Trends in Vessel Atmospheric Emissions in the Central Mediterranean over the Last 10 Years and during the COVID-19 Outbreak
Giordan Lighthouse, located on the island of Gozo in the Malta-Sicily Channel within the central Mediterranean region, is ideally located to study the primary sources of atmospheric pollution. A total of 10 years of data have been accumulated from the reactive gas and greenhouse gas detectors and th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-07-01
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| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/9/7/762 |
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| author | Martin Saliba Francelle Azzopardi Rebecca Muscat Marvic Grima Alexander Smyth Jukka-Pekka Jalkanen Lasse Johansson Alan Deidun Adam Gauci Charles Galdies Tonio Caruana Raymond Ellul |
| author_facet | Martin Saliba Francelle Azzopardi Rebecca Muscat Marvic Grima Alexander Smyth Jukka-Pekka Jalkanen Lasse Johansson Alan Deidun Adam Gauci Charles Galdies Tonio Caruana Raymond Ellul |
| author_sort | Martin Saliba |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Giordan Lighthouse, located on the island of Gozo in the Malta-Sicily Channel within the central Mediterranean region, is ideally located to study the primary sources of atmospheric pollution. A total of 10 years of data have been accumulated from the reactive gas and greenhouse gas detectors and the aerosol analyzers found at this Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) regional station. The data has been evaluated, resulting in trends in emissions from shipping recorded within the same region coming to the fore. The other source of emissions that was evident within the recorded data originated from Mt. Etna, located on the island of Sicily and representing the highest active volcano in Europe. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of ship emissions on trace gases and aerosol background measurements at Giordan Lighthouse, including the putative influence of COVID-19 on the same emissions. The model used to evaluate ship emissions was the Ship Traffic Emission Assessment Model (STEAM). From trace gas measurements at Giordan Lighthouse, a slowly decreasing trend in sulfur oxide (SO<sub>x</sub>) and nitrogen oxide (NO<sub>x</sub>) emissions was noted. To better understand the air quality results obtained, the STEAM model was fed, as an input, an Automatic Identification System (AIS) dataset to describe the vessel activity in the area concerned. This study also investigates the effects of the COVID19 pandemic on marine traffic patterns within the area and any corresponding changes in the air quality. Such an analysis was carried out through the use of SENTINEL 5 data. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:35:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7cc03de0ed1e40aab2f3b0f5f94636b9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1312 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T09:35:24Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-7cc03de0ed1e40aab2f3b0f5f94636b92023-11-22T04:09:19ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122021-07-019776210.3390/jmse9070762Trends in Vessel Atmospheric Emissions in the Central Mediterranean over the Last 10 Years and during the COVID-19 OutbreakMartin Saliba0Francelle Azzopardi1Rebecca Muscat2Marvic Grima3Alexander Smyth4Jukka-Pekka Jalkanen5Lasse Johansson6Alan Deidun7Adam Gauci8Charles Galdies9Tonio Caruana10Raymond Ellul11Department of Geosciences, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, MaltaMalta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority, HMR 9010 Blata L-Bajda, MaltaDepartment of Geosciences, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, MaltaDepartment of Geosciences, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, MaltaSmytec Ltd., Spalding PE12 0XX, UKFinnish Meteorological Institute, 00101 Helsinki, FinlandFinnish Meteorological Institute, 00101 Helsinki, FinlandDepartment of Geosciences, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, MaltaDepartment of Geosciences, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, MaltaInstitute of Earth Systems, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, MaltaDepartment of Geosciences, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, MaltaDepartment of Geosciences, University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, MaltaGiordan Lighthouse, located on the island of Gozo in the Malta-Sicily Channel within the central Mediterranean region, is ideally located to study the primary sources of atmospheric pollution. A total of 10 years of data have been accumulated from the reactive gas and greenhouse gas detectors and the aerosol analyzers found at this Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) regional station. The data has been evaluated, resulting in trends in emissions from shipping recorded within the same region coming to the fore. The other source of emissions that was evident within the recorded data originated from Mt. Etna, located on the island of Sicily and representing the highest active volcano in Europe. The aim of this paper is to investigate the effect of ship emissions on trace gases and aerosol background measurements at Giordan Lighthouse, including the putative influence of COVID-19 on the same emissions. The model used to evaluate ship emissions was the Ship Traffic Emission Assessment Model (STEAM). From trace gas measurements at Giordan Lighthouse, a slowly decreasing trend in sulfur oxide (SO<sub>x</sub>) and nitrogen oxide (NO<sub>x</sub>) emissions was noted. To better understand the air quality results obtained, the STEAM model was fed, as an input, an Automatic Identification System (AIS) dataset to describe the vessel activity in the area concerned. This study also investigates the effects of the COVID19 pandemic on marine traffic patterns within the area and any corresponding changes in the air quality. Such an analysis was carried out through the use of SENTINEL 5 data.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/9/7/762mediterraneanshipping emissionssulphur dioxidenitrogen oxidesCOVID-19 |
| spellingShingle | Martin Saliba Francelle Azzopardi Rebecca Muscat Marvic Grima Alexander Smyth Jukka-Pekka Jalkanen Lasse Johansson Alan Deidun Adam Gauci Charles Galdies Tonio Caruana Raymond Ellul Trends in Vessel Atmospheric Emissions in the Central Mediterranean over the Last 10 Years and during the COVID-19 Outbreak Journal of Marine Science and Engineering mediterranean shipping emissions sulphur dioxide nitrogen oxides COVID-19 |
| title | Trends in Vessel Atmospheric Emissions in the Central Mediterranean over the Last 10 Years and during the COVID-19 Outbreak |
| title_full | Trends in Vessel Atmospheric Emissions in the Central Mediterranean over the Last 10 Years and during the COVID-19 Outbreak |
| title_fullStr | Trends in Vessel Atmospheric Emissions in the Central Mediterranean over the Last 10 Years and during the COVID-19 Outbreak |
| title_full_unstemmed | Trends in Vessel Atmospheric Emissions in the Central Mediterranean over the Last 10 Years and during the COVID-19 Outbreak |
| title_short | Trends in Vessel Atmospheric Emissions in the Central Mediterranean over the Last 10 Years and during the COVID-19 Outbreak |
| title_sort | trends in vessel atmospheric emissions in the central mediterranean over the last 10 years and during the covid 19 outbreak |
| topic | mediterranean shipping emissions sulphur dioxide nitrogen oxides COVID-19 |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/9/7/762 |
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