Long-term observed visibility in Eastern Thailand: temporal variation, association with air pollutants and meteorological factors, and trends
File(s)atmosphere-10-00122.pdf (6.31 MB)
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Author(s)
Aman, Nishit
Manomaiphiboon, Kasemsan
Pengchai, Petch
Suwanathada, Patcharawadee
Srichawana, Jaruwat
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The present study analyzed long-term observed visibility over Eastern Thailand, with a focus on urbanized/highly industrialized coastal areas. The temporal coverage spans 9 to 35 years for visibility data and 9 to 15 years for air quality data for the selected stations. Visibility shows strong seasonality and its degradation intensifies in the dry season. It shows a negative correspondence with PM10 and relative humidity, which is evident from different methods. Visibility has strong dependence on wind direction, suggesting the influence of local pollution sources. Back-trajectory results suggest important influences of long-range transport and humidity. Secondary aerosol formation has the potential to aggravate visibility based on a precursor-ratio method. The trends in average visibility at most stations in recent years show negative shift, decreasing direction, or persistence of relatively low visibility, possibly due to increase in air pollution. Contrast was found in the meteorologically adjusted trend (based on generalized linear models) in visibility and PM10, which is partly attributed to the role of fine particles. The study suggests that visibility degradation is a problem in Eastern Thailand and is affected by both air pollutants and meteorology. The study hopes to get attention from policymakers regarding issue of visibility degradation in the region.
Date Issued
2019-03-06
Date Acceptance
2019-02-21
Citation
Atmosphere, 2019, 10 (3), pp.1-24
ISSN
2073-4433
Publisher
MDPI AG
Start Page
1
End Page
24
Journal / Book Title
Atmosphere
Volume
10
Issue
3
Copyright Statement
© 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access
article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution
(CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution
(CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
License URL
Identifier
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/10/3/122
Subjects
0401 Atmospheric Sciences
0502 Environmental Science and Management
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2019-03-06