Evidence of aircraft activity impact on local air quality: A study in the context of uncommon airport operation

Wuhan Tianhe International Airport (WUH) was suspended to contain the spread of COVID-19,while Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) saw a tremendousflight reduction.Closure of a major international airport is extremely rare and thus represents a unique opportunity to straightforwardly observe the impact of airport emissions on local air quality.In this study,a series of statistical tools were applied to analyze the variations in air pollutant levels in the vicinity of WUH and SHA.The results of bivariate polar plots show that airport SHA and WUH are a major source of nitrogen oxides.NOx,NO_(2)and NO diminished by 55.8%,44.1%,76.9%,and 40.4%,33.3% and 59.4% during the COVID-19 lockdown compared to those in the same period of 2018 and 2019,under a reduction in aircraft activities by 58.6%and61.4%.The concentration of NO_(2),SO_(2)and PM_(2.5)decreased by 77.3%,8.2%,29.5%,right after the closure of airport WUH on 23 January 2020.The average concentrations of NO,NO_(2)and NOxscatter plots at downwind of SHA after the lockdown were 78.0%,47.9%,57.4%and 62.3%,34.8%,41.8%lower than those during the same period in 2018 and 2019.However,a significant increase in O_(3)levels by 50.0% and 25.9%at WUH and SHA was observed,respectively.These results evidently show decreased nitrogen oxides concentrations in the airport vicinity due to reduced aircraft activities,while amplified O_(3)pollution due to a lower titration by NO under strong reduction in NOxemissions.

Multi-dimension apportionment of clean air “parade blue”phenomenon in Beijing

The mass concentration and major chemical components of fine particulate matter were measured before,during and after Beijing＇s massive parade commemorating 70th anniversary of the Chinese Victory in World War II on September 3,2015.Regional emission inventory,positive matrix factorization（PMF）,observations from space and backward air mass trajectories were jointly applied to identify the major pollution sources and their temporal and spatial variations.The contributions of emissions variations and the meteorological conditions related to the＂parade blue＂phenomenon in Beijing and its surrounding areas were investigated in detail.The main cause of the decreased PM（2.5）mass concentration was attributed to the absolute reduction in emissions of primary air pollutants.The chemical composition of PM（2.5）varied significantly before,during and after the parade.Fugitive dust particles were well controlled,the secondary formation of PM（2.5）was reduced along with the controlled gaseous precursors＇emissions from vehicles and industrial sources during the temporary intensified control period.During the parade period,the SO2and NO2column concentrations in Beijing and the surrounding areas decreased sharply,indicating that the coordinated reduction in primary emissions from the surrounding areas of Beijing played an important role in lowering the ambient concentration of SO2and NO2and accordingly lowered PM（2.5）and improved the regional air quality.A comparison of the temperature,humidity,and wind speed and direction during the same periods in 2014 and 2015 showed that the meteorological conditions positively influenced the achievement of＂parade blue＂.