱动大于单一因子的独立作用,人为源前体物和气象因子的交互作用占主导地位。研究结果可加强对臭氧生成光化学过程的认识,为制定合理的污染减排措施提供依据。     

Urban aerosol mapping over Athens using the differential textural analysis (DTA) algorithm on MERIS-ENVISAT data

Low and moderate spatial resolution satellite sensors (such as TOMS, AVHRR, SeaWiFS) have already shown their capability in tracking aerosols at a global scale. Sensors with moderate to high spatial resolution (such as MODIS and MERIS) seem also to be appropriate for aerosol retrieval at a regional scale. We investigated in this study the potential of MERIS-ENVISAT data to resolve the horizontal spatial distribution of aerosols over urban areas, such as the Athens metropolitan area, by using the differential textural analysis (DTA) code. The code was applied to a set of geo-corrected images to retrieve and map aerosol optical thickness (AOT) values relative to a reference image assumed to be clean of pollution with a homogeneous atmosphere. The comparison of satellite retrieved AOT against PM₁₀ data measured at ground level showed a high positive correlation particularly for the AOT values calculated using the 5th MERIS’ spectral band (R²=0.83). These first results suggest that the application of the DTA code on cloud free areas of MERIS images can be used to provide AOT related to air quality in this urban region. The accuracy of retrieved AOT mainly depends on the overall quality, the pollution cleanness and the atmospheric homogeneity of the reference image.     

Ecological bias in studies of the short-term effects of air pollution on health

There has been a great deal of research into the short-term effects of air pollution on health with a large number of studies modelling the association between aggregate disease counts and environmental exposures measured at point locations, for example via air pollution monitors. In such cases, the standard approach is to average the observed measurements from the individual monitors and use this in a log-linear health model. Hence such studies are ecological in nature being based on spatially aggregated health and exposure data. Here we investigate the potential for bias in the estimates of the effects on health when estimating the short-term effects of air pollution on health. Such ecological bias may occur if a simple summary measure, such as a daily mean, is not a suitable summary of a spatially variable pollution surface. We assess the performance of commonly used models when confronted with such issues using simulation studies and compare their performance with a model specifically designed to acknowledge the effects of exposure aggregation. In addition to simulation studies, we apply the models to a case study of the short-term effects of particulate matter on respiratory mortality using data from Greater London for the period 2002–2005. We found a significant increased risk of 3% (95% CI 1–5%) associated with the average of the previous three days exposure to particulate matter (per 10 μg m⁻³ PM₁₀).     

MODIS和OMI数据评估阅兵期间北京市大气减排成效

卫星观测不仅能反映区域宏观大气污染状况,也能从城市尺度上监测大气污染物的变化。基于以上优势,本文利用MODIS气溶胶光学厚度(AOD)和OMI对流层NO_2垂直柱浓度数据,比较2015年与2012年—2014年以及2015年3个时期(减排前、减排中、减排后)AOD和NO_2柱浓度的变化,定性分析了阅兵期间华北平原地区污染物减排效果,重点定量评估北京市联控减排措施的效果。研究发现2015年减排中华北平原重污染地区AOD和NO_2柱浓度相比于前3年同期有明显降低。定量分析北京市的减排效果得到:2015年减排中较前3年同期而言,AOD降低59%,NO_2柱浓度降低41%;较2015年减排前而言,AOD降低73%,NO_2柱浓度降低30%,去除气象条件影响后,AOD下降43%,NO_2柱浓度下降21%,说明严格的联控减排措施有效地改善了空气质量,气象条件也起到积极的作用。减排措施结束后,AOD和NO_2柱浓度比减排中分别增加159%和71%。研究结果表明,卫星遥感与地基监测评估效果相当,能反映北京地面污染物排放能力;它既能观测区域尺度大气污染变化,又可评估城市尺度大气污染减排。随着卫星技术水平的提高,期望未来卫星遥感可作为一种独立手段来定量评估区域及城市尺度空气质量减排措施的效果。     

Urban expansion patterns of 291 Chinese cities, 1990–2015

China has experienced rapid and massive urban expansion in recent decades. To address the opportunities and challenges posed by urbanization, it is important to investigate this process. Although many studies have characterized China’s urbanization, mainly based on individual cities or urban agglomerations, few studies have compared the urban expansion patterns among cities of different regions and sizes at a national scale. Additionally, the source of the newly developed urban land has largely been ignored in previous research. To fill these gaps, we provide a comprehensive view of the growth patterns of 291 Chinese cities during 1990–2015, quantifying the rates, spatial forms, and corresponding landscape characteristics of the urban expansion. More importantly, we further investigate what their new urban land is converted from. Key findings include: (1) the annual expansion (AE) and annual growth rate (AGR) of all 291 cities were 1869.81?km² and 4.81% during 1990–2015; (2) cropland and rural settlements were the predominant source, accounting for 65.22% and 17.49% of the new urban land during 1990–2015; (3) edge-expansion was the dominant growth form for most cities, followed by infilling and leapfrogging growth; and (4) the landscape characteristics of the occupied cropland differed across various cities.     

The grey-green divide: multi-temporal analysis of greenness across 10,000 urban centres derived from the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL)

ABSTRACT

The presence of green spaces within city centres has been recognized as a valuable component of the city landscape. Vegetation provides a variety of benefits including energy saving, improved air quality, reduced noise pollution, decreased ambient temperature and psychological restoration. Evidence also shows that the amount of vegetation, known as ‘greenness’, in densely populated areas, can also be an indicator of the relative wealth of a neighbourhood. The ‘grey-green divide’, the contrast between built-up areas with a dominant grey colour and green spaces, is taken as a proxy indicator of sustainable management of cities and planning of urban growth. Consistent and continuous assessment of greenness in cities is therefore essential for monitoring progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 11. The availability of multi-temporal greenness information from Landsat data archives together with data derived from the city centres database of the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) initiative, offers a unique perspective to quantify and analyse changes in greenness across 10,323 urban centres all around the globe. In this research, we assess differences between greenness within and outside the built-up area for all the urban centres described by the city centres database of the GHSL. We also analyse changes in the amount of green space over time considering changes in the built-up areas in the periods 1990, 2000 and 2014. The results show an overall trend of increased greenness between 1990 and 2014 in most cities. The effect of greening is observed also for most of the 32 world megacities. We conclude that using simple yet effective approaches exploiting open and free global data it is possible to provide quantitative information on the greenness of cities and its changes over time. This information is of direct interest for urban planners and decision-makers to mitigate urban related environmental and social impacts.     

利用遥感数据评价燃煤电厂空气质量

卫星观测数据可以评价燃煤电厂的空气质量等级。NO₂、SO₂ 和烟尘是燃煤电厂排放的主要污染物,本文利用卫星遥感观测的NO₂、SO₂和气溶胶光学厚度AOD(Aerosol Optical Depth)开展燃煤电厂空气质量评价。以中国华北地区为实验区,分析对比了3种污染物不同时间分辨率和空间分辨率的污染状况,确定了单因子的5级分级标准,根据燃煤电厂排放污染物的权重不同,提出了评价近地表空气质量状况的模型。本文综合考虑3种污染因子来反映电厂空气质量,有利于提高评价的准确性以及反应信息的全面性。结果表明,该模型能正确反映不同地区电厂的空气质量特点。     

Characterizing urban area dynamics in historic city of Kurukshetra,India, using remote sensing and spatial metric tools

Abstract

Developing countries like India are an urbanization hotspot with many upcoming towns and cities. Growth in small and medium sized towns and cities have been unnoticed and growing without appropriate urban planning. Utilizing the available medium resolution satellite data and geospatial platforms, the growth dynamics of Kurukshetra city was analysed over a period of 24 years. The study employed a combination of change detection technique and spatial metrics (six each of class and landscape levels) analysis to delineate the growth track of the city and its environs. A significant increase in urban built up (dense 237%; open 1038%) is seen majorly at the cost of open area (70%) and tree clad (58%). Phases of city’s aggregation and diffusion are observed using class and landscape level spatial metrics. Understanding and monitoring of land use changes in and around city limits using integrated spatial tools provide better decision making capability.     

基于GIS的城市空气污染综合分析

在城市空气污染的模型研究中,GIS可以作为复杂环境模型的输入数据处理器,而且GIS有一个重要的功能模块——统计分析模块,GIS能够对模型的运算输出数据进行综合处理,并对结果进一步分析,进行有关的查询以及对研究成果的可视化输出。在基于GIS的城市空气污染的综合分析中,我们探究了城市土地利用现状对空气质量的影响,本文采用模糊综合分析法探索城市三大污染源在空气污染中所占的比重,制作城市空气污染等级分布图。GIS在大气污染研究领域可以充分发挥其空间分析和可视化优势,为治理工作提供技术路线。     

利用激光雷达探测灰霾天气大气边界层高度

为了探测灰霾天气大气边界层高度变化的特征,利用CE370-C型微脉冲激光雷达观测了北京2013年1月严重灰霾期间的大气边界层高度。基于激光雷达距离校正回波信号,使用梯度法处理了严重灰霾天和轻度灰霾天的大气边界层观测数据,发现在灰霾天气时大气边界层高度显著降低,严重污染时的大气边界层高度低于500米,日平均高度约424米,且与PM2.5浓度呈现明显的负相关性。将激光雷达探测结果与探空数据进行了对比分析,结果显示激光雷达与探空数据观测结果有较好的一致性,两者在本次灰霾期间的平均差异约为86米。     

Constructing a Near Real‐time Space‐time Cube to Depict Urban Ambient Air Pollution Scenario

This study adopts a near real‐time space‐time cube approach to portray a dynamic urban air pollution scenario across space and time. Originating from time geography, space‐time cubes provide an approach to integrate spatial and temporal air pollution information into a 3D space. The base of the cube represents the variation of air pollution in a 2D geographical space while the height represents time. This way, the changes of pollution over time can be described by the different component layers of the cube from the base up. The diurnal ambient ozone (O₃) pollution in Houston, Texas is modeled in this study using the space‐time air pollution cube. Two methods, land use regression (LUR) modeling and spatial interpolation, were applied to build the hourly component layers for the air pollution cube. It was found that the LUR modeling performed better than the spatial interpolation in predicting air pollution level. With the availability of real‐time air pollution data, this approach can be extended to produce real‐time air pollution cube is for more accurate air pollution measurement across space and time, which can provide important support to studies in epidemiology, health geography, and environmental regulation.     

Satellite-measured atmospheric aerosol content in Korea: anthropogenic signals from decadal records

Spatiotemporal characteristics and anthropogenic signals of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) distributions over Korea are investigated in this study using AOT time-series data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). AOT observations, a quantitative measure of the atmospheric quality, had significant geographical variations during the study period (2000–2010). Comparing metro cities or counties with similar populations, western regions showed higher AOT values than eastern regions. Particular matter with a diameter < 10 µm (PM₁₀), including aeolian dust or yellow dust, is the primary component of atmospheric aerosols, and their transport into the region has shown a strong seasonal pattern with its peak from March to April and lows from July to September. These seasonal dust patterns, however, did not correspond well to temporal AOT records, which typically reached the maximum level in June nationwide. Rather, widespread regional fire events and humidity showed significant correlations with AOT time-series. This correlation rapidly increased as the range of fire occurrence was extended to the west as far as 115°E. The relative humidity also had a significant correlation with AOT during the month of June. In addition to urban emission of anthropogenic aerosols, regional biomass burning and secondary growth of hygroscopic aerosols are considered important contributors to the degradation of the atmospheric environment during the non-Asian Dust season over the Korean Peninsula.     

Detecting urban ecological land-cover structure using remotely sensed imagery: A multi-area study focusing on metropolitan inner cities

With increasing attention being paid to sustainable urban development and human habitation improvement, urban ecological land cover (UELC), i.e., surface water and green space, has played an important role of the highly compact inner urban regions. In this study, we developed an efficient approach for UELC mapping by coupling Sentinel-2 multi-spectral imagery and Google Earth high-resolution imagery. In contrast with the conventional single-source and multi-source imagery-based classification methods, the proposed method respectively achieved the highest overall accuracies of 91.50% and 94.05% in the UELC mapping for two test sites (i.e. Shanghai and Seoul). The proposed method is used for urban surface mapping among six world-class cities. For an in-depth analysis of the landscape structures for inner urban regions, seven landscape metrics are introduced for the quantification of the UELC structure based on the obtained high-precision UELC maps. The result shows that London appears to have the best UELC-induced ecological quality, that is, with high percentage of landscape, area-weighted mean fractal dimension, edge density, Shannon’s evenness index values and a low contagion index value, while Tokyo is exactly the opposite. Several common characteristics found through the statistical analysis are: 1) all the inner-city regions have small UELC coverage (< 50%) and low shape complexity; 2) green space generally contributes more to urban eco-environment than the urban surface water; and 3) all cities show high landscape consistency in the inner urban region.