Spatiotemporal variations of NO2 and its driving factors in the coastal ports of China

Yang Zhang; Meiyu Shi; Jihong Chen; Shanshan Fu; Huizhen Wang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162041

Spatiotemporal variations of NO₂ and its driving factors in the coastal ports of China

Sci Total Environ. 2023 May 1:871:162041. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162041. Epub 2023 Feb 6.

Authors

Yang Zhang¹, Meiyu Shi¹, Jihong Chen², Shanshan Fu¹, Huizhen Wang³

Affiliations

¹ College of Transport and Communications, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai 201306, China.
² College of Management, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518073, China; Shenzhen International Maritime Institute, Shenzhen 518081, China; Business School, Xi'an International University, Xi'an 710077, China. Electronic address: cxjh2004@163.com.
³ Business School, Xi'an International University, Xi'an 710077, China.

PMID: 36754320
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162041

Abstract

Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) is one of the major air pollutants in coastal ports of China. Understanding the spatiotemporal varying effects of driving factors of NO₂ is vital for the implementation of differentiated air pollution control measures for different port areas. Based on the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) satellite data, we adopted a Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) model to explore the influences of meteorological and socioeconomic factors on the NO₂ Vertical Column Concentrations (VCDs) in coastal ports of China from 2015 to 2021. The results indicate that NO₂ VCD in most ports has decreased since 2016 and the ports with serious NO₂ pollution are mainly distributed in northern China. The associations between NO₂ VCD levels and their drivers exhibit obvious spatiotemporal heterogeneity. Higher wind speed and relative humidity are more helpful to alleviate NO₂ pollution in ports of the Bohai Rim and the Pearl River Delta. Cargo throughput has more closely associated with NO₂ pollution in Beibu Gulf in recent years, yet there is no significant association found for Shanghai ports. The positive relationship between transportation emissions and NO₂ VCD is more significant in southern ports. This work provides some implications for the formulation of targeted emission reduction policies for different ports along the Chinese coast.

Keywords: Geographically and temporally weighted regression; Nitrogen dioxide; Ozone monitoring instrument; Port; Spatiotemporal pattern.