Project Details
Description
According to satellite monitoring data, China has become a global hot spot for PM2.5 concentrations. In the winter, the northeast monsoon prevails, and Taiwan is located in the downwind area of China. It is inevitable to be affected by the transport of air pollutants from China, and cause long-range transport of haze damage, such haze damage can cause the PM2.5 concentration in the north and even mid-southern regions to increase sharply to more than 100 μg m-3, which is very harmful to people’s health. However, this year’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused a major shutdown of global economic activity, and further confirmed China’s emissions reductions on satellite observations. Under this scenario, the amount of Chinese pollutants transport to Taiwan must be adjusted, and it is also an opportunity to assess the possible impact of China’s pollution reduction on Taiwan so that future air pollution prevention strategies can be planned. Early observations of PM2.5 concentration were mostly based on stations. Although high-accuracy observations can be obtained continuously, they are often limited by the location of the stations and cannot determine the source of pollution. Therefore, satellite data with a wide range of observations are often used for global air quality monitoring. However, due to the satellite’s orbit and channel characteristics, it is usually unable to satisfy the needs of continuous observation. In particular, PM2.5 in the atmosphere changes dramatically at any time and any space, so unmanned aerial vehicle observation methods with maneuverability and high temporal and spatial resolution have begun to be widely used, suitable for vertical continuous observation or monitoring.By integrating the latest observation technology, our project tends to explore the relationship between the East Asian emission source area and Taiwan's recipients during the COVID-19 period (March 2020-2021), and analyzed the air pollution concentration changes, vertical distribution, aerosol chemistry of air masses under long-range transport to Taiwan. The main research results include: (1) The impact of COVID-19, China's source area emission reduction is estimated to reach 20-35%, reflecting the reduction of PM2.5 concentration transported to northern Taiwan by ~24%. (2) Comparing the vertical distribution of air pollutants between two events in Marchs of 2020 and 2021, respectively, the concentrations of PM2.5, CO2, VOCs, CO, and CH4 all present a uniform vertical distribution, whereas the ozone concentration in the upper layer showed higher value than that in the bottom layer. (3) The chemical analysis of aerosols showed that one year after the outbreak of COVID-19, the mass concentration of aerosol, water-soluble ions, PAHs, and heavy metals showed a decreasing trend for those long-range transport event days, which is worthwhile pay attention to follow-up observations.
Status | Finished |
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Effective start/end date | 15/10/20 → 14/10/21 |
UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This project contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Keywords
- PM2.5
- long-range transport
- COVID-19
- satellite remote sensing
- three-dimensional observation
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