Abstract
Air quality improvement in rapidly developing countries like China requires to generate valuable data with high-level of representativeness to be transformed into useful information about air pollution. However, the problem of monitoring representativeness has been overlooked. In this respect, a comprehensive methodology to monitor air quality has been developed by this Institute, engaged since 2001 in several projects in China dealing with air quality. The new approach requires rearranging the existing monitoring strategies. In short, saturation monitoring is employed to preliminary assess air pollution and provide spatial resolution over the study area. Automatic monitoring is reduced to a minimum to make time-related data available. The information so-measured with high degree of both spatial and temporal resolution, are completed by statistical and mathematical modelling to generate data interpretation schemes. This methodology extensively tested in China during these years has been found to be very useful for macro/micro-designing emission and air quality monitoring networks, apportioning emission sources, assessing spatial representativeness of measurements, and evaluating spatial frequency distributions of air pollutants. Case-studies of Suzhou, Lanzhou and Beijing are presented to discuss these findings.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Allegrini I., Paternò C., Biscotto M., Hong W., Liu F., Yin Z., and Costabile F., 2004. According to the Framework Directive 96/62/EC, preliminary assessment as a tool for Air Quality Monitoring Network Design in a Chinese City. Air Pollution XII, series Advances in Air Pollution, edited by C.A. Brebbia, 14, pp. 414-424.
Atkins D.H.F. and Lee D.S., 1995. Spatial and temporal variation of rural nitrogen dioxide concentrations across the United Kingdom. Atmospheric Environment 29, pp. 223-239.
Barletta B., Meinardi S., Sherwood Rowland F., Chan C., Wang X., Zoud S., Chan L. and Blake D.R., 2005. Volatile organic compounds in 43 Chinese cities. Atmospheric Environment 39, pp. 5979-5990.
Carslaw N. and Carslaw D., 2001. The gas-phase chemistry of urban atmospheres. Surveys in Geophysics 22: pp. 31-53.
Colvile R.N., Hutchinson E.J., Mindell J.S. and Warren R.F., 2001. The transport sector as a source of air pollution. Atmospheric environment 35, pp. 1537-1565.
Costabile F., Fiorani L., Picchi S. and Allegrini I., 2004a. Intelligent Transport Systems for Traffic Air Pollution Management: Beijing and Vehicle emissions control. Proceedings of the 13 th World Conf. On Clean Air and Environmental Protection, London, United Kingdom, 22 - 27 August 2004.
Costabile F. and Allegrini I., 2004b. An Intelligent Transport System based on Traffic Air Pollution Control. Air Pollution XII, series Advances in Air Pollution, edited by C.A. Brebbia, 14, pp. 541-550.
Costabile F., Wang Q., Bertoni, Ciuchini, Wang F. and Allegrini I, 2006a. A preliminary assessment of BTX pollution in urban air in the city of Lanzhou. Air Pollution XIV edited by C.A. Brebbia.
Costabile F., Desantis F., Wang F., Hong W., Liu F. and Allegrini I., 2006b. Representativeness of Urban Highest Polluted Zones for Sitting Traffic-Oriented Air Monitoring Stations in a Chinese City. JSME International Journal-B, 49 (1), pp. 35-41.
Costabile F., Wang F., Hong W., Liu F. and Allegrini I., 2006c. Spatial Distribution of Traffic Air Pollution and Evaluation of Transport Vehicle Emission Dispersion in Ambient Air in Urban Areas. JSME International Journal-B, 49 (1), pp. 27-34.
Costabile F., Wang, Hong, Liu and Allegrini I., 2006d. CFD modelling of traffic-related air pollutants around urban street-canyon in Suzhou. Air Pollution XIV edited by C.A. Brebbia.
Costabile F., Bertoni G., Desantis F., Wang F., Hong W., Liu F., Allegrini, I., 2006e. A preliminary assessment of major air pollutants in the city of Suzhou, China. Atmospheric Environment 40(33), pp. 6380-6395.
Costabile F., Allegrini I., 2007a. Measurements and analysis of nitrogen oxides and ozone in the yard and on the roof of a street-canyon in Suzhou. Atmospheric Environment 41(31), pp. 6637-6647 doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.04.018
Costabile F., Allegrini I., 2007b. A new approach to link transport emissions and air quality: an intelligent transport system based on the control of traffic air pollution. Environmental Modelling & Software, doi: 10.1016/J.envsoft.2007.03.001 (in press)
European Commission, 1998. Guidance Report on Preliminary Assessment under EC Air Quality Directives of January 1998. Project Manager Gabriel Kielland, European Environment Agency.
Fenger J., 1999. Urban air quality. Atmospheric environment 33, pp. 4877-4900.
Kukkonen J., Valkonen E., Walden J., Koskentalo T., Aarnio P., Karppinem A., Berkowicz R. and Kartastenpaa R., 2001. A measurement campaign in a street canyon in Helsinki and comparison of results with predictions of the OSPM model. Atmospheric Environment 35, pp. 231-243.
Mage D.T. and Ott W.R., 1984. An evaluation of the method of fractiles, moments and maximum likelihood for estimating parameters when sampling air quality data from a stationary lognormal distribution. Atmospheric environment 18, pp. 163-171.
Morel B., Yen S. and Cifuentes L., 1999. Statistical distribution for air pollutant applied to the study of the particulate problem in Santiago. Atmospheric Environment 33, pp. 2575-2585.
Pavageau M. and Schcatzmann M., 1999. Wind tunnel measurements of concentration fluctuations in an urban street canyon. Atmospheric Environment 33, pp. 3961-3971.
Scaperdas A. and Colvile R.N., 1999. Assessing the representativeness of monitoring data from an urban intersection site in central London, UK. Atmospheric Environment 33, pp. 661-674.
Shi J.P., Khan A.A. and Harrison R.M., 1999. Measurements of ultrafine particle concentration and size distribution in the urban atmosphere. The Science of Total Environment. 235, pp. 51-64.
Shi J.P. and Harrison R.M., 1997, Rapid NO 2 formation in diluted petrol-fuelled engine exhaust – a source of NO 2 in winter smog episodes, Atmospheric Environment 31, pp. 3857-3866.
Sun J. 1982. Intersection carbon monoxide pollution investigation in Beijing. Research report of Beijing Institute of environment protection science, Beijing, pp. 1-98.
UNEP/WHO: 1994, Passive and Active Sampling Methodologies for Measurement of Air Quality.
Vardoulakis S., Fisher B., Pericleous K. and Gonzalez-Flesca N., 2003. Modelling air quality in street canyons: a review. Atmospheric Environment 37, pp. 155-182.
Wang X., Shenga G., Fua J., Chan C., Lee S., Chan L. and Wang Z., 2002. Urban roadside aromatic hydrocarbons in three cities of the Pearl River Delta, People’s Republic of China. Atmospheric Environment 36, pp. 5141-5148.
World Bank, 1997. Clean air and blue skies. The World Bank, Washington, DC, USA.
Zhou H. and Sperling D., 2001. Traffic emission pollution sampling and analysis on urban streets with high-rising buildings. Transportation research part D6, pp. 269-181.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Allegrini, I., Costabile, F. (2008). Monitoring Air Quality in Urban Areas. In: Clini, C., Musu, I., Gullino, M.L. (eds) Sustainable Development and Environmental Management. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6598-9_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6598-9_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-6597-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-6598-9
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)