Hydrocarbons in an urban atmosphere

Statistical characteristics of variations in surface-layer concentrations of methane, non-methane and aromatic hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, and formaldehyde are compared with the characteristics of variations in the concentration of carbon monoxide in the air basin of Moscow. Differences in the annual cycle of concentrations of methane, carbon dioxide, non-methane hydrocarbons, and carbon monoxide are determined. It is found that the maximum concentration of carbon monoxide at most sites with an elevated surface-air pollution level and over the city as a whole tends to occur in the summer season. The seasonal variability of the diurnal mean cycle of methane, carbon dioxide, and non-methane and aromatic hydrocarbons is analyzed.     

Methane, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide concentrations measured in the atmospheric surface layer over continental Russia in the TROICA experiments

The principal statistical regularities typical of the behaviors of the CH₄, CO, and CO₂ concentrations in the atmospheric surface layer over the continental Russian territory are revealed from the measurements performed in 1997–2004 along the Trans-Siberian Railroad from Moscow to Khabarovsk with a mobile laboratory. The data obtained under the conditions of the atmosphere free of anthropogenic pollutants are analyzed. For near-background conditions, the typical continental methane, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide concentrations and characteristic features of their large-scale spatial distributions and daily variations, including those caused by surface inversions, are determined. Variations in the concentrations of these trace gases over industrial regions are analyzed. Our results are compared to the data obtained at background stations of the world network of atmospheric monitoring and to the data of a numerical simulation.     

An oxygenating additive for improving the performance and emission characteristics of marine diesel engines

Diesel engines provide the major power sources for marine transportation and contribute to the prosperity of the worldwide economy. However, the emissions from diesel engines also seriously threaten the environment and are considered one of the major sources of air pollution. The pollutants emitted from marine vessels are confirmed to cause the ecological environmental problems such as the ozone layer destruction, enhancement of the greenhouse effect, and acid rain, etc. Marine diesel engine emissions such as particulate matter and black smoke carry carcinogen components that significantly impact the health of human beings. Investigations on reducing pollutants, in particular particulate matter and nitrogen oxides are critical to human health, welfare and continued prosperity. The addition of an oxygenating agent into fuel oil is one of the possible approaches for reducing this problem because of the obvious fuel oil constituent influences on engine emission characteristics. Ethylene glycol monoacetate was found to be a promising candidate primarily due to its low poison and oxygen-rich composition properties. In this experimental study ethylene glycol monoacetate was mixed with diesel fuel in various proportions to prepare oxygenated diesel fuel. A four-cylinder diesel engine was used to test the engine performance and emission characteristics. The influences of ethylene glycol monoacetate ration to diesel oil, inlet air temperature and humidity parameters on the engine’s speed and torque were considered. The experimental results show that an increase in the inlet air temperature caused an increase in brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide emission, and exhaust gas temperature, while decreasing the excess air, oxygen and nitrogen oxide emission concentrations. Increasing the inlet air humidity increased the carbon monoxide concentration while the decreased excess air, oxygen and nitrogen oxide emission concentrations. In addition, increasing ethylene glycol monoacetate ratio in the diesel fuel caused an increase in the BSFC while the excess air and oxygen emission concentrations decreased.     

Dynamics of surface-air pollution during the passage of a cold front

The dynamics of meteorological parameters, of sodar data on the temperature stratification of the atmospheric boundary layer, and of surface contents of pollutants (nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and ozone) during the passage over Moscow of a structurally complex prominent cold front are discussed. It is shown that the cold front passage is accompanied by stepwise increases in the NO, NO₂, and CO surface contents. A probable cause of this phenomenon is a quick entrainment of smoke plumes from high-altitude sources of pollution into the surface turbulent air near the frontal boundary. Intense advection of cold air at the rear of the cyclone can lead to the development of an unstable stratification in the atmospheric boundary layer even in the nighttime. Under these conditions, the minute-scale variability of contents of trace gases increases abruptly as compared to that occurring in the frontal zone of the cyclone prior to the passage of the front. This effect is statistically significant. The dynamics of surface ozone reflects an increase in its background concentrations in arctic air masses.     

The effect of meteorology on air pollution in Moscow during the summer episodes of 2010

Relations between short-term variations in the concentrations of aerosol (PM₁₀) and carbon monoxide (CO) and meteorological characteristics are considered for the episodes of severe atmospheric pollution in the region of Moscow in the summer of 2010. The assumption is made and substantiated that the observed (in late June) severe aerosol pollution of the atmosphere over Moscow was caused by air masses arrived from soil-drought regions of southern Russia. In August, during the episodes of advection of forest-fire products, the maximum surface concentrations of pollutants were observed in Moscow mainly at 11:00–12:00 under a convective burst into the atmospheric boundary layer and at night in the presence of local wind-velocity maxima or low-level jet streams within the inversion layer. On the basis of results from an analysis of these air-pollution episodes before and after fires, it is concluded that the shearing instability of wind velocity favors the surface-air purification under ordinary conditions and an increase in the surface concentrations of pollutants during their advection (long-range transport, natural-fire plumes, etc.). It is shown that the pollution of the air basin over the megapolis with biomass-combustion products in 2010 led to an increase in the thermal stability of the atmospheric surface layer and in the duration of radiation inversions, as well as to an attenuation of the processes of purification in the urban heat island.     

Temporal variations in carbon dioxide and methane concentrations under urban conditions

Temporal variations in the surface concentrations of two greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane) in the atmosphere over a large city are studied on the basis of the data obtained during the 2003–2005 observations at a Moscow station for environmental monitoring. This station is based on the TROICA mobile observatory and located at the meteorological station of the Faculty of Geography, Moscow State University, on Vorob’evy gory. The methods of isolating the background concentrations of greenhouse gases under urban conditions are proposed, and the excess concentrations of CO₂ and CH₄ over their background values are estimated for different seasons and times of day. The CO₂ and CH₄ concentrations are shown to have more pronounced diurnal cycles in summer than in winter. The main causes of temporal variations in the surface concentrations of CO₂ and CH₄ under urban conditions and the differences between the mean concentrations of these greenhouse gases in Moscow and other areas of Russia are analyzed. It is shown that variations in the surface concentrations of carbon dioxide and methane on different time scales are caused by different atmospheric processes (global circulation, mesoscale gravity waves, surface temperature inversions, etc.)     

Carbon dioxide content in the atmospheric thickness over central Eurasia (Issyk Kul Monitoring Station)

The refined data obtained from the spectroscopic measurements of carbon dioxide in the column of the continental atmosphere over the Issyk Kul Monitoring Station during the period 1980–2006 and the results of their comparison with the data obtained from the measurements of carbon dioxide in air samples and with the mean zonal empirical model of the Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory (CMDL) are given. Seasonal variations and a long-term trend of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmospheric thickness over a 25-year period of measurements are analyzed. The monthly mean concentration of CO₂ is increased by ～40.5 ppm, and the linear-trend index is 1.62 ppm per year. The results of the aircraft measurements of CO₂ concentration in air samples are, on the average, in agreement with the data obtained from the spectroscopic measurements of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmospheric column. The CO₂ concentration in the surface air varies from day to day, and only its minimum values coincide with the CO₂ concentration in the atmospheric thickness. The results of measurements of CO₂ concentration in the atmospheric thickness and in the atmospheric surface layer over the KZD and KZM stations nearest to each other are, on the whole, in disagreement; moreover, the KZD and KZM data are inconsistent. The CO₂ concentration in the atmospheric thickness is, on the average, 1–2% higher than that obtained with the CMDL model for 42.6° N latitude. The coefficient of correlation between the measurement results and model data is high (r= 0.95).     

Estimates of carbon monoxide emissions from wildfires in northern Eurasia for airquality assessment and climate modeling

The emissions from fires in the boreal zone of northern Eurasia significantly contribute to the global emissions of greenhouse gases, their precursors, and aerosols. These emissions are an important component of the global carbon balance, and they significantly affect both seasonal and long-term variations in the chemical composition and radiation properties of the atmosphere on both regional and global scales. The atmospheric emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) from biomass burning have systematically been estimated for the entire territory of northern Eurasia over the period of 2000–2008 on the basis of satellite (MODIS MCD45A1) data on burned vegetation and the Seiler-Crutzen emission model with consideration for both regional and seasonal features. On the whole, for Russia, the annual emissions of CO from biomass burning ranged from 10.6 to 88.2 Mt/y over the indicated period. Depending on fire activity, the atmospheric emissions of CO from natural fires and agricultural work may yield from 25 to 200% of the total technogenic emissions according to the EDGAR-2000 model. In this case, the dominant contribution is made by boreal forest fires (8–57 Mt/y), whose portion amounts to 63–76% of the total emissions from biomass burning. This relatively short observational series does not allow one to reliably estimate long-term variations; however, on the whole, a stable increase in burned areas has been observed in forest, steppe, and agricultural regions over the last decade. Our analysis suggests significant spatial and seasonal variations in the large-scale fields of fire emissions, which are determined by the physical, geographic, and climatic features of individual regions. The calculated fields of emissions can be used in transport-chemical models, studies of the regional transport and quality of air, and climate models.     

Atmospheric transport of anthropogenic heavy metals from the Kola Peninsula to the surfaces of the White and Barents seas

The propagation of air masses and anthropogenic aerosol pollutants from a large industrial region located above the polar circle in the north of the Kola Peninsula is analyzed. The initial data are five-day-traveltime trajectories of air mass transport from the source, which were calculated for each day of January, April, July, and October over a period of 20 years from 1981 to 2000 according to the NOAA reanalysis data on meteorological fields. Seasonal and long-term variations in the mean concentrations of arsenic and heavy metals (Ni, Cu, Pb, Cd, V) in the surface air layer and precipitation over the waters of the White and Barents seas are studied. The results are compared with the published observational data characteristic of the region under study. It is shown that, on the whole, over a year, the atmospheric flux of persistent ecotoxicants from the Kola Peninsula to the waters of the White and Barents seas is fully comparable to the contribution of their inflowing rivers and this flux is dominant for nickel and copper.     

Studying seasonal variations in carbonaceous aerosol particles in the atmosphere over central Siberia

The results of 2-year (2010–2012) measurements of the concentrations of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC), which were taken at the Zotino Tall Tower Observatory (ZOTTO) Siberian background station (61° N, 89° E), are given. Despite the fact that this station is located far from populated areas and industrial zones, the concentrations of OC and EC in the atmosphere over boreal forests in central Siberia significantly exceed their background values. In winter and fall, high concentrations of atmospheric carbonaceous aerosol particles are caused by the long-range transport (~1000 km) of air masses that accumulate pollutants from large cities located in both southern and southwestern regions of Siberia. In spring and summer, the pollution level is also high due to regional forest fires and agricultural burning in the steppe zone of western Siberia in the Russian–Kazakh border region. Background concentrations of carbonaceous aerosol particles were observed within relatively short time intervals whose total duration was no more than 20% of the entire observation period. In summer, variations in the background concentrations of OC closely correlated with air temperature, which implies that the biogenic sources of organic-particle formation are dominating.     

Variations in the total column amounts of carbon monoxide and methane in the Antarctic atmosphere

The results of measuring the total contents of carbon monoxide and methane via the method of solar-absorption spectroscopy are presented. The measurements were performed at the Molodezhnaya Station in 1977–1978, at the Mirny Observatory from 1982 to 1992, and at the Novolazarevskaya Station from 2003 to 2006. The character of seasonal variations in the contents of these gases in the Antarctic atmosphere is described and compared to the intra-annual variation of their surface concentrations measured at the Syowa Station (Japan). Synchronous intra-annual variations in the contents of carbon monoxide in the atmospheric column and in its surface concentrations are observed, while the spring maximum content of methane is observed three months after the maximum of its surface concentration. Synchronous seasonal variations in the total content of methane and ozone are observed, which makes it possible to suggest that the Antarctic circumpolar vortex has a significant influence on the characteristics of the vertical distribution of methane during Antarctic spring. Quantitative estimates of the parameters of multiyear variations in the contents of CO and CH₄ are given. The content of methane was increasing (although with different rates) during the entire observation period 1977–2006. The content of CO was observed to increase until 1992 and to decrease during 2003–2006.     

Determination of carbon monoxide pollution of the atmosphere over Moscow with a spectroscopic method

The results of measurements of the total content of carbon monoxide in an atmospheric column over Moscow and the Zvenigorod Scientific Station (ZSS) are given for the period 1993–2005. The simultaneous measurements of the regional background contents of carbon monoxide over a rural area (ZSS) and over Moscow made it possible to isolate an urban portion of the CO content. The total content of CO over the city varies significantly from day to day from values close to the background value to values that are 2.5–3 times greater than the background value. The number of days with such a CO content is 5% of the total number of measurement days. Such a CO content is most often observed during the cold seasons. During the warm seasons, in most of the cases, slight excesses of the CO background value are observed in the urban atmosphere. Variations in the CO content are determined mainly by wind-velocity variations and temperature inversions. In 2002, the high CO concentrations were due to forest and peatbog fires. On some days, over the ZSS, the concentrations of CO were high as never before. Over this period (12 years), the CO content in the surface air layer over the city did not increase.     

<Superscript>222</Superscript>Rn concentrations in the atmospheric surface layer over continental Russia from observations in TROICA experiments

Both space and time variations in the ²²²Rn concentration in the atmospheric surface layer over continental Russia were analyzed on the basis of data obtained in the Transcontinental Observations into the Chemistry of the Atmosphere (TROICA) experiments. The measurements were taken from a mobile laboratory which was part of a passenger train moving along the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok. The factors that affect the spatial distribution of both daily and seasonal variations in the concentrations of ²²²Rn in the surface air were determined: atmospheric vertical stability, geological features of the area under study, and atmospheric precipitation. The influence of temperature inversions on the accumulation of ²²²Rn in the atmospheric surface layer was analyzed. The fluxes of ²²²Rn from the soil into the atmosphere were estimated for different regions of Russia.     

Eclipse effects in the atmospheric boundary layer

The influence of a solar eclipse on solar-radiation fluxes, meteorological parameters, turbulence characteristics, and vertical temperature profiles in the atmospheric boundary layer is analyzed. Air-temperature variations caused by an eclipse and time delays of these variations with respect to the onset of the total-eclipse phase in the atmospheric surface and boundary layers are determined. The influence of a solar eclipse on the turbulent kinetic energy, turbulent heat flux, and variance and spectral density of the power of air-temperature pulsations are estimated. Variations in aerosol parameters and concentrations of light ions during a total solar eclipse are discussed.     

Nitrous oxide solubility in water and seawater

The solubility of nitrous oxide in pure water and seawater has been measured microgasometrically over the range 0–40°C. The data have been corrected for nonideality and are fitted to equations in temperature and salinity of the form used previously to fit the solubilities of other gases. The fitted values have a precision of 0.1% and an estimated accuracy of 0.3%. The nonideal behavior of nitrous oxide—air mixtures is discussed, and the solubility of atmospheric nitrous oxide is presented in parametric form. A similar parametric representation for the solubility of atmospheric carbon dioxide is given in the Appendix.     

Interannual variability in the wintertime air–sea flux of carbon dioxide in the northern North Atlantic, 1981–2001

Gridded fields of sea surface temperature (SST), sea level pressure (SLP), and wind speed were used in combination with data for the atmospheric mole fraction of CO₂ and an empirical relationship between measured values of the fugacity of carbon dioxide in surface water and SST, to calculate the air–sea CO₂ flux in the northern North Atlantic. The flux was calculated for each of the months October–March, in the time period 1981 until 2001, allowing for an assessment of the interannual variations in the region. Locally and on a monthly time scale, the interannual variability of the flux could be as high as ±100% in regions seasonally covered by sea ice. However, in open-ocean areas the variability was normally between ±20% and ±40%. The interannual variability was found to be approximately halved when fluxes averaged over each winter season were compared. Summarised over the whole northern North Atlantic, the air to sea carbon flux over winter totalled 0.08 Gton, with an interannual variability of about ±7%. On a monthly basis the interannual variations were slightly higher, about ±8% to ±13%. Changes in wind speed and atmospheric fCO₂ (the latter directly related to SLP variations) accounted for most of the interannual variations of the computed air–sea CO₂ fluxes. A tendency for increasing CO₂ flux into the ocean with increasing values of the NAO index was identified.     

太平洋中低纬海水中的二氧化碳分布特征及其与海洋环境条件的关系

根据1986年11月至1990年6月进行的中美热带西太平洋海-气相互作用(TOGA)联合考查和1995年10月至1996年6月“中日副热带联合调查”期间获得的14个航次大气和海水CO₂的观测资料,给出了主要观测海区CO₂的源与汇的分布特征:在赤道地区5°N~5°S,130°~165°E观测到的表面水中二氧化碳分压的值超过了大气中二氧化碳分压1.5~4.5 Pa,结果表明该海区对大气CO₂而言是源,但是该值远小于在中赤道测到的+9.1 Pa和在东赤道太平洋所测的+15 Pa的值.由此表明热带太平洋CO₂源的强度是向西减弱的.副热带海区在秋季对大气CO₂而言是较强的源,春季是汇.对影响海水CO₂变化的主要因素温度、盐度等进行了讨论,表明CO₂的分布变化直接受海流、水团、黑潮和ENSO事件影响.     

Identifying anthropogenic sources of nitrogen oxide emissions from calculations of Lagrangian trajectories and the observational data from a tall tower in Siberia during the spring-summer period of 2007

The task of identifying climatically significant regional anthropogenic emissions and estimating their contribution to the variability of nitrogen oxides observed at a monitoring station is considered on the basis of NO and NO₂ surface concentrations measured at the Zotino background observation station (60°26′ N, 89°24′ E, Krasnoyarsk Territory). The approach used is based on an estimation of the conditional probability of polluted air arriving from individual regions by using the results of calculating backward Lagrangian trajectories in the lower troposphere. It is established that the contribution of air masses supplied from industrial regions in the south of the Krasnoyarsk Territory to episodes of high concentrations of nitrogen oxides (>0.7 ppb) is larger than the contribution from cities and towns located in the south of Western Siberia. The results indicate that anthropogenic sources of pollution substantially affect the balance of minor gases in the lower troposphere on a regional scale and that this factor must be taken into account when observational data from the Zotino background station are analyzed and interpreted.     

Reduction of particulate matter and gaseous emission from marine diesel engines using a catalyzed particulate filter

Diesel engines are used widely as the power sources of coastal ships and international vessels primarily due to their high thermal efficiency, high fuel economy and durable performance. However, the gaseous and solid substances exhausted from diesel engines during the combustion process cause air pollution, in particular around harbor regions. In order to effectively reduce particulate matter and gaseous pollution emissions, a catalyzed particulate filter was equipped in the tail pipe of a marine diesel engine. The engine's performance and emission characteristics under various engine speeds and torques were measured using a computerized engine data control and acquisition system accompanied with an engine dynamometer. The effectiveness of installing a catalyzed particulate filter on the reduction of pollutant emissions was examined. The experimental results show that the exhaust gas temperature, carbon monoxide and smoke opacity were reduced significantly upon installation of the particulate filter. In particular, larger conversion of carbon monoxide to carbon dioxide — and thus larger CO₂ and lower CO emissions — were observed for the marine diesel engine equipped with a catalyzed particulate filter and operated at higher engine speeds. This is presumably due to enhancement of the catalytic oxidation reaction that results from an exhaust gas with stronger stirring motion passing through the filter. The absorption of partial heating energy from the exhaust gas by the physical structure of the particulate filter resulted in a reduction in the exhaust gas temperature. The particulate matter could be burnt to a greater extent due to the effect of the catalyst coated on the surface of the particulate filter. Moreover, the fuel consumption rate was increased slightly while the excess oxygen emission was somewhat decreased with the particulate filter.     

Simulating indirect effects that thunderstorm activity has on atmospheric temperature

A coupled chemistry-climate model of both lower and middle atmospheres is used to study variations in the temperature of the atmosphere when its chemical composition is disturbed due to thunderstorm activity, which results in variations in its local heating and cooling and in atmospheric heat and mass transfer. The results of model calculations showed that, due to variations in the lightning production of nitrogen oxides and resulting variations in the concentrations of atmospheric gases, the temperature varies mostly in the lower and middle stratospheres over both tropical and polar regions. On average, over a period of several decades, this effect quantitatively amounts to a few tenths of a degree; however, it can reach a few degrees at heights of the lower stratosphere over Polar regions. The level of the statistical significance of estimates exceeds 0.95 almost within all height ranges for the global lightning production (exceeding 6 TgN/year).