AI Article Synopsis

  • The annual average concentration of fine particles in Taiwan is decreasing, but visibility remains poor due to persistent ambient haze.
  • A new method for analyzing the sources of haze combines air quality data with image processing from the Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency's monitoring stations.
  • The study found that different regions of Taiwan experience varying levels of haze contamination, and the method can assist in developing strategies to mitigate haze and its health impacts.

Article Abstract

The annual average concentration of fine particles (PM) in Taiwan has been decreasing yearly. However, ambient haze has not abated and visibility is still poor. This study proposes a method for quantifying the source apportionment of ambient haze from various constituents, namely measured PM, moisture, and secondary organic aerosols (SOA, represented by the sum of measured O and NO levels). This study's model-based demisting technology integrated image haze extracting technology with air quality monitoring data. The images for haze extraction were from the instant cameras of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Agency's air quality monitoring stations (AQMSs). Results indicate that haze constituents with the product of light extinction and scene depth have very high correlation (R ≥ 0.8452), which demonstrate that this quantification approach was successful. The contributions of ambient haze from various constituents had quarterly and regional variations in the eastern, northern, central, and southern regions of Taiwan, which are slightly, lowly, moderately, and heavily contaminated areas, respectively. Each area was assigned a selected representative AQMS to represent its ambient haze characteristics. Cases where the dominant contributors to haze were PM, moisture, and SOA were studied, in addition to the event days of PM and ozone. We detail the limits of this approach, especially with regard to the use of images. This approach can help administrators understand the composition of ambient haze to generate effective haze strategies and policies. Residents can use this method to determine the health effects of daily haze.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2020.109216DOI Listing

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