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Brown M, Ambrosone M, Turner KJ, Humphries GE, Tzortziou M, Anglès S, Panzeca C, Greenfield DI. Phytoplankton assemblage responses to nitrogen following COVID-19 stay-in-place orders in western Long Island Sound (New York/Connecticut). Mar Environ Res 2024; 196:106371. [PMID: 38309244 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2024] [Indexed: 02/05/2024]
Abstract
This study evaluated water quality, nitrogen (N), and phytoplankton assemblage linkages along the western Long Island Sound (USA) shoreline (Nov. 2020-Dec. 2021) following COVID-19 stay-in-place (SIP) orders through monthly surveys and N-addition bioassays. Ammonia-N (AmN; NH3+NH4+) negatively correlated with total chlorophyll-a (chl-a) at all sites; this was significant at Alley Creek, adjacent to urban wastewater inputs, and at Calf Pasture, by the Norwalk River (Spearman rank correlation, p < 0.01 and 0.02). Diatoms were abundant throughout the study, though dinoflagellates (Heterocapsa, Prorocentrum), euglenoids/cryptophytes, and both nano- and picoplankton biomass increased during summer. In field and experimental assessments, high nitrite + nitrate (N + N) and low AmN increased diatom abundances while AmN was positively linked to cryptophyte concentrations. Likely N + N decreases with presumably minimal changes in AmN and organic N during COVID-19 SIP resulted in phytoplankton assemblage shifts (decreased diatoms, increased euglenoids/cryptophytes), highlighting the ecological impacts of N-form delivered by wastewater to urban estuaries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maximillian Brown
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY, 11367, USA; Advanced Science Research Center at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, 10031, USA
| | - Mariapaola Ambrosone
- Advanced Science Research Center at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, 10031, USA
| | - Kyle J Turner
- Earth and Atmospheric Science, Center for Discovery and Innovation, The City College of New York, City University of New York, New York, NY, 10031, USA
| | - Georgie E Humphries
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY, 11367, USA; Advanced Science Research Center at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, 10031, USA
| | - Maria Tzortziou
- Earth and Atmospheric Science, Center for Discovery and Innovation, The City College of New York, City University of New York, New York, NY, 10031, USA
| | - Sílvia Anglès
- Advanced Science Research Center at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, 10031, USA
| | - Caterina Panzeca
- State University of New York Maritime College, Bronx, NY, 10465, USA
| | - Dianne I Greenfield
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Queens College, City University of New York, Flushing, NY, 11367, USA; Advanced Science Research Center at the Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, 10031, USA.
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2
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De Santis D, Amici S, Milesi C, Muroni D, Romanino A, Casari C, Cannas V, Del Frate F. Tracking air quality trends and vehicle traffic dynamics at urban scale using satellite and ground data before and after the COVID-19 outbreak. Sci Total Environ 2023; 899:165464. [PMID: 37454864 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 07/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
The implications of the COVID-19 outbreak are subjected to an increasing number of studies. So far, air quality trends related to the lockdown due to the pandemic have been analysed in large cities or entire regions. In this work, the region studied is the metropolitan area of Cagliari, which is the main city on the island of Sardinia (Italy) and can be representative of a coastal city that includes industrial settlements. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the effect of restrictions related to the COVID-19 outbreak on air quality levels and the traffic dynamics in this type of urban area. Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂) levels before, during and after COVID-19 lockdown have been investigated using data acquired from the Sentinel-5P/TROPOMI satellite combined with on-site measurements. Both TROPOMI detected and ground-based data have revealed higher levels of NO₂ before and after the lockdown, compared to those during the period of COVID-related restrictions, in particular in the urban area of Cagliari. On the other hand, NO2 registered in the oil refinery area did not show significant differences associated with lockdown. The correlation of TROPOMI NO₂ tropospheric column with ground data (surface NO2) on a monthly mean basis showed different values based on the background and the highest Pearson's coefficient was of about 0.78 near to the city centre, where traffic can be considered a significant source of emission. In addition, a comparison of the air pollution level with the dynamics of vehicle traffic was investigated. The study highlighted a remarkable correlation between the reduction of the number of vehicles and the corresponding tropospheric NO₂ values that decreased on a weekly mean basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- D De Santis
- Department of Civil Engineering and Computer Science Engineering, "Tor Vergata" University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
| | - S Amici
- Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Sezione ONT, Rome, Italy; SpacEarth Technology S.r.l., Rome, Italy
| | - C Milesi
- CRS4 (Center for Advanced Studies, Research and Development in Sardinia), Pula, Italy
| | - D Muroni
- CRS4 (Center for Advanced Studies, Research and Development in Sardinia), Pula, Italy
| | - A Romanino
- CRS4 (Center for Advanced Studies, Research and Development in Sardinia), Pula, Italy
| | - C Casari
- CRS4 (Center for Advanced Studies, Research and Development in Sardinia), Pula, Italy
| | - V Cannas
- Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Sezione ONT, Rome, Italy; SpacEarth Technology S.r.l., Rome, Italy
| | - F Del Frate
- Department of Civil Engineering and Computer Science Engineering, "Tor Vergata" University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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3
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Tzortziou M, Loughner CP, Goldberg DL, Judd L, Nauth D, Kwong CF, Lin T, Cede A, Abuhassan N. Intimately tracking NO 2 pollution over the New York City - Long Island Sound land-water continuum: An integration of shipboard, airborne, satellite observations, and models. Sci Total Environ 2023; 897:165144. [PMID: 37391145 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2023] [Revised: 06/23/2023] [Accepted: 06/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/02/2023]
Abstract
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution remains a serious global problem, particularly near highly populated urbanized coasts that face increasing challenges with climate change. Yet, the combined impact of urban emissions, pollution transport, and complex meteorology on the spatiotemporal dynamics of NO2 along heterogeneous urban coastlines remains poorly characterized. Here, we integrated measurements from different platforms - boats, ground-based networks, aircraft, and satellites - to characterize total column NO2 (TCNO2) dynamics across the land-water continuum in the New York metropolitan area, the most populous area in the United States that often experiences the highest national NO2 levels. Measurements were conducted during the 2018 Long Island Sound Tropospheric Ozone Study (LISTOS), with a main goal to extend surface measurements beyond the coastline - where ground-based air-quality monitoring networks abruptly stop - and over the aquatic environment where peaks in air pollution often occur. Satellite TCNO2 from TROPOMI correlated strongly with Pandora surface measurements (r = 0.87, N = 100) both over land and water. Yet, TROPOMI overall underestimated TCNO2 (MPD = -12%) and missed peaks in NO2 pollution caused by rush hour emissions or pollution accumulation during sea breezes. Aircraft retrievals were in excellent agreement with Pandora (r = 0.95, MPD = -0.3%, N = 108). Stronger agreement was found between TROPOMI, aircraft, and Pandora over land, while over water satellite, and to a lesser extent aircraft, retrievals underestimated TCNO2 particularly in the highly dynamic New York Harbor environment. Combined with model simulations, our shipborne measurements uniquely captured rapid transitions and fine-scale features in NO2 behavior across the New York City - Long Island Sound land-water continuum, driven by the complex interplay of human activity, chemistry, and local scale meteorology. These novel datasets provide critical information for improving satellite retrievals, enhancing air quality models, and informing management decisions, with important implications for the health of diverse communities and vulnerable ecosystems along this complex urban coastline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Tzortziou
- Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, City College of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA.
| | | | - Daniel L Goldberg
- Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA
| | - Laura Judd
- NASA Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, USA
| | - Dilchand Nauth
- Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, City College of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA
| | - Charlotte F Kwong
- Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, City College of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA
| | - Tong Lin
- Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, City College of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA
| | - Alexander Cede
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; LuftBlick, Kreith, Austria; SciGlob Instruments and Services LLC, Columbia, MD 21046, USA
| | - Nader Abuhassan
- NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA; SciGlob Instruments and Services LLC, Columbia, MD 21046, USA; Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
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4
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Sherman J, Tzortziou M, Turner KJ, Greenfield DI, Menendez A. Deciphering the water quality impacts of COVID-19 human mobility shifts in estuaries surrounding New York City. Sci Total Environ 2023; 896:164953. [PMID: 37385510 PMCID: PMC10299840 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.164953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/15/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic altered human mobility, particularly in large metropolitan areas. In New York City (NYC), stay-at-home orders and social distancing led to significant decreases in commuting, tourism, and a surge of outward migration. Such changes could result in decreased anthropogenic pressure on local environments. Several studies have linked COVID-19 shutdowns with improvements in water quality. However, the bulk of these studies primarily focused on short-term impacts during shutdown periods, without assessing longer-term impacts as restrictions eased. Here, we examine both concurrent lockdown and societal reopening impacts on water quality, using pre-pandemic baseline conditions, in two highly urbanized estuaries surrounding NYC, the New-York Harbor estuary and Long Island Sound (LIS). We compiled datasets from 2017 to 2021 of mass-transit ridership, work-from-home trends, and municipal wastewater effluent to assess changes in human mobility and anthropogenic pressure during multiple waves of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. These were linked to changes in water quality assessed using high spatiotemporal ocean color remote sensing, which provides near-daily observations across the estuary study regions. To distinguish anthropogenic impacts from natural environmental variability, we examined meteorological/hydrological conditions, primarily precipitation and wind. Our results show that nitrogen loading into the New York Harbor declined significantly in the spring of 2020 and remained below pre-pandemic values through 2021. In contrast, nitrogen loading into LIS remained closer to the pre-pandemic average. In response, water clarity in New-York Harbor significantly improved, with less of a change in LIS. We further show that changes in nitrogen loading had higher impact on water quality than meteorological conditions. Our study demonstrates the value of remote sensing observations in assessing water quality changes when field-based monitoring is hindered and highlights the complex nature of urban estuaries and their heterogeneous response to changes in extreme events and human behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Sherman
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The City College of New York, The City University of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031, USA
| | - Maria Tzortziou
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The City College of New York, The City University of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031, USA..
| | - Kyle J Turner
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The City College of New York, The City University of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031, USA
| | - Dianne I Greenfield
- Advanced Science Research Center at the Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York, NY 10031, USA; School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Queens College, The City University of New York, Flushing, NY 11367, USA
| | - Alana Menendez
- Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, The City College of New York, The City University of New York, 160 Convent Avenue, New York, NY 10031, USA
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Cao C, Gentner DR, Commane R, Toledo-Crow R, Schiferl LD, Mak JE. Policy-Related Gains in Urban Air Quality May Be Offset by Increased Emissions in a Warming Climate. Environ Sci Technol 2023. [PMID: 37327457 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c05904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Air quality policies have made substantial gains by reducing pollutant emissions from the transportation sector. In March 2020, New York City's activities were severely curtailed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in 60-90% reductions in human activity. We continuously measured major volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during January-April 2020 and 2021 in Manhattan. Concentrations of many VOCs decreased significantly during the shutdown with variations in daily patterns reflective of human activity perturbations, resulting in a temporary ∼28% reduction in chemical reactivity. However, the limited effect of these dramatic measures was outweighed by larger increases in VOC-related reactivity during the anomalously warm spring 2021. This emphasizes the diminishing returns from transportation-focused policies alone and the risk of increased temperature-dependent emissions undermining policy-related gains in a warming climate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cong Cao
- School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
| | - Drew R Gentner
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, United States
| | - Róisín Commane
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, United States
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964, United States
| | - Ricardo Toledo-Crow
- Advanced Science Research Center, City University of New York, New York, New York 10031, United States
| | - Luke D Schiferl
- Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964, United States
| | - John E Mak
- School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, New York 11794, United States
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6
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Tao M, Fiore AM, Jin X, Schiferl LD, Commane R, Judd LM, Janz S, Sullivan JT, Miller PJ, Karambelas A, Davis S, Tzortziou M, Valin L, Whitehill A, Civerolo K, Tian Y. Investigating Changes in Ozone Formation Chemistry during Summertime Pollution Events over the Northeastern United States. Environ Sci Technol 2022; 56:15312-15327. [PMID: 36219092 PMCID: PMC9670856 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c02972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Revised: 09/07/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the local-scale spatial and temporal variability of ozone formation is crucial for effective mitigation. We combine tropospheric vertical column densities (VCDTrop) of formaldehyde (HCHO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2), referred to as HCHO-VCDTrop and NO2-VCDTrop, retrieved from airborne remote sensing and the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) with ground-based measurements to investigate changes in ozone precursors and the inferred chemical production regime on high-ozone days in May-August 2018 over two Northeast urban domains. Over New York City (NYC) and Baltimore/Washington D.C. (BAL/DC), HCHO-VCDTrop increases across the domain, but higher NO2-VCDTrop occurs mainly in urban centers on ozone exceedance days (when maximum daily 8 h average (MDA8) ozone exceeds 70 ppb at any monitor in the region). The ratio of HCHO-VCDTrop to NO2-VCDTrop, proposed as an indicator of the sensitivity of local surface ozone production rates to its precursors, generally increases on ozone exceedance days, implying a transition toward a more NOx-sensitive ozone production regime that should lead to higher efficacy of NOx controls on the highest ozone days in NYC and BAL/DC. Warmer temperatures and enhanced influence from emissions in the local boundary layer on the high-ozone days are accompanied by slower wind speeds in BAL/DC but stronger, southwesterly winds in NYC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madankui Tao
- Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York10964, United States
- Department
of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia
University, New York, New York10027, United
States
| | - Arlene M. Fiore
- Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York10964, United States
- Department
of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia
University, New York, New York10027, United
States
| | - Xiaomeng Jin
- Department
of Chemistry, University of California,
Berkeley, Berkeley, California94720, United States
| | - Luke D. Schiferl
- Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York10964, United States
| | - Róisín Commane
- Lamont-Doherty
Earth Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York10964, United States
- Department
of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia
University, New York, New York10027, United
States
| | - Laura M. Judd
- NASA
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia23681, United States
| | - Scott Janz
- NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland20771, United States
| | - John T. Sullivan
- NASA
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland20771, United States
| | - Paul J. Miller
- Northeast
States for Coordinated Air Use Management, Boston, Massachusetts02111, United States
| | - Alexandra Karambelas
- Northeast
States for Coordinated Air Use Management, Boston, Massachusetts02111, United States
| | - Sharon Davis
- New
Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Trenton, New Jersey08625, United States
| | - Maria Tzortziou
- The
City College of New York, New York, New York10031, United States
| | - Lukas Valin
- US
Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina27711, United States
| | - Andrew Whitehill
- US
Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina27711, United States
| | - Kevin Civerolo
- New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, New York12233, United States
| | - Yuhong Tian
- New
York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, New York12233, United States
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7
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Turner KJ, Tzortziou M, Grunert BK, Goes J, Sherman J. Optical classification of an urbanized estuary using hyperspectral remote sensing reflectance. Opt Express 2022; 30:41590-41612. [PMID: 36366633 DOI: 10.1364/oe.472765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Optical water classification based on remote sensing reflectance (Rrs(λ)) data can provide insight into water components driving optical variability and inform the development and application of bio-optical algorithms in complex aquatic systems. In this study, we use an in situ dataset consisting of hyperspectral Rrs(λ) and other biogeochemical and optical parameters collected over nearly five years across a heavily urbanized estuary, the Long Island Sound (LIS), east of New York City, USA, to optically classify LIS waters based on Rrs(λ) spectral shape. We investigate the similarities and differences of discrete groupings (k-means clustering) and continuous spectral indexing using the Apparent Visible Wavelength (AVW) in relation to system biogeochemistry and water properties. Our Rrs(λ) dataset in LIS was best described by three spectral clusters, the first two accounting for the majority (89%) of Rrs(λ) observations and primarily driven by phytoplankton dynamics, with the third confined to measurements in river and river plume waters. We found AVW effective at tracking subtle changes in Rrs(λ) spectral shape and fine-scale water quality features along river-to-ocean gradients. The recently developed Quality Water Index Polynomial (QWIP) was applied to evaluate three different atmospheric correction approaches for satellite-derived Rrs(λ) from the Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) sensor in LIS, finding Polymer to be the preferred approach. Our results suggest that integrative, continuous indices such as AVW can be effective indicators to assess nearshore biogeochemical variability and evaluate the quality of both in situ and satellite bio-optical datasets, as needed for improved ecosystem and water resource management in LIS and similar regions.
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