Showing papers by "Michael H. Bergin published in 2006"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors measured fine particulate matter (PM2.5) for four months during 2002-2003 at seven sites located in the rapidly developing Pearl River Delta region of China, an area encompassing the major cities of Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
183 citations
TL;DR: It is concluded that mitigation measures could be adopted without seriously affecting the prices of exported goods and would achieve considerable human health and other benefits in the form of reduced air pollutant concentrations in densely populated urban areas.
Abstract: The Pearl River Delta is a major manufacturing region on the south coast of China that produces more than dollar 100 billion of goods annually for export to North America, Europe, and other parts of Asia. Considerable air pollution is caused by the manufacturing industries themselves and by the power plants, trucks, and ships that support them. We estimate that 10-40% of emissions of primary SO2, NO(x), RSP, and VOC in the region are caused by export-related activities. Using the STEM-2K1 atmospheric transport model, we estimate that these emissions contribute 5-30% of the ambient concentrations of SO2, NO(x), NO(z), and VOC in the region. One reason that the exported goods are cheap and therefore attractive to consumers in developed countries is that emission controls are lacking or of low performance. We estimate that state-of-the-art controls could be installed at an annualized cost of dollar 0.3-3 billion, representing 0.3-3% of the value of the goods produced. We conclude that mitigation measures could be adopted without seriously affecting the prices of exported goods and would achieve considerable human health and other benefits in the form of reduced air pollutant concentrations in densely populated urban areas.
87 citations
TL;DR: Tsuji et al. as discussed by the authors used the CERES crop model to estimate the impact of aerosols on yield for maize, wheat, and rice under varying atmospheric conditions, and found that the change in crop yield was extremely dependent on the magnitude of the increase in radiation use efficiency (RUE) incurred by increasing the diffuse fraction.
85 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a chemical mass balance (CMB) receptor model in combination with organic tracers was employed to quantitatively assess the contributions of various sources to carbonaceous aerosol in Hong Kong.
Abstract: [1] A significant fraction of the fine particulate matter in Hong Kong is made up of organic carbon. In order to quantitatively assess the contributions of various sources to carbonaceous aerosol in Hong Kong, a chemical mass balance (CMB) receptor model in combination with organic tracers was employed. Organic tracers including n-alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), steranes, hopanes, resin acids, cholesterol, levoglucosan, and picene in PM2.5 collected from three air monitoring sites located at roadside, urban, and rural areas in Hong Kong are quantified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) in the present study. Analyses of some overlapping species from two separate laboratories will be compared for the first time. Spatial and seasonal source contributions to organic carbon (OC) in PM2.5 from up to nine air pollution sources are assessed, including diesel engine exhaust, gasoline engine exhaust, meat cooking, cigarette smoke, biomass burning, road dust, vegetative detritus, coal combustion, and natural gas combustion. Diesel engine exhaust dominated fine organic carbon in Hong Kong (57 ± 13% at urban sites and 25 ± 2% at the rural site). Other sources that play an important role are meat cooking and biomass burning, which can account for as much as 14% of fine organic carbon. The primary sources identified by this technique explained 49%, 79%, and 94% of the measured fine organic carbon mass concentration at the rural, the urban, and the roadside sites, respectively. The unexplained fine OC is likely due to secondary organic aerosol formation.
68 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the concentration of both the total aerosol population and WIA was found to be highly variable on timescales as brief as a few minutes and was generally much higher in winter than in summer.
Abstract: [1] As part of the Pollution des Vallees Alpines (PoVA) program, the number concentration and size distribution of the total PM2.5 population, as well as the subset that is water-insoluble, were measured in the Chamonix and Maurienne Valleys of the French Alps. This program included both summer and winter intensive campaigns in January and June–July 2003. The water-insoluble aerosol (WIA) measurements were performed using a new real-time technique developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The concentration of both the total aerosol population and WIA was found to be highly variable on timescales as brief as a few minutes and was generally much higher in winter than in summer. In addition, the fraction (by number) of aerosols which are not soluble in water was also found to be variable and slightly higher in winter. The average insoluble fraction in the size range of 0.25–2.0 μm was approximately 11% in Chamonix in both winter and summer. In the Maurienne Valley the insoluble fraction was 10% in winter and 8% in summer. Although the number concentration of WIA is dominated by particles smaller than 0.35 μm, a peak is consistently observed between 0.4 and 0.5 μm. Size-resolved filter samples were also collected as part of the PoVA program and were analyzed for EC/OC mass. Comparison of these two data sets suggests that WIA in these valleys is dominated by elemental carbon emissions from motor vehicle traffic, although mineral aerosols also contribute during the summer season. Further analysis also suggests that water-soluble and water-insoluble aerosols have sources which are independent of one another both temporally and spatially.
3 citations