Search

Air quality problems are attracting much attention in Hong Kong (HK) and the Pearl River Delta (PRD) in China. The complex and regional characteristics of air quality problems call for a comprehensive modelling system with a highly reliable simulation and effective communication tools for decision-makers and participants from multiple disciplines. In this paper, we used a modelling management method to develop a Cyberinfrastructure system that couples meteorological and air quality models with a visual analysis to improve the cognition and management of air quality problems. The database management of both the data and the modelling parameters is an innovative advantage of this system; this will be helpful not only for sharing modelling knowledge but also for improving the acknowledgement of modelling scenarios, which are usually conducted by various stakeholders. On the basis of 19 categories of emission inventories that provide detailed information about multiple pollutants in the 11 cities in the study area, this system provides an authoritative and adjustable emission inventory to draw an accurate scientific picture for decision-makers. We applied this system to a case study to investigate the effects of emission control of nitrogen dioxide from vehicles in HK and the PRD on air quality. The simulation showed that the air quality improvement from emission control was very limited and suggested that regional and super-regional co-operation involving the comprehensive emission control of multiple pollutants may be more effective in creating a better future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Recent research has highlighted the substantial health-related costs of air pollution in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and the potential threat from air pollution to HKSARs economic competitiveness. In order to address the air pollution problems, this paper seeks to analyse the individual contributions of major sulphur dioxide (SO2) sources in the Pearl River Delta Region (PRDR) (Pearl River Delta + HKSAR) on the air quality in the HKSAR. This study employed the coupling of the MM5/CALMET system with the CALPUFF, the multi-layer, non-steady-state puff dispersion model, where major power plants, marine vessels and vehicles, all in the PRDR, are taken into account. The observation data and simulation results at 11 Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department (HKEPD) general (non-road-side) stations are analyzed. Urban (in-zone) and Rural (out-zone) stations are defined in order to examine the SO2 contribution of different emission sources in different regions of the HKSAR. The model results show that the contribution of the HKSAR marine sources is significant both in summer and in winter, especially for the locations around the in-zone stations (in general 60%, and 55% in summer and winter respectively). In addition, the contribution of the HKSAR power plants is slightly higher than that of the PRD power plants in early summer, with a contribution difference of up to 20% when the prevailing wind is from the south. However, in late summer, this situation reverses. In winter, the contribution of the PRD power plants is two to three times greater than that of the HKSAR power plants. Moreover, Yantian port affects the northern part of the HKSAR when a northeasterly wind dominates the HKSAR. In order to solve these air pollution problems, the main implication of these results suggests that the HKSAR government, in close co-operation with the Guangdong government, needs to take immediate action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]