Estimation of biomass-burning emission in Chiang Mai based on fusing the fire radiative power retrievals from polar-orbiting and geostationary satellite | |
| Author | Kanlayanee Sriphontong |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.EV-23-07 |
| Subject(s) | Air pollution--Thailand--Chiang Mai Pollution prevention--Measurement Geostationary satellites Biomass--Combustion--Environmental aspects |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Environmental Engineering and Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Air pollution problem in developing countries has been increasing as an effect of economic growth and urbanization. The poor air quality in the northern region of Thailand is due to smoke and haze from the continuous burning of forest and farmland that occurs every year, rather than industrial and vehicle pollution. Chiang Mai is a city in the northern Thailand with high PM2.5 concentrations during the end of winter. In Chiang Mai, biomass burning is an important source of greenhouse gases and particulate matter in the atmosphere. To tackle this issue, Fire Radiative Power (FRP) retrievals from polar-orbiting and geostationary satellites can be used to estimate emissions more accurately. This study estimated hourly reliable biomass burning emissions in Chiang Mai in 2020. The FRP of three satellites, Himawari-8, MODIS, and VIIRS, creates the hourly emission from biomass burning. Himawari-8 has superior temporal resolution, while MODIS and VIIRS have a lower temporal resolution than Himawari-8, so fire radiative power from Himawari- 8 was fused with FRP from MODIS and VIIRS, which have a higher spatial resolution, in order to detect fire for every hour. Then, we combined satellite observations of active fires and land cover with respective emission factors and estimated fuel consumption to provide hourly, daily, and monthly biomass burning emissions with a resolution of 2 x 2 square kilometers. The hourly emission inventory of Chiang Mai Province in 2020 was estimated for 11 pollutants, including carbon dioxide (CO2), Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5), Particulate Matter 10 (PM10), Black Carbon (BC), Organic Carbon (OC), Nitrogen Oxide (NOx), Sulfur Oxide (SOx), Carbon Monoxide (CO), Non-methane volatile organic compound (NMVOC), Methane (CH4), and Nitrous oxide (N2O). Biomass burning emission in Chiang Mai in 2020 found that the peak hour for all pollutants was 8 a.m., with the lowest emissions occurring at 11 p.m. April, March, and February were the three months with the most emissions, while July was the month with the lowest emissions. Most emission came from forest area, followed by rice, shrubland, and sugar cane. In addition, the total number of FRP points does not indicate the level of pollution, as this investigation revealed that the month in which the high FRP points were discovered was not the month with the highest emissions. To validate the results of this study, FINN, the global existing emission inventory that is developed by burning points from satellites, was used for comparison with emission calculated in this study. Comparing this study's inventory to the FINN inventory revealed that this study estimated lower emission levels than the FINN inventory for all pollutants by a range of 12 to 65%. |
| Year | 2023 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Environmental Engineering and Management (EV) |
| Chairperson(s) | Ekbordin Winijkul, |
| Examination Committee(s) | Thammarat Koottatep;Virdis, Salvatore G.P. |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Her Majesty the Queen’s Scholarships (Thailand) |
| Degree | Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2023 |