Air quality and acid deposition impacts of local emissions and transboundary air pollution in Japan and South Korea

Yim, Steve Hung Lam; Gu, Yefu; Shapiro, Matthew A.; Stephens, Brent

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13309-2019

Articles | Volume 19, issue 20

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13309-2019

© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-19-13309-2019

© Author(s) 2019. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 19, issue 20

Research article

|

28 Oct 2019

Research article |

| 28 Oct 2019

Air quality and acid deposition impacts of local emissions and transboundary air pollution in Japan and South Korea

Steve Hung Lam Yim, Yefu Gu, Matthew A. Shapiro, and Brent Stephens

Data sets

Ground-level Air pollution measurements of Japan National Institute for Environmental Studies in Japan http://www.nies.go.jp/igreen/

Ground-level Air pollution measurements of South Korea National Institute of Environmental Research of South Korea http://library.me.go.kr/search/DetailView.Popup.ax?cid=5506169

Acid deposition in East Asia Acid Deposition Monitoring Network in East Asia https://monitoring.eanet.asia/document/public/index

Satellite-retrieved surface PM2.5 concentrations fromMODIS, MISR and SeaWiFS Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) A. van Donkelaar et al. https://doi.org/10.7927/H4ZK5DQS

National Centers for Environmental Prediction, National WeatherService, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration andU.S. Department of Commerce 6 h FNL operational model global tropospheric analyses https://doi.org/10.5065/D6M043C6

Land cover data in China in2010 Chinese Academy of Sciences http://www.resdc.cn/data.aspx?DATAID=99

Short summary

This study assessed and quantified the transboundary air pollution (TAP) impact in Japan and South Korea. We found that ~70 % of annual ambient PM2.5 in Japan and South Korea was contributed by other countries in the region, and wet deposition had a greater impact on mixed forests in Japan and savannas in South Korea. Given these significant impacts of TAP in the region, it is paramount that cross–national efforts be taken to mitigate air pollution problems across East Asia.