East Asian Environment Research Program (Research Program)

Principal Investigator (Contact person)

Akinori TAKAMI (email: takami[at]nies.go.jp) "[at] is replaced by @"

  • Overall
  • Publications & Link

Overall

Abstract

   In order to improve and understand air pollution in East Asia, field observations and satellite data analysis were conducted. An emissions inventory of China and Siberia was improved and a detailed analysis of the chemical composition of the particulate matter performed. These results were integrated with a chemical transport model to elucidate regional air pollution and to assess the effects of O3 on vegetation and human health in Japan. To predict near-future conditions and propose an optimized management system for land and sea environments, integrated land-ocean numerical models were developed based on the field observations. The pollutant loads from the Yangtze River basin and the response of the marine environment in the East China Sea were analyzed quantitatively. An integrated impact assessment of the future migration of anthropogenic pollutants on atmosphere-land-ocean environments in East Asia has also been conducted (PJ1 and PJ2 collaborative research).

 

 Fig. 1 A framework of integrated impact assessment of migration of anthropogenic pollutants. 

1 Introduction

   Rapid economic growth in the East Asian region has brought severe environmental problems. As Japan is closely connected to East Asia, both geographically and economically, environmental issues in this region have considerable influence on the Japanese environment. As part of East Asia, Japan must adopt a long-term strategy to help preserve the East Asian environment, which promotes multi-national environmental security and sustainable regional society. However, further research is needed to obtain fundamental scientific knowledge concerning environmental issues and anthropogenic impacts on the environment. In this context, the East Asian Environment Program has conducted research on multi-scale air pollution in East Asia (Project 1) and on the effects of wide-scale anthropogenic activities on marine ecosystems in the East China Sea and seas around Japan (Project 2). Through field observations and model simulations, Project 1 is intended to clarify both the current situation and the formation mechanisms of trans-boundary air pollution in East Asia. Project 2 is intended to reveal the relationships between environmental burdens and their impacts, and to suggest solutions that will benefit marine ecosystems. In collaboration with the Center for Social and Environmental Systems Research, an integrated impact assessment of future migration of anthropogenic pollutants on atmosphere-land-ocean environments in East Asia has also been conducted (PJ1 and PJ2 collaborative research)

Project 1: Analysis and evaluation of multi-scale air pollution by integration of observations and modeling

   As emissions of the precursors of ozone and particulate matter (PM) have increased, air pollution in the East Asian region has become increasingly severe and its influence has spread to Japan and across the Northern Hemisphere. In Project 1, air quality issues ranging from local to hemispheric scales were examined with particular emphasis on the trans-boundary transport of air pollutants and their impacts on human health and the ecosystems in East Asia.

Project 2: Study of effects of wide-scale anthropogenic activities on marine ecosystems in the East China Sea and seas around Japan

    The large freshwater discharge from the Yangtze River and the high population density of its watershed are thought to have considerable impact on the marine environment of the East China. Project 2 evaluated the pollutant loads from the Yangtze River basin and clarified the response of the marine environment of the East China Sea using land-ocean numerical models and related field observations. The prediction of near-future environments was also performed in order to propose an optimized land-sea management system.

2 Method, Results, and Discussion
2.1 Project 1: Analysis and evaluation of multi-scale air pollution by integration of observations and modeling

2.1.1 A study of the variation of hemispheric-scale air pollution using large-scale monitoring    The amount of tropospheric ozone over East Asia has been observed to be increasing at a substantially greater rate than in Europe and North America (Parrish et al. 2014). A model simulation of regional chemical transport, which incorporated a yearly regional emissions inventory, reproduced the ozone levels successfully but failed in the quantitative reproduction of the decadal growth. The model suggested that increasing Asian anthropogenic emissions accounted for about half the observed increase, and that there could be missing and/or underestimated emissions of ozone precursors in upwind regions of East Asia. We examined the emissions of ozone precursors in East Asia using field and satellite observations to fill the gap between the observations and the model. The emission factors for NOx and speciated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from biomass burning emissions in Siberia and China were derived and compared with previous bottom-up and top-down studies. These results will be incorporated in model simulations to better reproduce past ozone trends and understand the controlling factors.    Past studies have suggested that forest fires contribute significantly to the formation of ozone in the troposphere. However, the emissions of ozone precursors from wildfires and the mechanisms involved in ozone production from boreal fires are very complex. Moreover, an evaluation of the role of forest fires has been prevented by the lack of direct observations of the ozone precursor, NOx, and large uncertainties exist in the emissions inventories currently used for modeling. We undertook an analysis of NOx emissions from boreal wildfires from 1996 to 2011, based on satellite-derived observations of tropospheric NO2, and found substantial interannual variability originating from large boreal fires over Siberia in 1998, 2002, 2003, 2006, and 2008. Comparisons of monthly NO2 enhancements with fire radiative power (FRP) show reasonably strong correlation, suggesting that FRP is a better proxy than burned area for boreal fire NOx emissions. We provided space-based constraints on NOx emission factors for Siberian fires and although the associated uncertainty is relatively large, the derived emission factors fall within a reasonably acceptable range compared with previously determined in situ ground-based and airborne observations over these regions. (Tanimoto et al. 2015).    The burning of open crop residue in China is another source of emission related to biomass burning. We analyzed measurements of trace gases, including non-methane VOCs (NMVOCs), in a rural area of central East China in June 2010. During the campaign, we identified six biomass-burning events via the simultaneous enhancement of carbon monoxide and acetonitrile. The observed normalized excess mixing ratios (NEMRs) of OVOCs and alkenes showed dependence on air mass age, even in fresh smoke plumes, supporting the view that these species are rapidly produced and destroyed, respectively, during plume evolution. Based on the NEMR data from fresh plumes, we calculated the emission factors (EFs) of individual NMVOCs. The comparison of our findings with previous reports suggests that the EFs of formaldehyde and acetic acid have been overestimated, while those of alkenes have been underestimated. Finally, we suggest that open burning of wheat residue in China releases about 0.34 Tg of NMVOCs annually. If we applied the same EFs to all crops, the annual NMVOC emissions would be 2.33 Tg. The EFs of speciated NMVOCs could be used to improve the existing emissions inventories (Kudo et al. 2014).

References
・Parrish, D.D., J.-F. Lamarque, V. Naik, L. Horowitz, D.T. Shindell, J. Staehelin, R. Derwent, O.R. Cooper, H. Tanimoto, A. Volz-Thomas, S. Gilge, H.-E. Scheel, M. Steinbacher, M. Frohlich, (2014) Long-term changes in lower tropospheric baseline ozone concentrations: Comparing chemistry-climate models and observations at northern mid-latitudes, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 119, doi:10.1002/2013JD021435.
・Kudo, S., H. Tanimoto, S. Inomata, S. Saito, X.L. Pan, Y. Kanaya, F. Taketani, Z. Wang, H. Chen, H. Dong, M. Zhang, K. Yamaji, (2014) Emissions of nonmethane volatile organic compounds from open crop residue burning in the Yangtze River Delta region, China, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 119, doi:10.1002/2013JD021044.
・Tanimoto, H., K. Ikeda, K.F. Boersma, R.J. van de A, S. Garivait, (2015) Interannual variability of nitrogen oxides emissions from boreal fires in Siberia and Alaska during 1996-2011 as observed from space, Environ. Res. Lett. (in press).

2.1.2 Analysis of trans-boundary air pollution to Japan using integrated observational data.    Based on a chemical analysis of PM, we examined the influence of trans-boundary air pollution on urban air quality in northern parts of Kyushu, Japan. Sulfate and oxygenated organic species were the major components, suggesting that trans-boundary air pollution has considerable influence on the air quality in Fukuoka. Furthermore, the effects of dust, PM mass, and chemical composition on health were analyzed and some relations found.
   An aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer (Q-AMS) was set up in Fukuoka, one of the biggest cities in western Japan, to monitor the PM produced within the city and to distinguish local PM from that transported from the Asian continent. Based on the analysis of PM chemical composition, high sulfate concentrations indicated that the air mass originated from the Chinese continent. Here, the air mass trajectory was calculated using the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Air Resources Laboratory Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (ARL HYSPLIT) model. When the organic and nitrate concentrations were high, the air mass was often transported from the Kyushu/Fukuoka area.

   The organic signal is considered a marker of aging (oxidation), which in turn is an indicator of the duration of air mass transport. The organic signal was analyzed using the Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) method. The PMF method separates the oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA), which is observed in aged organic species, from the hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol (HOA), which is observed in fresh (non-aged) organic species. The fraction of OOA was about 85% when the air mass originated from the Chinese continent in spring and it was about 70% when the air mass originated from the Kyushu/Fukuoka area. The OOA fraction in the PM was considerable, suggesting that trans-boundary air pollution has considerable influence on the air quality in Fukuoka.
   Analysis of individual particles using Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy showed that PM collected in the Kyushu area contained more black carbon than that collected in Tokyo. Analysis of the polyaromatic hydrocarbon indicated that coal combustion was one of the major emission sources of PM found in Kyushu although Japan uses little energy derived from coal combustion. Measurements using Lidar revealed stronger signals in Kyushu than over mainland Japan, which also suggested the significant influence of trans-boundary air pollution on the air quality in Fukuoka/Kyushu (Takami et al. 2013).
   The health impact of PM was analyzed using dust data, mass concentration, and chemical composition of PM together with data of health outcomes in Fukuoka. The risk of myocardial infarction increased with dust concentration and it was positively correlated with nitrate concentration. Diseases of the respiratory system were also positively correlated with PM2.5 mass concentration.

References
Takami, A, et al., (2013) Structural analysis of aerosol particles by microscopic observation using a Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometer, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 118, 6726-6737.

2.1.3 Investigation of the structure and impact of air pollution in Asia based on multi-scale chemical transport model (CTM) simulations and the estimation of the effect of measures intended to control it
   The spatiotemporal structures of atmospheric pollution by O3 and PM2.5 in East Asia have been examined based on multi-year simulations using a multi-scale chemical transport model (CTM). The simulations have used the latest data of emissions of air pollutants, and the changes in East Asian air quality estimated based on a scenario of air pollutant emission in the near future (2030). The effect of O3 on Japanese beech trees in mountainous regions of Japan has been estimated using the output from the CTM simulations.
   We developed a multi-scale CTM system by combining a global-scale CTM (MIROC-ESM-CHEM) with a regional-scale CTM (WRF/CMAQ), which can simulate the transportation of air pollutants from the inter-continental to domestic scale. We also gathered and partly estimated the emissions of air pollutants in in East Asia over the recent few decades to create an updated emissions inventory. Based on this multi-scale CTM system and the latest emission inventory data, we performed a simulation of air quality in East Asia from 2000 to 2012. The output of the simulation was compared with observed data as part of other projects within this research program and those obtained by other NIES-related research projects. Comparisons were performed for O3 and PM2.5 in particular, which showed that the CTM system has reasonable capability in simulating the interannual variation or longitudinal gradient of concentrations of both substances in Japan. Some problems were identified in the seasonal transition of O3concentration along the coastal region of the Japan Sea, and some biases in PM2.5 concentrations, either negative or positive depending on the component, were identified. However, some of these problems have been improved through tuning several parameters of the CTM. The impact of recent changes in the emissions of air pollutants in Japan, Korea, and China on East Asian air quality have been assessed quantitatively by comparison with CTM simulations both with and without the emissions in those regions. The effectiveness of measures adopted to control the impacts of greenhouse gasses and air pollutants on East Asian air quality in the near-future (2030) emission scenarios was also assessed.
   To assess the impact of O3 on Japanese vegetation, Fagus crenata Blume (Japanese beech) was selected as a representative tree in the cool temperate zone of Japan. The dose-response relationship between O3 exposure and growth of beech seedlings was derived from data obtained from long-term experiments of exposure to low O3 concentrations in an environment-controlled growth cabinet. The effect of water shortage was also investigated and the additive effects of water stress and O3 exposure on tree growth were obtained. Moreover, the ambient O3 concentrations in some mountainous forests in Japan were measured. Usingthe dose-response relationship and output of the CTM simulation, the impact of O3 exposure and water stress on the growth of Japanese beech was mapped, which revealed the high-risk areas. In addition, changes in gene expression, hormone generation, and contents of redox substances in the leaves of Japanese beech were elucidated through the environment-controlled experiments. These results could be applied in the diagnosis of O3 stress in Japanese beech.

2.2 Project 2: Study of effects of wide-scale anthropogenic activities on marine ecosystems in the East China Sea and seas around Japan

2.2.1 Development of prediction method for pollutant loads to the East China Sea from the Yangtze River basin    Increasing pollutant loads due to rapid economic development has worsened river environments in China. When the pollutant loads of certain Chinese rivers exceed the natural purification capacity of the rivers, the pollution is released into the East China Sea (ECS), where it can cause serious coastal eutrophication and red tides. To predict the pollutant loads transported to the ECS from the Yangtze River basin (YRB), we developed a catchment water and material circulation model based on the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model (Arnold et al. 1998). This model can be used to predict the long-term impact of land management practices on water, sediment, and pollutant loads such as N and P in large complex watersheds with varying soils, land uses, and management conditions.
   As input data for the model, we first estimated the N inputs to the YRB, including atmospheric deposition, synthetic N fertilizers, as well as N from human waste and animal excrement based on statistical data of China (Wang et al. 2014). The results showed that the total amount of N input to the entire YRB was approximately 16.4 × 106 t in 2010, which represents a twofold increase over 1980. It increased dramatically in the 1990s and then stabilized at a high level in the 2000s. The major N inputs were human and animal wastes as well as synthetic fertilizers, but there was considerable regional variation. Animal waste was the major input to the water source regions, and its percentage contribution decreased gradually from the upper to lower reaches of the river. In contrast, the contribution of N fertilizer increased from the upper to lower reaches, becoming the major input in the middle and lower reaches. Over the past 30 years, the total N input changed slightly in the upper reaches, but increased considerably in the middle reaches. However, in the lower reaches, total N input increased remarkably prior to 2000, but then tended to decrease in the last decade. Finally, atmospheric N deposition over the entire basin was found to have increased continuously during the last 30 years.
   Using our catchment water and material circulation model, we simulated the daily, monthly, and yearly variations (2001-2010) of river discharge and pollutants load transported to the ECS via the Yangtze River (YR), after the model was validated using observational data of water quality indicators over the YR. The simulation results showed that the annual mean total river discharge was 2.71 × 104 m3/s and that the average yearly amounts of pollutants flowing through the lowest course of the YR (i.e., Datong Observation Station) were 2.19 × 106 t for NO3-N, 8.8 × 104 t for NO2-N, 2.62 × 105 t for NH4-N, 2.74 × 106 t for total nitrogen (T-N), and 1.06 × 105 t for total phosphorous (T-P). Our simulation results indicated that the amounts of NO3-N, NO2-N, and NH4-N flowing in the 2000s were about 3.6, 5, and 2.5 times higher, respectively, than in the 1980s.
In the next step, we will apply this model to predict the future tendencies of pollutant flows and loads from the YR to the ECS by employing data on the future water demand and material circulation, which will be established by other research teams (see 1.2.2.3) within this program.

References
Wang Q., H. Koshikawa, C. Liu, K. Otsubo, (2014) 30-year changes in the nitrogen inputs to the Yangtze River Basin. Environ. Res. Lett., 9 (11), 115005.

2.2.2 Study on mechanisms of degradation of marine ecosystem on the continental shelf in the East China Sea
   Based on information from cruise surveys in the ECS and new findings from related laboratory experiments, we developed an ocean assessment model in which the hydrodynamic and biogeochemical processes of the ECS are fully integrated. The objectives were to clarify the mechanisms of recent marine ecological degradation in the ECS, such as the frequent occurrence of red tides on the central continental shelf, and to predict the response of the marine environment to changes in anthropogenic pollutant loads discharged from the YRB into the ECS in the near future.
   First, we enhanced the hydrodynamic procedures in our previous model to reproduce oceanic circulation accurately, particularly the tidal current and subsequent eddy diffusion over the continental shelf in the ECS. Both field measurements of turbulent microstructure and related numerical experiments using a large-eddy simulation model revealed that the subgrid-scale turbulence parameterization in our previous model (Mellor-Yamada level 2.5 closure scheme) resulted in underestimation of tidal mixing in the ECS. Hence, we improved the vertical-mixing scheme according to our previous work (Furuichi et al. 2012) and succeeded in reducing the discrepancy. A simple nudging method was also applied to incorporate observed/assimilated features of the geostrophic phenomena in the FRA-JCOPE2 (Fisheries Research Agency - Japan Coastal Ocean Prediction Experiment 2) reanalysis.
   Second, we incorporated two new findings obtained from cruise surveys and laboratory experiments into our biogeochemical model. One is that the euphotic depth of the ECS is largely influenced by the concentration of terrestrial colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), the quantitative effect of which can be expressed using the salinity in the surface mixed layer as a proxy (Koshikawa et al. 2015). Based on this finding, we proposed an empirical prediction equation for the diffuse attenuation coefficient of the photosynthetic active radiation to embed into our model. Another finding was obtained from our large-scale incubation test of the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum dentatum, which frequently forms large subsurface chlorophyll maxima on the central shelf of the ECS. The test showed that this dinoflagellate exhibits diurnal vertical migration behavior and that it tends to accumulate at a depth around the pycnocline during nighttime; we incorporated this ecological feature into our biogeochemical model.
   We simulated the spatiotemporal variations in physical and biogeochemical properties in the ECS from 2000-2010 using our model and the time series data of variation in freshwater and nutrient discharges from the YRB estimated by the other research team (see 2.1.1) in this program. Our ocean model showed high performance in reproducibility on distributions of temperature, salinity, nutrients, and phytoplankton biomass, including occurrences of the subsurface chlorophyll-a maxima on the continental shelf.
   We also performed a series of sensitivity simulations to elucidate the responses of the water quality and the primary producer (phytoplankton) in the ECS to changes in pollutant loadings from the YRB. These simulations showed that changes in the total amounts of anthropogenic N and P loading and in the NP ratio of the river could have considerable influence on the total phytoplankton biomass, its spatial distribution, and the dominant algal class (diatoms or flagellates). This was found true not only in the estuary and in the adjacent western shelf area, but in central and eastern shelf areas too, although it has been generally considered that phytoplankton biomass and primary production on the central and eastern shelves are mostly controlled by the intrusion of ocean water with rich nutrients from beyond the shelf edge. We also have found that the recent tendency for the predominance of dinoflagellates over diatoms on the central continental shelf of the ECS would be caused by the high NP ratio (≈ 100) of the nutrients in the discharged river water.
   Until the end of this program, we will apply our ocean assessment model to forecast the near-future marine environment in the ECS under various scenarios of pollutant loadings from the YR, which will be established by the other research teams (see 1.2.2.1 and 1.2.2.3) in this program.

References
・Furuichi, N., T. Hibiya, and Y. Niwa, (2012) Assessment of turbulence closure models for resonant inertial response in the oceanic mixed layer using a large eddy simulation model. J. Oceanog., 68, 285-294.
・Koshikawa, H., H. Higashi, T. Hasegawa, K. Nishiuchi, H. Sasaki, M. Kawachi, Y. Kiyomoto, K. Takayanagi, K. Kohata, S. Murakami, (2015) Assessing depth-integrated phytoplankton biomass in the East China Sea using a unique empirical protocol to estimate euphotic depth. Estuar. Coast. Shelf S., 153, 74-85.

2.2.3 Scenario-based prediction of near-future water pollution in China and assessment of its impact on inland water and marine environments for development of an integrated land-sea environmental management system
   We evaluated and predicted spatiotemporal variations in water withdrawal, water discharge, and the accompanying emission of pollutants from various economic sectors in China from 2002-2030. Our objectives are to identify those industrial sectors that have had the greatest influence on the aquatic environment of China, and to predict how that situation might change in the near future according to the various possible patterns of future socioeconomic development, availability of water resources, and governmental measures for environmental protection. We also aim to provide datasets of future pollutant loads for land- and ocean-modeling studies (see 1.2.2.1, 1.2.2.2), which address the runoff processes of water and pollutants from the YRB and assesses their effects on the environment of the ECS.
   First, we analyzed the provincial-scale statistics of the economy, water use, and pollution discharge to evaluate their spatiotemporal variations from 2002-2010, and obtained their quantitative relationships, i.e., the regional amounts of water and pollutant loads per unit industrial gross output. Second, we predicted the spatiotemporal variations in water and pollutants for the period 2010-2030 using both the obtained relationships and the Chinese provincial-scale economic growth forecast. This forecast predicts the industrial gross output of each sector based on the Asia-Pacific Integrated Model/Computable General Equilibrium (AIM/CGE) model, which was developed independently by the Center for Social and Environmental Systems Research within our institute, based on the future scenario of the “conventional society” (CNV) for global climate change studies.
   Under the CNV scenario, the annual water withdrawal of all China increases by 2.3 times from 2002 to 2030, while the industrial gross output increases by 5.3 times. The withdrawal increase would be caused by the significant growth of manufacturing industries such as electricity and heat supply. The estimations also indicated that the amount of pollution loads will increase dramatically accompanied by an increase in water discharge from manufacturing industries; e.g., the 2030 discharge of chemical-oxygen-demand (COD) from industry will rise to more than 6.0 times that of 2002. These results imply that point-source management will become increasingly important in the future for China. Furthermore, considering that the discharges of water and pollution per unit gross output of the industrial sectors of China are larger than in Japan, it could be argued that there is potential to reduce the pollution loads in China.
   Using our predictions of future pollutant emissions and loads under the CNV scenario, we will assess the effects of the possible and expected improvements in point-source pollution control on the future aquatic environments in the YRB and ECS. This will be achieved through collaborative work with the other teams involved in land- and ocean-modeling studies (see 1.2.2.1, 1.2.2.2).

3. Integrated impact assessment of migration of anthropogenic pollutants on atmosphere-land-ocean environments in East Asia-PJ1 and PJ2 collaborative research
   One of the goals of this research program is to predict the fate and impact of anthropogenic pollutants on the atmosphere, land, and ocean environments in East Asia. To achieve this goal, Projects 1 and 2 collaborated in the integration of field monitoring and modeling studies. They also established an assessment system with which to evaluate the responses of the aquatic environments in the YRB and ECS to changes in atmospheric N deposition caused by various human activities (e.g., economic growth, urbanization, technological advances, policies) in East Asia from 2000-2010 (Fig. 1).
   We conducted linkage analyses to evaluate the influence of the increasing trend of atmospheric nitrogen deposition during 2000-2010 on the oceanic biogeochemical cycle in the ECS using the regional-scale CTM (WRF/CMAQ) in Project 1 (see 1.2.1.3) and the ocean hydrodynamic-biogeochemical model in Project 2 (see 1.2.2.2). The former model was applied to simulate the spatiotemporal distributions of ammonia and nitrogen-oxide depositions over East Asia based on the latest emission dataset. The latter model was applied to analyze the fate of atmospheric nitrogen depositions on the ECS in 2000, 2005, and 2010 by means of time-sliced numerical experiments. It should be noted that for the atmospheric deposition, the various other oceanic conditions (e.g., ocean currents, tidal waves, surface winds, and freshwater and pollutant discharges from the YRB) in 2007 were applied in the time-sliced ocean simulations of each year.
   The atmospheric simulation showed that the magnitude of the amount of the nitrogen deposition into the entire ECS increased by about 1.5 times between 2000 and 2010. The oceanic simulations indicated that such an increase in deposition enhanced primary production significantly in the Yellow Sea and slightly on the central and eastern continental shelves of the ECS, especially in early summer. In the Yangtze estuary and on the adjacent western continental shelf of the ECS, the increase in deposition caused an increase in nitrate concentration in the surface mixed layer, but it had little influence on primary production. The different responses in the primary production of the sea areas are initiated by the presence or absence of excess nitrate input through the YR. The simulations also implied that the recent predominance of dinoflagellates on the central and eastern continental shelves of the ECS could be caused partly by nitrate enrichment from the atmosphere.
   Until the end of this project in FY2015, our linkage analyses will be expanded to assess the effects of air pollution control measures on air, land, and ocean environments in East Asia from the present to the near future (~2030). This will be achieved using the future predictions of pollution emissions associated with the changes in socio-economic conditions obtained from the AIM/CGE simulations under the CNV scenario (see 1.2.1.3 and 1.2.2.3).

Publications & Link

Publications

  1. Dong L., Dong H., Fujita T., Geng Yong, Fujii M. (2015) Cost-effectiveness analysis of China's Sulfur dioxide control strategy at the regional level: regional disparity, inequity and future challenges. Journal of Cleaner Production, 90, 345-359

  2. Goto D., Dai T., Satoh M., Tomita H., Uchida J., Misawa S., Inoue T., Tsuruta H., Ueda K., Ng C.F.S.,
    Takami A., Sugimoto N., Shimizu A., Ohara T., Nakajima T. (2015) Application of a global nonhydrostatic model with a stretched-grid system to regional aerosol simulations around Japan. Geoscientific Model Development, 8, 235-259

  3. Goto D., Kanazawa S., Nakajima T., Takemura T. (2013) Evaluation of a relationship between aerosols and surface downward shortwave flux through an integrative analysis of a global aerosol-transport model and in-situ measurements. AIP Conference Proceedings, 1531 (680)

  4. Goto, D., Nakajima T., Dai T., Takemura T., Kajino M., Matsui H., Takami A., Hatakeyama S., Sugimoto N., Shimizu A., Ohara T. (2015), An evaluation of simulated sulfate over East Asia through global model inter-comparison, J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 120, in press, doi:10.1002/2014JD021693.

  5. Hatakeyama S., Ikeda K., Hanaoka S., Watanabe I., Arakaki T., Bandow H., Sadanaga Y., Kato S., Kajii Y., Zhang D., Okuyama K., Ogi T., Fujimoto T., Seto T., Shimizu A., Sugimoto N., Takami A. (2014) Aerial observations of air masses transported from East Asia to the Western Pacific: Vertical structure of polluted air masses. Atmospheric Environment, 97, 456-461

  6. Ikeda K., , Tanimoto H. (2015) Exceedances of air quality standard level of PM2.5 in Japan caused by Siberian wildfires, Environ. Res. Lett., 10, 105001, doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/10/105001

  7. Inomata S., Tanimoto H., Pan X.L., Taketani F., Komazaki Y., Miyakawa T., Kanaya Y., Wang Z.F. (2015) Laboratory measurements of emission factors of nonmethane volatile organic compounds from burning of Chinese crop residues. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmosphere, 120 (10), 5237-5252

  8. Irei S., Takami A., Hayashi M., Sadanaga Y., Hara K., Kaneyasu N., Sato K., Arakaki T., Hatakeyama S., Bandow H., Hikida T., Shimono A. (2014) Transboundary Secondary Organic Aerosol in Western Japan Indicated by the δ13C of Water-Soluble Organic Carbon and the m/z 44 Signal in Organic Aerosol Mass Spectra. Environmental Science&Technology, 48 (11), 6273-6281

  9. Kaskaouis D.G., Gautam R., Singh R.P., Houssos E.E., Goto S., Singh S.N., Bartzokas A., Kosmopoulos P.G., Sharma M., Hsu N.C., Holben B.N., Takemura T. (2012) Influence of anomalous dry conditions on aerosols over India:Transport, distribution and properties. J. Geophys. Res, 117 (D09106)

  10. Kaskaoutis, D.G., Rashki A., Houssos E.E., Mofidi A., Goto D., Bartzokas A., Francois P., Legrand M. (2015), Meteorological aspects associated with dust storms in the Sistan region, southeastern Iran, Climate Dynamic, 45, 407-424, DOI 10.1007/s00382-014-2208-3

  11. Liu C., Wang Q-X., Zou C-J., Hayashi Y., Yasunari T. (2015) Recent trends in nitrogen flows with urbanization in the Shanghai megacity and the effects on the water environment. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 22 (5), 3431-3440

  12. Madaniyazi L., Nagashima T., Guo Y., Yu W., Tong S. (2015) Projecting Fine Particulate Matter-Related Mortality in East China. Environmental Science and Technology, 49, 11141-11150, doi:10.1021/acs.est.5b01478

  13. Marumoto K., Hayashi M., Takami A. (2015) Atmospheric mercury concentrations at two sites in the Kyushu Islands, Japan, and evidence of long-range transport from East Asia. Atmospheric Environment, (117), 147-155

  14. Matsukawa R, Michikawa T, Ueda K, Nitta H, Kawasaki T, Tashiro H, Mohri M, Yamamoto Y. (2014) Desert dust is a risk factor for the incidence of acute myocardial infarction in Western Japan. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2014 Sep;7(5):743-8

  15. Michikawa T, Ueda K, Takeuchi A, Kinoshita M, Hayashi H, Ichinose T, Nitta H. (2015) Impact of short-term exposure to fine particulate matter on emergency ambulance dispatches in Japan. Journal of epidemiology and community health. (2015) Jan;69(1):86-91

  16. Michikawa T, Ueda K, Takeuchi A, Tamura K, Kinoshita M, Ichinose T, Nitta H. (2015) Coarse particulate matter and emergency ambulance dispatches in Fukuoka, Japan: a time-stratified case-crossover study. Environ Health Prev Med. 2015 Mar;20(2):130-6

  17. Morino Y., Nagashima T., Sugata S., Sato K., Tanabe K. Noguchi T., Takami A., Tanimoto H., Ohara T. (2015) Verification of chemical transport models for PM 2.5 chemical composition using simultaneous measurement data over Japan. Aeros. Air Qual. Res. 15, 2009-2023

  18. Morino Y., Ohara T., Xu J., Hasegawa S., Zhao B., Fushimi A., Tanabe K., Kondo M., Uchida M., Yamaji K., Yang L., Song S., Dong W., Wu Y., Wang S., Hao J. (2015) Diurnal variations of fossil and nonfossil carbonaceous aerosols in Beijing. Atmos. Environ. (in press)

  19. Morino Y., Tanabe K., Sato K., Ohara T. (2014) Secondary organic aerosol model intercomparison based on secondary organic aerosol to odd oxygen ratio in Tokyo. Journal of Geophysical Research, 119 (23), 13489-13505

  20. Nakamura T, Hashizume M, Ueda K, Kubo T, Shimizu A, Okamura T, Nishiwaki Y. (2015) The relationship between Asian dust events and out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Japan. J Epidemiol.
    2015;25(4):289-96

  21. Okadera T., Geng Y., Fujita T., Dong H., Liu Z., Yoshida N., Kanazawa T. (2015) Evaluating the water
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