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Application of spatial analysis to investigate contribution of VOCs to photochemical ozone creation

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Abstract

This study was concerned with the temporal analysis of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes (BTEXs), and ozone in Rochester, New York, between 2012 and 2018. Additionally, the influence of ozone precursors (e.g., BTEXs and NO2) and meteorological variables (e.g., relative humidity (RH), temperature along with wind speed) on ozone dispersion was investigated in the eastern half of the USA using the integrated nested Laplace approximation and stochastic partial differential equation (INLA-SPDE). The benzene variability at seasonal scale was characterized by higher values during the cold seasons. On the contrary, the long-term temporal trend of ozone depicted a repetitive cyclic behavior while an episode, with values exceeding 5 μg/m3, was detected associated with benzene in 2015. The spatial analysis by INLA-SPDE indicated that 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene and benzene were the key ozone precursors influencing ozone formation. It was demonstrated that increase of temperature had a considerable impact on ozone build-up whereas the increment of RH leads to decrease in ambient values of ozone. The amounts of root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and bias for the validation data (e.g., 32 samples) were 0.005, 0.004, and 0.0008, exhibiting a reasonable out-of-sample forecasting by the INLA-SPDE model. The distribution map of ozone highlighted a hot spot in the state of Florida.

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Acknowledgments

The data used in the current research were results of the collective efforts of dedicated field crews, laboratory staff, data management and quality control staff, analysts, and many others from EPA, states, tribes, federal agencies, universities, and other organizations. The authors express their gratitude to all of those who contributed to the production of these data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department for Management of Science and Technology Development, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Mohammad Sakizadeh

  2. Faculty of Environment and Labour Safety, Ton Duc Thang University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Mohammad Sakizadeh

  3. National Water Center, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

    Mohamed Mostafa Mohamed

  4. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

    Mohamed Mostafa Mohamed

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  1. Mohammad Sakizadeh
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  2. Mohamed Mostafa Mohamed
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Correspondence to Mohammad Sakizadeh.

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Sakizadeh, M., Mohamed, M.M. Application of spatial analysis to investigate contribution of VOCs to photochemical ozone creation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 10459–10471 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-07628-4

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