• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.183-200
• /
• 2019

In this study, the characteristics of seasonal $PM_{2.5}$ behavior in South Korea and other Northeast Asian regions were analyzed by using the $PM_{2.5}$ ground measurement data, weather data, WRF and CMAQ models. Analysis of seasonal $PM_{2.5}$ behavior in Northeast Asia showed that $PM_{2.5}$ concentration at 6 IMS sites in South Korea was increased by long-distance transport and atmospheric congestion, or decreased by clean air inflow due to seasonal weather characteristics. As a result of analysis by applying BFM to air quality model, the contribution from foreign countries dominantly influenced the $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations of Baengnyeongdo due to the low self-emission and geographical location. In the case of urban areas with high self-emissions such as Seoul and Ulsan, the $PM_{2.5}$ contribution from overseas was relatively low compared to other regions, but the standard deviation of the season was relatively high. This study is expected to improve the understanding of the air pollutant phenomenon by analyzing the characteristics of $PM_{2.5}$ behavior in Northeast Asia according to the seasonal weather condition change. At the same time, this study can be used to establish the air quality policy in the future, knowing that the contribution of $PM_{2.5}$ concentration to the domestic and overseas can be different depending on the regional emission characteristics.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.330-343
• /
• 2017

Climate change is an important issue, with many researches examining not only future climatic conditions, but also the interaction of climate and air quality. In this study, a new version of the emissions processing software tool - Python-based PRocessing Operator for Climate and Emission Scenarios (PROCES) - was developed to support climate and atmospheric chemistry modeling studies. PROCES was designed to cover global and regional scale modeling domains, which correspond to GEOS-Chem and CMAQ/CAMx models, respectively. This tool comprises of one main system and two units of external software. One of the external software units for this processing system was developed using the GIS commercial program, which was used to create spatial allocation profiles as an auxiliary database. The SMOKE-Asia emissions modeling system was linked to the main system as an external software, to create model-ready emissions for regional scale air quality modeling. The main system was coded in Python version 2.7, which includes several functions allowing general emissions processing steps, such as emissions interpolation, spatial allocation and chemical speciation, to create model-ready emissions and auxiliary inputs of SMOKE-Asia, as well as user-friendly functions related to emissions analysis, such as verification and visualization. Due to its flexible software architecture, PROCES can be applied to any pregridded emission data, as well as regional inventories. The application results of our new tool for global and regional (East Asia) scale modeling domain under RCP scenario for the years 1995-2006, 2015-2025, and 2040-2055 was quantitatively in good agreement with the reference data of RCPs.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.33 no.5
• /
• pp.497-514
• /
• 2017

This study quantitatively analyzes the effects of emission inventory choices on the simulated particulate matter (PM) concentrations and the domestic/foreign contributions in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA) with an air quality forecasting system. The forecasting system is composed of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-Sparse Matrix Operator Kernel Emissions (SMOKE)-Community Multi-Scale Air Quality (CMAQ). Different domestic and foreign emission inventories were selectively adopted to set up four sets of emissions inputs for air quality simulations in this study. All modeling cases showed that model performance statistics satisfied the criteria levels (correlation coefficient >0.7, fractional error <50%) suggested by previous studies. Notwithstanding the apparently good model performance of total PM concentrations by all emission cases, annual average concentrations of simulated total PM concentrations varied up to $20{\mu}g/m^3$ (160%) depending on the combination of emission inventories. In detail, the difference in simulated annual average concentrations of the primary PM coarse (PMC) was up to $25.2{\mu}g/m^3$ (6.5 times) compared with other cases. Furthermore, model performance analyses on PM species showed that the difference in the simulated primary PMC led to gross model overestimation in general, which indicates that the primary PMC emissions need to be improved. The contribution analysis using model direct outputs indicated that the domestic contributions to the annual average PM concentrations in the SMA vary from 44% to 67%. To account for the uncertainty of the simulated concentration, the contribution correction factor method proposed by Bae et al. (2017) was applied, which resulted in converged contributions(from 48% to 57%). We believe this study shows that it is necessary to improve the simulated concentrations of PM components in order to enhance the accuracy of the forecasting model. It is deemed that these improvements will provide more accurate contribution results.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.31 no.5
• /
• pp.430-436
• /
• 2015

Numerical air quality forecasting suffers from the large uncertainties of input data including emissions, boundary conditions, earth surface properties. Data assimilation has been widely used in the field of weather forecasting as a way to reduce the forecasting errors stemming from the uncertainties of input data. The present study aims at evaluating the effect of input data on the air quality forecasting results in Korea when data assimilation was invoked to generate the initial concentrations. The forecasting time was set to 36 hour and the emissions and initial conditions were chosen as tested input parameters. The air quality forecast model for Korea consisting of WRF and CMAQ was implemented for the test and the chosen test period ranged from November $2^{nd}$ to December $1^{st}$ of 2014. Halving the emission in China reduces the forecasted peak value of $PM_{10}$ and $SO_2$ in Seoul as much as 30% and 35% respectively due to the transport from China for the no-data assimilation case. As data assimilation was applied, halving the emissions in China has a negligible effect on air pollutant concentrations including $PM_{10}$ and $SO_2$ in Seoul. The emissions in Korea still maintain an effect on the forecasted air pollutant concentrations even after the data assimilation is applied. These emission sensitivity tests along with the initial condition sensitivity tests demonstrated that initial concentrations generated by data assimilation using field observation may minimize propagation of errors due to emission uncertainties in China. And the initial concentrations in China is more important than those in Korea for long-range transported air pollutants such as $PM_{10}$ and $SO_2$. And accurate estimation of the emissions in Korea are still necessary for further improvement of air quality forecasting in Korea even after the data assimilation is applied.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.11 no.1
• /
• pp.33-36
• /
• 2017

China is suffering from severe air pollution especially fine $PM_{2.5}$ pollution. In 2015, the annual average $PM_{2.5}$ concentration of the 338 municipal cities was $50{\mu}g/m^3$, 78% cities at or above the prefectural level failed to comply with the $PM_{2.5}$ concentration standards. The $13^{th}$ Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development set the goal that the annual average concentration of $PM_{2.5}$ in the municipal cities which failed to attain the ambient air quality standards shall be decreased by 18% by 2020 (CCCPC, 2016). In this study, an air pollution control scenario during the $13^{th}$ Five-Year Plan period was proposed and the $SO_2$, $NO_x$ and PM emission reductions in response to different measures in 31 provincial-level regions mainland China by 2020 were estimated. The air quality in the target year (2020) was simulated using the WRF-CMAQ model. The results showed that by 2020, the emissions of $SO_2$, $NO_x$ and primary PM in mainland China will be reduced by 4.19 million tons, 3.94 million tons and 4.41 million tons, a drop of 23%, 21% and 25% respectively compared with that in 2015, and the annual average concentration of $PM_{2.5}$ will decrease by 19%. Coal-fired power plant contributes the most pollutant emission reduction.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.33 no.4
• /
• pp.377-392
• /
• 2017

A set of BFM (Brute Force Method) simulations with the CMAQ (Community Multiscale Air Quality) model were conducted in order to estimate self-contributions and conversion rates of PPM (Primary $PM_{2.5}$), $NO_x$, $SO_2$, $NH_3$, and VOC emissions to $PM_{2.5}$ concentrations over the SMA (Seoul Metropolitan Area). CAPSS (Clean Air Policy Support System) 2013 EI (emissions inventory) from the NIER (National Institute of Environmental Research) was used for the base and sensitivity simulations. SCCs (Source Classification Codes) in the EI were utilized to group the emissions into area, mobile, and point source categories. PPM and $PM_{2.5}$ precursor emissions from each source category were reduced by 50%. In turn, air quality was simulated with CMAQ during January, April, July, and October in 2014 for the BFM runs. In this study, seasonal variations of SMA $PM_{2.5}$ self-sensitivities to PPM, $SO_2$, and $NH_3$ emissions can be observed even when the seasonal emission rates are almost identical. For example, when the mobile PPM emissions from the SMA were 634 TPM (Tons Per Month) and 603 TPM in January and July, self-contributions of the emissions to monthly mean $PM_{2.5}$ were $2.7{\mu}g/m^3$ and $1.3{\mu}g/m^3$ for the months, respectively. Similarly, while $NH_3$ emissions from area sources were 4,169 TPM and 3,951 TPM in January and July, the self-contributions to monthly mean $PM_{2.5}$ for the months were $2.0{\mu}g/m^3$ and $4.4{\mu}g/m^3$, respectively. Meanwhile, emission-to-$PM_{2.5}$ conversion rates of precursors vary among source categories. For instance, the annual mean conversion rates of the SMA mobile, area, and point sources were 19.3, 10.8, and $6.6{\mu}g/m^3/10^6TPY$ for $SO_2$ emissions while those rates for PPM emissions were 268.6, 207.7, and 181.5 (${\mu}g/m^3/10^6TPY$), respectively, over the region. The results demonstrate that SMA $PM_{2.5}$ responses to the same amount of reduction in precursor emissions differ for source categories and in time (e.g. seasons), which is important when the cost-benefit analysis is conducted during air quality improvement planning. On the other hand, annual mean $PM_{2.5}$ sensitivities to the SMA $NO_x$ emissions remains still negative even after a 50% reduction in emission category which implies that more aggressive $NO_x$ reductions are required for the SMA to overcome '$NO_x$ disbenefit' under the base condition.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.20 no.12
• /
• pp.1647-1661
• /
• 2011

The Government had devised legislation of Special Act and drew up guidelines for improving air quality in Seoul Metropolitan area. In 2007 local government of Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi conducted the results of application policy by reduced air pollutants emission for the first time. Although there was reduction of air pollutant emission in each local government, it was ineffective as expected using air pollution monitoring database. Therefore we worked out a way to prepare modeling input data using the results of enforcement plan. And we simulated surface $NO_2$ and PM10 before and after decrease in air pollutants emission and examine reduction effects of air pollution according to enforcement regulation except other influence, by using MM5-SMOKE-CMAQ system. Each local government calculated the amount of emission reduction under application policy, and we developed to prepare input data so as to apply to SMOKE system using emission reduction of enforcement plan. Distribution factor of emission reduction were classified into detailed source and fuel codes using code mapping method in order to allocate the decreased emission. The code mapping method also included a way to allocate spatial distribution by CAPSS distribution. According to predicted result using the reduction of NOx emission, $NO_2$ concentration was decreased from 19.1 ppb to 18.0 ppb in Seoul. In Gyeonggi and Incheon $NO^2$ concentrations were down to 0.65 ppb and 0.68 ppb after application of enforcement plan. PM10 concentration was reduced from 18.2 ${\mu}g/m^3$ to 17.5 ${\mu}g/m^3$ in Seoul. In Gyeonggi PM10 concentration was down to 0.51 ${\mu}g/m^3$ and in Incheon PM10 concentration was decreased about 0.47 ${\mu}g/m^3$ which was the lower concentration than any other cities.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.341-356
• /
• 2019

In this study, the impacts of local meteorology caused by tidal changes in the West Sea on ozone distributions in the Seoul Metropolitan Area (SMA) were analyzed using a meteorological model (WRF) and an air quality (CMAQ) model. This study was carried out during the day (1200-1800 LST) between August 3 and 9, 2016. The total area of tidal flats along with the tidal changes was calculated to be approximately $912km^2$, based on data provided by the Environmental Geographic Information Service (EGIS) and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF). Modeling was carried out based on three experiments, and the land cover of the tidal flats for each experiment was designed using the coastal wetlands, water bodies (i.e., high tide), and the barren or sparsely vegetated areas (i.e., low tide). The land cover parameters of the coastal wetlands used in this study were improved in the herbaceous wetland of the WRF using updated albedo, roughness length, and soil heat capacity. The results showed that the land cover variation during high tide caused a decrease in temperature (maximum $4.5^{\circ}C$) and planetary boundary layer (PBL) height (maximum 1200 m), and an increase in humidity (maximum 25%) and wind speed (maximum $1.5ms^{-1}$). These meteorological changes increased the ozone concentration (about 5.0 ppb) in the coastal areas including the tidal flats. The increase in the ozone concentration during high tide may be caused by a weak diffusion to the upper layer due to a decrease in the PBL height. The changes in the meteorological variables and ozone concentration during low tide were lesser than those occurring during high tide. This study suggests that the meteorological variations caused by tidal changes have a meaningful effect on the ozone concentration in the SMA.

• Journal of Korean Society for Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.34 no.1
• /
• pp.101-119
• /
• 2018

In this study, we analyzed long-term measurements and air quality simulation results of four criteria air pollutants ($PM_{10}$, $O_3$, $NO_2$, and $SO_2$) for 10 years, from 2006 to 2015, with emphasis on trends of annual variabilities. With the observation data, we conducted spatial interpolation using the Kriging method to estimate spatial distribution of pollutant concentrations. We also performed air quality simulations using the CMAQ model to consider the nonlinearity of the secondary air pollutants such as $O_3$ and the influence of long-range transport. In addition, these simulations are used to deduce the effect of long-term meteorological variations on trends of air quality changes because we fixed the emissions inventory while changing meteorological inputs. The nation-wide inter-annual variability of modeled $PM_{10}$ concentrations was $-0.11{\mu}g/m^3/yr$, while that of observed concentrations was $-0.84{\mu}g/m^3/yr$. For the Seoul Metropolitan Area, the inter-annual variability of observed $PM_{10}$ concentrations was $-1.64{\mu}g/m^3/yr$ that is two times rapid improvement compared to other regions. On the other hand, the inter-annual variability of observed $O_3$ concentrations is 0.62 ppb/yr which is larger than the simulated result of 0.13 ppb/yr. Magnitudes of differences between the modeled and observed inter-annual variabilities indicated that decreasing trend of $PM_{10}$ and increasing trend of $O_3$ are more influenced by emissions and oxidation states than meteorological conditions. We also found similar patterns in $NO_2$. However, $NO_2$ trends showed greater regional and seasonal differences than other pollutants. The analytic approach used in this study can be applicable to estimate changes in factors determining air quality such as emissions, weather, and surrounding conditions over a long term. Then analysis results can be used as important data for air quality management planning and evaluation of the chronic impact of air quality.