Analysis of the first surface nitrogen dioxide concentration observations over the South African Highveld derived from the Pandora-2s instrument
Anthropogenic emissions from industry, biomass burning and traffic are significant contributors to the atmospheric loading of nitrogen dioxide on the South African Highveld. These sources are dispersed across the region and emit nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2) into the atmosphere at different elevatio...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
National Association for Clean Air
2022-06-01
|
| Series: | Clean Air Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://cleanairjournal.org.za/article/view/13242 |
| _version_ | 1818547072297598976 |
|---|---|
| author | Refilwe Faith Kai Mary Scholes Stuart J. Piketh Robert J. Scholes |
| author_facet | Refilwe Faith Kai Mary Scholes Stuart J. Piketh Robert J. Scholes |
| author_sort | Refilwe Faith Kai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Anthropogenic emissions from industry, biomass burning and traffic are significant contributors to the atmospheric loading of nitrogen dioxide on the South African Highveld. These sources are dispersed across the region and emit nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2)
into the atmosphere at different elevations above the earth's surface. Additionally, atmospheric stability in the form of surface and
elevated inversions decreases the dispersion of air pollutants and stratifies pollutants into distinctive layers above the surface. This
study explores the Highveld near-surface nitrogen dioxide concentrations obtained using the ground-based Pandora-2s monitoring
system. The Pandora-2s instrument retrieves surface NO2 levels from clear sky measurements using a fully parameterised algorithm.
We present the first near-surface concentration measurements of atmospheric NO2 at Wakkerstroom, a site between Volksrust and
Amersfoort, downstream of major source conglomerates, the Majuba power station and other industries. These data are explored
in the presence and context of potential background NO2 concentrations in the area derived from other ground-based sensors. The
quasicontinuous data show elevated surface NO2 levels in week 37 (September) of 2020 (7.3 ± 5.7 ppb), while the lowest levels were
observed in week 15 (April) of 2020 (0.2 ± 0.04 ppb). The elevated surface NO2 levels are driven by dominant emission sources and
transport trajectories, while the accuracy in the measurements is based on the high temporal resolution of the ground-based Pandora2s instrument.
|
| first_indexed | 2024-12-12T08:01:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-673707f37fb745018d0fb31a46e79242 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2410-972X 1017-1703 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-12T08:01:45Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | National Association for Clean Air |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Clean Air Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-673707f37fb745018d0fb31a46e792422022-12-22T00:32:06ZengNational Association for Clean AirClean Air Journal2410-972X1017-17032022-06-0132110.17159/caj/2022/32/1.13242Analysis of the first surface nitrogen dioxide concentration observations over the South African Highveld derived from the Pandora-2s instrumentRefilwe Faith Kai0Mary Scholes1Stuart J. Piketh2Robert J. Scholes3School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the WitwatersrandSchool of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the WitwatersrandUnit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West UniversityGlobal Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand Anthropogenic emissions from industry, biomass burning and traffic are significant contributors to the atmospheric loading of nitrogen dioxide on the South African Highveld. These sources are dispersed across the region and emit nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2) into the atmosphere at different elevations above the earth's surface. Additionally, atmospheric stability in the form of surface and elevated inversions decreases the dispersion of air pollutants and stratifies pollutants into distinctive layers above the surface. This study explores the Highveld near-surface nitrogen dioxide concentrations obtained using the ground-based Pandora-2s monitoring system. The Pandora-2s instrument retrieves surface NO2 levels from clear sky measurements using a fully parameterised algorithm. We present the first near-surface concentration measurements of atmospheric NO2 at Wakkerstroom, a site between Volksrust and Amersfoort, downstream of major source conglomerates, the Majuba power station and other industries. These data are explored in the presence and context of potential background NO2 concentrations in the area derived from other ground-based sensors. The quasicontinuous data show elevated surface NO2 levels in week 37 (September) of 2020 (7.3 ± 5.7 ppb), while the lowest levels were observed in week 15 (April) of 2020 (0.2 ± 0.04 ppb). The elevated surface NO2 levels are driven by dominant emission sources and transport trajectories, while the accuracy in the measurements is based on the high temporal resolution of the ground-based Pandora2s instrument. https://cleanairjournal.org.za/article/view/13242nitrogen dioxidePandora-2splumesEskomHighveld |
| spellingShingle | Refilwe Faith Kai Mary Scholes Stuart J. Piketh Robert J. Scholes Analysis of the first surface nitrogen dioxide concentration observations over the South African Highveld derived from the Pandora-2s instrument Clean Air Journal nitrogen dioxide Pandora-2s plumes Eskom Highveld |
| title | Analysis of the first surface nitrogen dioxide concentration observations over the South African Highveld derived from the Pandora-2s instrument |
| title_full | Analysis of the first surface nitrogen dioxide concentration observations over the South African Highveld derived from the Pandora-2s instrument |
| title_fullStr | Analysis of the first surface nitrogen dioxide concentration observations over the South African Highveld derived from the Pandora-2s instrument |
| title_full_unstemmed | Analysis of the first surface nitrogen dioxide concentration observations over the South African Highveld derived from the Pandora-2s instrument |
| title_short | Analysis of the first surface nitrogen dioxide concentration observations over the South African Highveld derived from the Pandora-2s instrument |
| title_sort | analysis of the first surface nitrogen dioxide concentration observations over the south african highveld derived from the pandora 2s instrument |
| topic | nitrogen dioxide Pandora-2s plumes Eskom Highveld |
| url | https://cleanairjournal.org.za/article/view/13242 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT refilwefaithkai analysisofthefirstsurfacenitrogendioxideconcentrationobservationsoverthesouthafricanhighveldderivedfromthepandora2sinstrument AT maryscholes analysisofthefirstsurfacenitrogendioxideconcentrationobservationsoverthesouthafricanhighveldderivedfromthepandora2sinstrument AT stuartjpiketh analysisofthefirstsurfacenitrogendioxideconcentrationobservationsoverthesouthafricanhighveldderivedfromthepandora2sinstrument AT robertjscholes analysisofthefirstsurfacenitrogendioxideconcentrationobservationsoverthesouthafricanhighveldderivedfromthepandora2sinstrument |