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. 2020 Dec 3;17(23):9021.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17239021.

Source Apportionment of Ambient Black Carbon During the COVID-19 Lockdown

Ismail Anil  1 , Omar Alagha  1
Affiliations

Source Apportionment of Ambient Black Carbon During the COVID-19 Lockdown

Ismail Anil et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Black carbon (BC) particles being emitted from mobile and stationary emission sources as a result of combustion activities have significant impacts on human health and climate change. A lot of social activities have been halted during the COVID-19 lockdowns, which has evidently enhanced the ambient and indoor air quality. This paper investigates the possible emission sources and evaluates the meteorological conditions that may affect the dispersion and transport of BC locally and regionally. Ground-level equivalent BC (eBC) measurements were performed between January 2020 and July 2020 at a university campus located in Dammam city of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The fossil fuel (eBCff) and biomass burning (eBCbb) fractions of total eBC (eBCt) concentrations were estimated as 84% and 16%, respectively, during the entire study period. The mean eBCbb, eBCff, and eBCt concentrations during the lockdown reduced by 14%, 24%, and 23%, respectively. The results of statistical analyses indicated that local fossil fuel burning emissions and atmospheric conditions apparently affected the observed eBC levels. Long-range potential source locations, including Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, distributed zones in the Arabian Gulf, and United Arab Emirates and regional source areas, such as the Arabian Gulf coastline of the KSA, Bahrain, and Qatar, were associated with moderate to high concentrations observed at the receptor site as a result of cluster analysis and concentration-weighted trajectory analysis methods.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; black carbon; lockdown; source apportionment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Location of the monitoring station and potential emission locations: (1) intersection of King Abdulaziz and King Fahd roads, (2) Industrial Area #1, and (3) King Abdulaziz Sea Port.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Wind-rose plots of the study area during (a) the entire study, (b) pre-lockdown (Pre-LD), (c) lockdown (LD), and (d) post-lockdown (Post-LD) periods.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Hourly variations of equivalent black carbon (eBC) concentrations along Pre-LD, LD, and Post-LD phases: (a) eBCbb, (b) eBCff, and (c) eBCt.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Monthly changes in equivalent black carbon (eBC) concentrations and their variations through the Pre-LD, LD, and Post-LD stages.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Bivariate polar plots demonstrating the effect of wind direction and wind velocity on measured eBCt concentrations during: (a) the whole study, (b) Pre-LD, (c) LD, and (d) Post-LD periods.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Clusters of three-day backward trajectories superimposed on satellite-based total BC (BCt) surface data along (a) the entire study and (b) Pre-LD periods with mass concentrations; (c) LD and (d) Post-LD periods with percent change in mass concentrations as compared to the Pre-LD period.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Concentration-weighted trajectory (CWT) analysis results for: (a) the whole study, (b) Pre-LD, (c) LD, and (d) Post-LD stages.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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