Publications by authors named "A van Donkelaar"
Air quality management benefits from an in-depth understanding of the emissions associated with, and composition of, local PM concentrations. Here, we investigate the changing role of biomass burning emissions to North American PM exposure by combining multiple satellite-, ground-, and simulation-based data sets biweekly at a 0.01° × 0.
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- Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM), particularly black carbon (BC), is linked to an increased thickness of carotid arteries, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases.
- The study analyzed data from 3,257 participants, examining how one-year exposure to various PM compounds affects carotid intima media thickness (cIMT) through linear regression and Bayesian kernel machine regression models.
- Results indicated a significant correlation between higher BC exposure and increased cIMT, suggesting that specific PM compounds like BC may be better indicators of adverse cardiovascular health than just overall PM mass.
Article Synopsis
- This study explores how well satellite-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) can predict ground-level fine particulate matter (PM) using a chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem).
- By running simulations at different resolutions (C360 and C48) and comparing the results, researchers found that both resolutions produced similar annual PM concentrations, indicating that certain patterns are consistent across scales.
- However, the study also noted that resolution sensitivity varies, especially near pollution sources and mountainous areas, suggesting that finer resolutions better capture the complexity of aerosol concentrations and types, which is crucial for accurate PM inference.
Background: Outdoor fine particulate air pollution, <2.5 µm (PM) mass concentrations can be constructed through many different combinations of chemical components that have varying levels of toxicity. This poses a challenge for studies interested in estimating the health effects of total outdoor PM (i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMotivated by the recent tightening of the US annual standard of fine particulate matter (PM) concentrations from 12 to 9 μg/m, there is a need to understand the spatial variation and drivers of historical PM reductions. We evaluate and interpret the variability of PM reductions across the contiguous US using high-resolution estimates of PM and its chemical composition over 1998-2019, inferred from satellite observations, air quality modeling, and ground-based measurements. We separated the 3092 counties into four characteristic regions sorted by PM trends.
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