Comparative Exploration of the Dynamics of Nitrogen Dioxide Concentrations in the Atmospheric Air of Cities in Northwestern Russia According to Various Information Sources

   Aim. Assessment of the reliability, factors and features of the dynamics of information on atmospheric air pollution available on the Internet.

   Methodology. A comparison of nitrogen dioxide concentration indicators from official sources with freely available data from Internet sources on current concentrations of pollutants and meteorological characteristics, using the example of nitrogen dioxide, for cities in Northwestern Russia has been performed.: Kaliningrad, Pskov, Veliky Novgorod, Saint Petersburg, Kirishi, Pikalevo, Petrozavodsk. A quantitative assessment of the dependence of concentrations on wind speeds, atmospheric pressure, the presence or absence of precipitation, working or non-working days had been performed.

   Results. Nitrogen dioxide concentrations according to ground-based measurements and calculation results presented on the Ventusky website, using data from remote monitoring of emissions and weather conditions, are comparable and follow the same patterns of temporal variability. The correlations between nitrogen dioxide concentrations according to ground-
based measurements and the calculation results presented on the Ventusky website using the SILAM model, using data from remote monitoring of emissions and weather conditions, are weak but stable. In the winter and spring period, there was a clear tendency to decrease concentrations. This reflects a decrease in the use of fuel for heating. The downward trend is in cities with a predominance of industrial sources of emissions – Kirishi and Pikalevo, as well as Pskov, which can be explained by emissions from local boilers and individual furnaces. The decrease in concentrations on non-working days compared to working days ranges from 15.8 % to 50 %, and during precipitation from 4.4 % to 33.3 %. The data from the Ventusky website can be considered as an important addition to the results of ground-based observations, but not as an alternative.

   Research implications. It is an assessment of the possibilities of supplementing information on atmospheric air pollution from official sources with data available on the Internet. Trends in concentration dynamics have been identified and quantified.

1. Akimov L. M., Akimov E. L. Seasonal dynamics and spatial distributions of concentrations of anthropogenic pollutants in the atmosphere in Voronezh. In: Regionalnyye geosistemy [Regional Geosystems], 2021, no. 45, pp. 545–557. DOI: 10.52575/2712-7443-2021-45-4-545-557.

2. Amikisheva R. A., Raputa V. F., Solovyova I. A. [Solar and satellite monitoring of pollution processes in the Iskitim-Linevskaya industrial zone]. In: Inter Ekspo Geo-Sibir [Inter Expo Geo-Siberia], 2021, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 60–65. DOI: 10.33764/2618-981X-2021-4-1-60-65

3. Akhtimankina A. V., Lopatkina O. A. Study of the dynamics of pollutant concentrations in the atmospheric air in Irkutsk. In: Vestnik Irkutskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Nauki o Zemle [Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series: Earth Sciences], 2014, vol. 9, pp. 2–15.

4. Bezuglaya E. Yu., Smirnova I. V. Gorodskoy vozdukh i yego izmeneniya [Urban air and its changes]. St. Petersburg: Gidrometeoizdat Publ., 2008. 200 p.

5. Elansky N. F. [Impurities in the atmosphere of continental Russia]. In: The Nature [Priroda], 2002, no. 2, pp. 32–43.

6. Zuev D. V., Kashkin V. B., Simonov K. V. [Using satellite methods to assess the environmental state of the northern territories of Krasnoyarsk Krai]. In: Dostizheniya sovremennoy yestestvennoy nauki [Advances in Modern Natural Science], 2018, no.2, pp. 86–92.

7. Kudashev E. B., Myasnikov V. P., Syuntyurenko O. V. [Convergence of the latest information technologies and methods of remote sensing of the Earth for constructing environmental Diptychs of megacities]. In: Vestnik Rossiyskogo fonda fundamentalnykh issledovaniy [Bulletin of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research], 2001, no. 2, pp. 37–43.

8. Lupyan E. A., Proshin A.A., Burtsev M. A., et al. [The Vega-Science system: design features, main capabilities, and experience of use]. In: Sovremennyye problemy rentgenovskogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa [Modern problems of X-ray sounding of the Earth from space], 2021, vol. 18, no. 6, pp. 9–31. DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2021-18-6-9-31.

9. Golubev D. A., Sorokin N. D., eds. Okhrana okruzhayushchey sredy, prirodopol'zovaniye i bezopasnost v Sankt-Peterburge v 2004 godu [Environmental Protection, Nature Management, and Safety in St. Petersburg in 2004]. St. Petersburg: Sezam-Print Publ., 2008. 472 p.

10. Rakitin V. S., Elansky N. F., Pankratova N. V., et al. [Use of Satellite Data on Atmospheric Composition in Background and Polluted Conditions]. In: Turbulentnost, atmosfernaya i klimaticheskaya dinamika [Turbulence, Atmospheric and Climate Dynamics]. Moscow, 2018, p. 160. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.30690.07362.

11. Regionalnyye publikatsii VOZ. Yevropeyskaya seriya. № 85: Monitoring kachestva vozdukha dlya otsenki vozdeystviya na zdorovye [WHO Regional Publications. European Series. No. 85: Monitoring Air Quality for Health Impact Assessment]. Copenhagen: WHO, 2001. 293 p.

12. Rodionova N. V. [Optical characteristics of aerosol and carbon monoxide content in the atmosphere over the areas of the Irkutsk region and Buryatia in 2010–2021]. In: Issledovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa [Earth Research from Space], 2023, no. 2, pp. 3–15. DOI: 10.31857/S0205961423020033

13. Troni A. A., Kritsuk S. G., Kiselev A. V. [Long-term trends in nitrogen dioxide content in the air basin of Russia based on satellite data]. In: Sovremennyye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa [Modern problems of remote sensing of the Earth from space], 2019, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 259–265. DOI: 10.21046/2070-7401-2019-16-2-259-265

14. Tronin A. A., Kritsuk S. G., Latypov I. Sh. [Nitrogen dioxide in the air basin of Russia based on satellite data]. In: Sovremennyye problemy distantsionnogo zondirovaniya Zemli iz kosmosa [Modern problems of remote sensing of the Earth from space], 2009, vol. 2, no. 6, pp.217–223.

15. Fateeva Yu. G., Legovich Yu. S., Efremov A. Yu. Methods for forecasting atmospheric air pollution based on historical data. In: Vasiliev S. N., Tsvirkun A. D., eds. Upravleniye razvitiyem krupnomasshtabnykh sistem MLSD'2020 [Management of the development of large-scale systems MLSD'2020]. Moscow, 2020, pp. 1753–1760. DOI: 10.25728/mlsd.2020.1753

16. Chicherin S. S. [On the criteria for atmospheric air quality and their application for its monitoring and protection]. In: Trudy Glavnoy geofizicheskoy observatorii imeni A. I. Voyeykova [Proceedings of the Main Geophysical Observatory named after A. I. Voeikov], 2024, iss. 612, pp. 6–36.

17. Kuhlmann G., Henne S., Meijer Y., Brunner D. Quantifying CO₂ Emissions of Power Plants With CO₂ and NO₂ Imaging Satellites. In: Frontiers in Remote Sensing, 2021, iss. 2, p. 689838. DOI: 10.3389/frsen.2021.689838

18. Ponomarev N., Yushkov V., Elansky N. Air Pollution in Moscow Megacity: Data Fusion of the Chemical Transport Model and Observational Network. In: Atmosphere, 2021, vol. 12, pp. 374–393. DOI: 10.3390/atmos12030374

19. Popp T., Hegglin M., Hallmann R., et al. Consistency of satellite climate data records for Earth system monitoring. In: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 2020, iss. 101. DOI: 10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0127.1

20. WHO global air quality guidelines. Particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. Bonn, 2021. 290 p.