Analysis of the Trend and Seasonal Cycle of Carbon Monoxide Concentrations in an Urban Area (4 pp)

Background, Aim and Scope Air quality is an field of major concern in large cities. This problem has led administrations to introduce plans and regulations to reduce pollutant emissions. The analysis of variations in the concentration of pollutants is useful when evaluating the effectiveness of these plans. However, such an analysis cannot be undertaken using standard statistical techniques, due to the fact that concentrations of atmospheric pollutants often exhibit a lack of normality and are autocorrelated. On the other hand, if long-term trends of any pollutant’s emissions are to be detected, meteorological effects must be removed from the time series analysed, due to their strong masking effects. Materials and Methods The application of statistical methods to analyse temporal variations is illustrated using monthly carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations observed at an urban site. The sampling site is located at a street intersection in central Valencia (Spain) with a high traffic density. Valencia is the third largest city in Spain. It is a typical Mediterranean city in terms of its urban structure and climatology. The sampling site started operation in January 1994 and monitored CO ground level concentrations until February 2002. Its geographic coordinates are W0°22′52″ N39°28′05″ and its altitude is 11 m. Two nonparametric trend tests are applied. One of these is robust against serial correlation with regards to the false rejection rate, when observations have a strong persistence or when the sample size per month is small. A nonparametric analysis of the homogeneity of trends between seasons is also discussed. A multiple linear regression model is used with the transformed data, including the effect of meteorological variables. The method of generalized least squares is applied to estimate the model parameters to take into account the serial dependence of the residuals of this model. This study also assesses temporal changes using the Kolmogorov-Zurbenko (KZ) filter. The KZ filter has been shown to be an effective way to remove the influence of meteorological conditions on O₃ and PM to examine underlying trends. Results The nonparametric tests indicate a decreasing, significant trend in the sampled site. The application of the linear model yields a significant decrease every twelve months of 15.8% for the average monthly CO concentration. The 95% confidence interval for the trend ranges from 13.9% to 17.7%. The seasonal cycle also provides significant results. There are no differences in trends throughout the months. The percentage of CO variance explained by the linear model is 90.3%. The KZ filter separates out long, short-term and seasonal variations in the CO series. The estimated, significant, long-term trend every year results in 10.3% with this method. The 95% confidence interval ranges from 8.8% to 11.9%. This approach explains 89.9% of the CO temporal variations. Discussion The differences between the linear model and KZ filter trend estimations are due to the fact that the KZ filter performs the analysis on the smoothed data rather than the original data. In the KZ filter trend estimation, the effect of meteorological conditions has been removed. The CO short-term componentis attributable to weather and short-term fluctuations in emissions. There is a significant seasonal cycle. This component is a result of changes in the traffic, the yearly meteorological cycle and the interactions between these two factors. There are peaks during the autumn and winter months, which have more traffic density in the sampled site. There is a minimum during the month of August, reflecting the very low level of vehicle emissions which is a direct consequence of the holiday period. Conclusions The significant, decreasing trend implies to a certain extent that the urban environment in the area is improving. This trend results from changes in overall emissions, pollutant transport, climate, policy and economics. It is also due to the effect of introducing reformulated gasoline. The additives enable vehicles to burn fuel with a higher air/fuel ratio, thereby lowering the emission of CO. The KZ filter has been the most effective method to separate the CO series components and to obtain an estimate of the long-term trend due to changes in emissions, removing the effect of meteorological conditions. Recommendations and Perspectives Air quality managers and policy-makers must understand the link between climate and pollutants to select optimal pollutant reduction strategies and avoid exceeding emission directives. This paper analyses eight years of ambient CO data at a site with a high traffic density, and provides results that are useful for decision-making. The assessment of long-term changes in air pollutants to evaluate reduction strategies has to be done while taking into account meteorological variability     

Influence of environmental factors on arsenic accumulation and biotransformation using the aquatic plant species Hydrilla verticillata

Hydrilla verticillata(waterthyme) has been successfully used for phytoremediation in arsenic(As) contaminated water.To evaluate the effects of environmental factors on phytoremediation,this study conducted a series of orthogonal design experiments to determine optimal conditions,including phosphorus(P),nitrogen(N),and arsenate(As(Ⅴ))concentrations and initial pH levels,for As accumulation and biotransformation using this aquatic plant species,while also analyzing As species transformation in culture media after 96-hr exposure.Analysis of variance and the signal-to-noise ratio were used to identify both the effects of these environmental factors and their optimal conditions for this purpose.Results indicated that both N and P significantly impacted accumulation,and N was essential in As species transformation.High N and intermediate P levels were critical to As accumulation and biotransformation by H.verticillata,while high N and low P levels were beneficial to As species transformation in culture media.The highest total arsenic accumulation was(197.2±17.4) μg/g dry weight when As(V) was at level 3(375μg/L),N at level 2(4 mg/L),P at level 1(0.02 mg/L),and pH at level 2(7).Although H.verticillata is highly efficient in removing As(Ⅴ) from aquatic environments,its use could be potentially harmful to both humans and the natural environment due to its release of highly toxic arsenite.For cost-effective and ecofriendly phytoremediation of As-contaminated water,both N and P are helpful in regulating As accumulation and transformation in plants.     

氮掺杂二氧化钛负载钒磷氧催化氧化NO的实验研究

以VPO为活性组分,N掺杂TiO 2为载体,采用浸渍法制备了VPO/TiN催化剂,基于单因素实验研究了其对NO的选择性催化氧化(SCO)性能以及抗硫抗水性能。研究表明:当P/V为1/5、N/Ti为1、活性组分负载量为10%、焙烧温度为350℃时,催化剂的SCO活性最好,NO氧化率达到61%;光致发光光谱(PL)表征显示N掺杂TiO 2在催化剂表面形成的氧空位可增强催化剂对O 2的吸附;VPO/TiN催化剂抗硫抗水性能较强,反应后的催化剂表面未发现硫酸根的特征峰,水蒸气主要通过与NO竞争吸附占据活性位点来抑制催化剂的SCO活性。     

Pollution prevention at ports: clearing the air

Seaports are major hubs of economic activity and of environmental pollution in coastal urban areas. Due to increasing global trade, transport of goods through ports has been steadily increasing and will likely continue to increase in the future. Evaluating air pollution impacts of ports requires consideration of numerous sources, including marine vessels, trucks, locomotives, and off-road equipment used for moving cargo. The air quality impacts of ports are significant, with particularly large emissions of diesel exhaust, particulate matter, and nitrogen oxides. The health effects of these air pollutants to residents of local communities include asthma, other respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, and premature mortality. In children, there are links with asthma, bronchitis, missed school days, and emergency room visits. The significance of these environmental health impacts requires aggressive efforts to mitigate the problem. Approaches to mitigation encompass a range of possibilities from currently available, low-cost approaches, to more significant investments for cleaner air. Examples of the former include restrictions on truck idling and the use of low-sulfur diesel fuel; the latter includes shore-side power for docked ships, and alternative fuels. A precautionary approach to port-related air pollution would encourage local production of goods in order to reduce marine traffic, greener design for new terminals, and state-of-the art approaches to emissions-control that have been successfully demonstrated at ports throughout the world.     

太湖水质氮素质量浓度时空差异特征及影响因素分析

通过对2014—2016年湖体水质中氮素质量浓度分析,结合出入湖总氮浓度、水量、湖体水生生态等影响因素,发现太湖水体中总氮浓度呈现逐年下降的趋势,各监测点位总氮为0.530 mg/L～5.51 mg/L,时空分布不均,差异明显。时间上,总氮浓度表现为春季最高,夏季和秋季最低,且月均值变化曲线呈现出规律的正弦函数波形。空间上,总氮浓度大致表现出由西部湖区向东部湖区递减的趋势,呈现西部湖区﹥北部湖区﹥南部湖区﹥湖心区﹥东部湖区。要改善湖体水质,不仅要切断污染源,而且要加强水生生态功能修复。     

乌鲁木齐市主要街道空气中一氧化碳污染规律的研究

本文通过对影响街道空气中一氧化碳污染的因素进行了大量的监测及综合分析,找出乌鲁木齐市主要街道空气中一氧化碳的污染规律,为控制我市汽车污染提供科学依据.     

库仑滴定法测定一氧化碳

本文就一氧化碳的测定条件和CO氧化过程中氧化剂的选择进行了研究。试验表明:ReAO_4-Ⅱ为氧化CO的活性催化剂,转化率可达100％(在300℃以上),本法简便,可用于空气中一氧化碳的测定和催化剂对CO活性测试。     

城市高架道路建设对机动车尾气污染的影响分析

通过现场观测和对比，分析了城市一般道路上和城市高架道路下机动车排放污染物浓度差异的原因，分析结果表明，扩散条件对城市机动车尾气污染有着重要影响，例举日本对城市高架道路建设的有关规定，提出应重视城市高架道路建设的环境预评估等。     

NBIAS中污泥龄对脱氮除磷效果的影响

探讨无回流间歇曝气系统 (简称 NBIAS) ,处理城市污水的污泥龄 ( SRT)对脱氮除磷及有机物去除效果的影响。通过原污水流程试验和人工合成污水静态模拟实验 ,试验结果表明 :在水温为 2 0℃～ 30℃ ,污泥负荷为 0 .2 5～0 .45kg CODcr/ kg MLSS· d,SRT为 1 8～ 2 2 d,HRT为 8～ 1 0 h时 ,利用原污水作为碳源 ,NBIAS在保持较高的 CODcr去除率的同时 ,总氮和总磷的去除率均在 80 %以上。     

废水反硝化除氮

反硝化是ＮＯ３＾－在反硝化细菌作用下，经ＮＯ２＾－、ＮＯ、Ｎ２Ｏ被还原为Ｎ２。反硝化对ＮＯ３＾－及有机基质呈零级动力学反应。文章还介绍了生物反硝化的生化反应，反硝化细菌以及基质、温度、溶解氧、ＰＨ对反硝化作用的影响。