Ozone pollution over the Arabian Gulf – role of meteorological conditions

Smoydzin, L.; Fnais, Mohammed S.; Lelieveld, J.

doi:10.5194/acpd-12-6331-2012

Cited by 19 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The latter is among the megacities with poorest air quality worldwide, leading to an estimated excess mortality of about 14,000/year in the past decade (Gurjar et al 2010). The regional meteorological conditions are conducive of photochemical air pollution, sometimes leading to extraordinary high levels of ozone and airborne desert dust (Smoydzin et al 2012). In contrast to most of Europe, air pollution is increasing strongly in the Middle East, augmented by rising temperatures, decreasing removal by rain and the emergent fossil energy consumption for air conditioning and desalination.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Model projected heat extremes and air pollution in the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East in the twenty-first century

et al. 2013

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The eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, a region with diverse socioeconomic and cultural identities, is exposed to strong climatic gradients between its temperate north and arid south. Model projections of the twenty-first century indicate increasing hot weather extremes and decreasing rainfall. We present model results, which suggest that across the Balkan Peninsula and Turkey climate change is particularly rapid, and especially summer temperatures are expected to increase strongly. Temperature rise can be amplified by the depletion of soil moisture, which limits evaporative cooling, prompted by the waning of large-scale weather systems that generate rain. Very hot summers that occurred only rarely in the recent past are projected to become common by the middle and the end of the century. Throughout the region, the annual number of heat wave days may increase drastically. Furthermore, conditions in the region are conducive for photochemical air pollution. Our model projections suggest strongly increasing ozone formation, a confounding health risk factor particularly in urban areas. This adds to the high concentrations of aerosol particles from natural (desert dust) and anthropogenic sources. The heat extremes may have strong impacts, especially in the Middle East where environmental stresses are plentiful.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Model projected heat extremes and air pollution in the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East in the twenty-first century

et al. 2013

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“…The summer Shamal lasts for months, with wind gusts up to 30 m s À1 at 300 m aboveground, exerts continuous wind loadings, and is a threat to the structural integrity of tall buildings in Middle Eastern cities [Irvin, 2009]. Shamal is responsible for southeastward transport of atmospheric pollutants, such as ozone [Smoydzin et al, 2012], and oil pollution floating on the sea surface [John, 1992;Hajrasouliha and Hassanzadeh, 2015] along the densely populated western coast of the Persian Gulf. On the other hand, the Shamal wind is a potential source of renewable wind energy [Mostafaeipour, 2010].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climatology of summer Shamal wind in the Middle East

et al. 2016

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The Middle Eastern Shamal is a strong north‐northwesterly wind, capable of lifting dust from the Tigris‐Euphrates basin and transporting it to the Persian Gulf and Arabian Peninsula. The present study explores the poorly understood spatial and temporal variability of summer Shamal on the diurnal, seasonal, and interannual time scales, along with its influence on dust storm activity and sensitivity to global patterns of sea surface temperature using a comprehensive set of observational data. Statistics of the summer Shamal season are quantified for the first time, including its onset, termination, duration, and the occurrence of distinct break periods. Based on a multistation criteria, the mean onset and termination of the Shamal season occur on 30 May ± 16 days (1 standard deviation) and 16 August ± 22 days, respectively. Anomalously early (late) onset and termination of the Shamal season are typically associated with La Niña (El Niño) conditions, which favor (inhibit) the development of the Iranian heat low in spring and inhibit (favor) its persistence into late summer. Dust source regions in the Tigris‐Euphrates basin and Kuwait, as well as southeastward dust transport during the summer Shamal, which cannot be detected by satellite aerosol products alone, are identified, for the first time, from the Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer plume motion vector products and confirmed by surface observations and lidar data. A close interrelationship has been revealed among summertime dust activity across the eastern Arabian Peninsula, frequency of Shamal days, and duration of the Shamal season on the interannual time scales.

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“…Numerous studies of the interaction between air pollutant emissions and meteorology have been conducted in coastal areas across the globe (e.g., Lu and Turco, 1994;Steyn et al, 1997;Hedley et al, 1997;Millán et al, 1996Millán et al, , 2000Seaman and Michelson, 1998;Grossi et al, 2000;Cheng, 2002;Boucouvala and Bornstein, 2003;Brook et al, 2004;Evtyugina et al, 2006;Levy et al, 2008;McLaren et al, 2010;Smoydzin et al, 2012;Parrish et al, 2009). Like the Great Lakes region, these studies consistently show that spatial heterogeneity in pollutant levels can be large over relatively short distances and that local, thermally driven circulations play a role in pollutant movement.…”

Section: Air Quality Issues and Observations In Southwestern Ontariomentioning

confidence: 85%

Exploring the nature of air quality over southwestern Ontario: main findings from the Border Air Quality and Meteorology Study

et al. 2013

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Abstract. This paper serves as an overview and discusses the main findings from the Border Air Quality and Meteorology Study (BAQS-Met) in southwestern Ontario in 2007. This region is dominated by the Great Lakes, shares borders with the United States and consistently experiences the highest ozone (O 3 ) and fine particulate matter concentrations in Canada. The purpose of BAQS-Met was to improve our understanding of how lake-driven meteorology impacts air quality in the region, and to improve models used for forecasting and policy scenarios. Results show that lake breeze occurrence frequencies and inland penetration distances were significantly greater than realized in the past. Due to their effect on local meteorology, the lakes were found to enhance secondary O 3 and aerosol formation such that local anthropogenic emissions have their impact closer to the populated source areas than would otherwise occur in the absence of the lakes. Substantial spatial heterogeneity in O 3 was observed with local peaks typically 30 ppb above the regional values. Sulfate and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) enhancements were also linked to local emissions being transported in the lake breeze circulations. This study included the first detailed evaluation of regional applications of a high-resolution (2.5 km grid) air quality model in the Great Lakes region. The model showed that maxima in secondary pollutants occur in areas of convergence, in localized updrafts and in distinct pockets over the lake surfaces. These effects are caused by lake circulations interacting with the synoptic flow, with each other or with circulations induced by urban heat islands. Biogenic and anthropogenic emissions were both shown to play a role in the formation of SOA in the region. Detailed particle measurements and multivariate receptor models reveal that while individual particles are internally mixed, they often exist within more complex external mixtures. This makes it difficult to predict aerosol optical properties and further highlights the challenges facing aerosol modelling. The BAQSMet study has led to a better understanding of the value of high-resolution (2.5 km) modelling for air quality and meteorological predictions and has led to several model improvements.

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Ozone pollution over the Arabian Gulf – role of meteorological conditions

Cited by 19 publications

References 45 publications

Model projected heat extremes and air pollution in the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East in the twenty-first century

Model projected heat extremes and air pollution in the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East in the twenty-first century

Climatology of summer Shamal wind in the Middle East

Exploring the nature of air quality over southwestern Ontario: main findings from the Border Air Quality and Meteorology Study

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