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

Author

Listed:
  • Ismail Anil

    (Environmental Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, East Campus, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 34212, Saudi Arabia)

  • Omar Alagha

    (Environmental Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, East Campus, P.O. Box 1982, Dammam 34212, Saudi Arabia)

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 (eBC ff ) and biomass burning (eBC bb ) fractions of total eBC (eBC t ) concentrations were estimated as 84% and 16%, respectively, during the entire study period. The mean eBC bb , eBC ff , and eBC t 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.

Suggested Citation

  • Ismail Anil & Omar Alagha, 2020. "Source Apportionment of Ambient Black Carbon during the COVID-19 Lockdown," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-22, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:23:p:9021-:d:455783
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