Increased atmospheric PM 2 .5 events due to open waste burning in Qaanaaq, Greenland, summer of 2022
Abstract High levels of particulate matter (PM) are relevant to severe air pollution and can adversely impact human health. Maintaining healthy air quality for the residents of the Arctic region is essential to satisfy the no‐one‐left‐behind policy of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the...
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crwiley:10.1002/asl.1231 2024-06-02T08:01:34+00:00 Increased atmospheric PM 2 .5 events due to open waste burning in Qaanaaq, Greenland, summer of 2022 Yasunari, Teppei J. Kajikawa, Tomoki Matsumi, Yutaka Kim, Kyu‐Myong 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/asl.1231 https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/asl.1231 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Atmospheric Science Letters ISSN 1530-261X 1530-261X journal-article 2024 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/asl.1231 2024-05-03T10:48:39Z Abstract High levels of particulate matter (PM) are relevant to severe air pollution and can adversely impact human health. Maintaining healthy air quality for the residents of the Arctic region is essential to satisfy the no‐one‐left‐behind policy of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations. In this study, we installed a PM 2.5 measurement system in Qaanaaq, Greenland, and obtained the first continuous PM 2.5 measurements from July 20, 2022 to August 13, 2022. We observed several increased PM 2.5 events; relatively high PM 2.5 levels persisted from August 8, 2022. On the same day, visible black smoke emitted from the Qaanaaq dump site originated from open waste burning. By confirming less transboundary air pollution contributions from remote aerosol source regions to Qaanaaq during the measurement period using NOAA's HYSPLIT backward trajectory analysis and NASA's MERRA‐2 aerosol re‐analysis, we confirmed that the increased PM 2.5 was primarily due to local open waste burning with less contributions from transboundary air pollution. However, small contributions from biomass burning outside Greenland were plausible during the early measurement period. Additionally, NOAA's HYSPLIT dispersion calculations suggested possible aerosol depositions from local open waste burning to nearby sea areas, such as Baffin Bay. Although the hourly mean PM 2.5 mass concentration was not alarmingly high during the measurement period, future studies should incorporate longer‐term continuous PM 2.5 measurements along with other atmospheric chemical analyses to identify possible local air pollution sources in detail to ensure clean ambient air for the future in the Arctic. Our study provides quantitative evidence of the impact of open waste burning on air quality at a study site in Greenland, which could be crucial in developing air quality policies for this region in the Arctic. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Greenland Human health Qaanaaq Wiley Online Library Arctic Baffin Bay Greenland Merra ENVELOPE(12.615,12.615,65.816,65.816) Qaanaaq ENVELOPE(-69.232,-69.232,77.467,77.467) Atmospheric Science Letters |
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Open Polar |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract High levels of particulate matter (PM) are relevant to severe air pollution and can adversely impact human health. Maintaining healthy air quality for the residents of the Arctic region is essential to satisfy the no‐one‐left‐behind policy of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the United Nations. In this study, we installed a PM 2.5 measurement system in Qaanaaq, Greenland, and obtained the first continuous PM 2.5 measurements from July 20, 2022 to August 13, 2022. We observed several increased PM 2.5 events; relatively high PM 2.5 levels persisted from August 8, 2022. On the same day, visible black smoke emitted from the Qaanaaq dump site originated from open waste burning. By confirming less transboundary air pollution contributions from remote aerosol source regions to Qaanaaq during the measurement period using NOAA's HYSPLIT backward trajectory analysis and NASA's MERRA‐2 aerosol re‐analysis, we confirmed that the increased PM 2.5 was primarily due to local open waste burning with less contributions from transboundary air pollution. However, small contributions from biomass burning outside Greenland were plausible during the early measurement period. Additionally, NOAA's HYSPLIT dispersion calculations suggested possible aerosol depositions from local open waste burning to nearby sea areas, such as Baffin Bay. Although the hourly mean PM 2.5 mass concentration was not alarmingly high during the measurement period, future studies should incorporate longer‐term continuous PM 2.5 measurements along with other atmospheric chemical analyses to identify possible local air pollution sources in detail to ensure clean ambient air for the future in the Arctic. Our study provides quantitative evidence of the impact of open waste burning on air quality at a study site in Greenland, which could be crucial in developing air quality policies for this region in the Arctic. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Yasunari, Teppei J. Kajikawa, Tomoki Matsumi, Yutaka Kim, Kyu‐Myong |
spellingShingle |
Yasunari, Teppei J. Kajikawa, Tomoki Matsumi, Yutaka Kim, Kyu‐Myong Increased atmospheric PM 2 .5 events due to open waste burning in Qaanaaq, Greenland, summer of 2022 |
author_facet |
Yasunari, Teppei J. Kajikawa, Tomoki Matsumi, Yutaka Kim, Kyu‐Myong |
author_sort |
Yasunari, Teppei J. |
title |
Increased atmospheric PM 2 .5 events due to open waste burning in Qaanaaq, Greenland, summer of 2022 |
title_short |
Increased atmospheric PM 2 .5 events due to open waste burning in Qaanaaq, Greenland, summer of 2022 |
title_full |
Increased atmospheric PM 2 .5 events due to open waste burning in Qaanaaq, Greenland, summer of 2022 |
title_fullStr |
Increased atmospheric PM 2 .5 events due to open waste burning in Qaanaaq, Greenland, summer of 2022 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Increased atmospheric PM 2 .5 events due to open waste burning in Qaanaaq, Greenland, summer of 2022 |
title_sort |
increased atmospheric pm 2 .5 events due to open waste burning in qaanaaq, greenland, summer of 2022 |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/asl.1231 https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/asl.1231 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(12.615,12.615,65.816,65.816) ENVELOPE(-69.232,-69.232,77.467,77.467) |
geographic |
Arctic Baffin Bay Greenland Merra Qaanaaq |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Greenland Merra Qaanaaq |
genre |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Greenland Human health Qaanaaq |
genre_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin Greenland Human health Qaanaaq |
op_source |
Atmospheric Science Letters ISSN 1530-261X 1530-261X |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/asl.1231 |
container_title |
Atmospheric Science Letters |
_version_ |
1800745962928340992 |