Author: Aurélia Lemoine

EANET Research Fellowship Programme (2016-2018) – Comparison of Observed and Modeled Nitrogen Dioxide Accounting Meteorological Conditions and Oxides of Nitrogen Emissions in China

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

 

Fellowship_China_2016

21 July 2020 – Niigata, Japan

EANET’s fellowship program aims at funding researchers from EANET participating countries to carry out research pertaining to acid deposition at the Network Center in Japan. Cuihong Chen from China was awarded the EANET fellowship for 2016. Chen studied the comparison of observed and modeled nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from 2013 to 2015, during summer, accounting sensitivity of meteorological conditions, and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emission constraints.

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Identifying NOx Emission Sources to Minimize Emissions

NOx is an important trace gas in the atmosphere, emitted mainly from anthropogenic sources, such as the combustion of fossil fuels. It plays a key role in atmospheric chemistry by involving in the formation of ozone and secondary particulate matter. Over the past several years, NOx emissions in China have been increasing rapidly and are resulting in serious atmospheric pollution problems, such as acidic rain, atmospheric haze, and high ozone concentration. This in turn causing harm to human health, environment, and ecosystem. Therefore, identifying NOx emission sources and efforts to minimize the emissions are necessary. Chen’s research findings provided a good insight into the relationship between satellite observation and modeling of NO2.

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Meteorological  and NOx Emissions’ Impacts on NO2

For the study, Chen used NASA’s satellite data and chemical transport models. She found a good correlation (slope 1.15 and a correlation coefficient of 0.79) between satellite NO2 and Modeled NO2. The study reported an increase in tropospheric NO2 by 4.26% in 2014 compared to that of 2013. The impacts of meteorological conditions and NOx emissions on the increase of tropospheric NO2 in 2014 were 2.95% and 1.31%, respectively. The meteorological fields contributed a 3.57% increase in tropospheric NO2 in 2015.

The study concluded that NOX emission increased in 2014 and decreased in 2015 during the summer, compared to the level of 2013. The reduction of NO2 in 2015 was mainly due to the decline of NOX emissions in China because of the implementation of emission reduction and control measures. The researcher suggested that uncertainty in satellite data and model simulation are needed to be reduced by the development of a non-linear relationship approach in future studies.

 

The authors acknowledged the Network Center for the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET) and the Asia Center for Air Pollution Research (ACAP) for financial support and observation data.

Read the full article by Chen et al. in the EANET Science Bulletin Volume 5.

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Photo credits: Shanghai by Derek Lee, free of copyright license.

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Scientific Outputs by the Task Force on Soil and Vegetation Monitoring of EANET

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

Scientific outputs by Task Force on Soil and Vegetation Monitoring of EANET_image

9 July 2020 – Niigata, Japan

The Task Force on Soil and Vegetation Monitoring of EANET has published a review on air pollution and tree and forest decline in East Asia.

 

The Task Force on Soil and Vegetation Monitoring of EANET

Task Forces established under the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) of the EANET are leading scientific assessment and research activities on acid deposition, air pollution, and their effects. The Task Force on Soil and Vegetation Monitoring of EANET has been conducting scientific assessment and research activities based on the “Strategy Paper for Future Direction of EANET on Monitoring of Effects on Agricultural Crops, Forest and Inland Water by Acidifying Species and Related Chemical Substances”.

As one of the activities in line with the strategy paper, the regional condition of forest decline and its relationship with air pollution have been compiled as the scientific review led mainly by Task Force members from Japan, China, Russia, and Malaysia based on scientific literature published in the respective countries.

 

Tree and Forest Decline in East Asia

Tree and forest declines related to air pollution have been observed with industrialization in the countries of Northeast Asia and their causes have been shifting depending on the time period. Firstly, a direct effect of SO2 was the main cause, however, causes have been shifting to acidification and nitrogen deposition, and then ozone, particulate matter (PM), and the interlinkage with climate change. Haze phenomena due to forest fires have been increasing in tropical and boreal forests and emitted PM inhibits photosynthesis.

In recent years, chronically high ozone concentrations may have had adverse effects on tree physiology in conjunction with climate change. Under the changing climate, no apparent effect of air pollution on tree decline was reported recently. However, monitoring air pollution is important to identify the cause of tree decline. Further economic growth in Southeast Asia is projected. The expansion of the monitoring network in tropical and boreal forests has been proposed in the review. Also, it was pointed out that countermeasures, such as restoration of urban trees and rural forests, would be important to ensure future ecosystem services.

 

The review work was started as one of the activities of the Task Force on Soil and Vegetation Monitoring of the EANET. The study was also supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP19H00955. The studies in Russia were funded by the Russian Fund Fundamental Researches, the projects numbers are 03- 04-49565, 05-04-97219, 05-05-97259, 12-04-31036, by the Russian Fund Fundamental Researches and Irkutsk Region Government, the project 14-44-04067, by the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Integration Project 17 with using equipment of “Baikal analytical center”, Irkutsk.

 

Read the full scientific review: Takahashi et al. 2020. Air pollution monitoring and tree and forest decline in East Asia: A review Science of the Total Environment 742, 140288

Curious about EANET’s research activities? Find out more on the Research activities’ or Publications’ pages.

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Photo credits: Featured image by Alberto Bigoni free of copyright license.

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Understanding Rain and Acid Deposition Phenomenon in Indonesia

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

Understanding Rain and Acid Deposition Phenomenon in Indonesia Featured image

14 July 2020 – Bangkok, Thailand

The Indonesian Meteorological, Climatological, and Geophysical Agency, BMKG, in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment and Forestry Indonesia, KLHK, and the IPB University, organized a webinar on “Rain and Acid Deposition Phenomenon in Indonesia” on Tuesday, 14 July 2020. The Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET) Secretariat Coordinator and EANET’s Representatives for Indonesia joined the event online to introduce the Network and its activities in Indonesia.

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Acid Deposition’s Impacts on the Environment in Indonesia Explained

Rain and Acid Deposition Phenomenon in Indonesia Webinar500 participants from different regions of Indonesia attended the webinar, eager to learn about the impacts on the environment of acid deposition in Indonesia.

The Webinar was opened by a Keynote Speech delivered by Ir. Herman Hermawan, Senior Policy expert, KLHK. It was followed by a presentation by Dr. Ir. Dodo Gunawan, Head of Center of Information and Climate Change, BMKG, and member of EANET’s Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), focusing on the “Quality of Chemical Composition of Rainwater in Indonesia”.

Prof. Dr. Ir. H. Hari Sukadi Alikodra, Professor of Faculty of Forestry, IPB University, delivered a presentation on “Rain and Phenomenon of Acid Deposition in Indonesia: Potential Impact on Agriculture and Food Security”. After that, Mr. Djurit Teguh Prakoso, Head of Sub Directorate at KLHK and EANET Contact Person for Indonesia, delivered a presentation on “Policy Control on Air Pollution and Acid Deposition”.

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Monitoring Acid Deposition Data in Indonesia with EANET

To introduce EANET and its contribution to the region, Mr. Tomi Haryadi, Coordinator, Secretariat for the EANET, delivered a presentation on “EANET: Intergovernmental Cooperation on Acid Deposition in Asia Region”. Lastly, Ms. Retno Puji Lestari, Researcher at KLHK and also EANET National QA/QC Manager for Indonesia, delivered a presentation on Acid Deposition Monitoring in Indonesia.

Interested in finding out more about acid deposition data in Indonesia? Visit EANET’s site information page to read more about EANET’s monitoring sites in Bandung, Jakarta, Kototabang, Maros, and Serpong.

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Photo credits: Featured image of Banda Aceh by Arto Marttinen free of the copyright license. Event image: courtesy of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia, all rights reserved.

The EANET Working Group Meetings on Drafting the MTP (2021-2025) and Reviewing the Scope of Instrument

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

WG1 Group Photo 29 June 2020

7 July 2020 – Bangkok, Thailand

From June 29th to July 2nd 2020, National Focal Points or representatives of the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET) and other international experts met virtually, simultaneously in 13 countries of East Asia, to discuss the future of the Network and reaffirm their common motivation to fight the adverse effects of acid deposition in the Region.

 

The Working Group Meeting on Drafting Medium Term Plan for the EANET (2021-2025), June 29-30 2020

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, EANET’s Working Group Meeting on Drafting Medium Term Plan for the EANET (2021-2025) took place via a virtual platform (see above a collage of most participants’ webcam). During the two-day meeting, over 50 participants from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Republic of Korea, Russia, Thailand, Philippines, and Viet Nam joined the EANET’s Secretariat and Network Center to discuss draft versions of the Medium Term Plan for the EANET (2021-2025).

The Opening Remarks, delivered by Dr Dechen Tsering, Regional Director and Representative, United Nations Environment Programme for Asia & the Pacific, emphasized that the global pandemic “COVID-19” has allowed us to reflect and re-assess our actions toward nature and reminds us of the importance of the health of people and the planet. The Welcome Remarks, delivered by Dr Shiro Hatakeyama, Director General, Asia Center for Air Pollution Research, reasserted the importance of the Working Group Meeting to recommend the future direction of the EANET.

During these discussions, gathering mostly government officials from Asian Ministries of the Environment, the EANET considered activities and budget for the next five years. As a conclusion, and given the importance of the task, meeting attendees decided to continue discussions during the Second Session of Working Group Meeting, to be held in October 2020.

 

 

The Working Group Meeting on Reviewing the Scope of Instrument for the EANET, July 1-2 2020

The Working Group Meeting on Reviewing the Scope of Instrument for the EANET also took place via a virtual platform, regrouping a little less than 50 participants, from EANET’s Participating Countries, most of which had also participated in the two previous meeting days.

WG2 Photos 1-2 July 2020
Screenshots from the Working Group Meeting on Reviewing the Scope of Instrument for the EANET, 1-2 July 2020.

The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the objectives and scope of the EANET’s Instrument and the possibility of expanding this scope further.

In addition to the Environmental government officials, several Resource persons joined the meeting, among which a Legal Expert Resource Person, to explain in details the legal options and consequences of how to expand the current scope of Instrument.

As a conclusion, meeting attendees prepared recommendations to be submitted to the next Intergovernmental (IG) Meeting, to be held in November 2020.

 

Meeting Reports for both Working Group Meetings will soon be available on the Resources webpage.

Curious about EANET’s activity? Find out more about the next EANET Meeting dates on the Event’s page and discover the pictures of the Working Group Meetings on Flickr.

 

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New EANET Brochure and Fact Sheets of Participating Countries

Posted on by Aurélia Lemoine

15 April 2020 – Bangkok, Thailand

The Secretariat for the Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia (EANET) and the Network Center for the EANET have released the latest versions of the participating countries’ Fact Sheets and EANET Brochure.

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Country Fact Sheets
Summary of Fact Sheets

Regrouping 13 East Asian countries under its umbrella, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Thailand and Viet Nam, EANET has released, in April 2020, the latest updated version of its participating countries’ Fact Sheets.

Composed of detailed, yet condensed, descriptions of the current situation and progress of the air quality state in each country, the Fact Sheets assess the main sources of pollution and the related trends. The documents also describe the monitoring sites per country, their locations, monitoring parameters, and types (wet deposition, dry deposition, inland aquatic environment, soil, and vegetation) and the monitoring results. Finally, the Fact Sheets highlight each country’s awareness activities, relevant policies, and future plans to tackle air pollution at a national level.

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The EANET Brochure
Download the Brochure
EANET Brochure

At the same time, EANET has released the latest version of its Brochure. The 15-pages’ document first sets out the environmental and regional context in which the Intergovernmental Initiative has emerged, justifying the need for regional cooperation to prevent the increasing trends of air pollution in East Asia, before entering into details on the definition of the region’s major pollutants and the mechanism of acid deposition. The Intergovernmental regional network’s objectives, major activities, and institutional framework are described, as well as the monitoring activities and EANET’s major achievements since 2001.

 

Find out more about EANET by downloading the Brochure.

 

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