Impact of coal-carrying trains on particulate matter concentrations in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada
department or school: Science, Faculty of
department or school: Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Department of
data provider: DSpace
degree campus: UBCV
creator: Akaoka, Kevin J.
issued: 2015-10-24T07:06:30
issued: 2015
related degree: Master of Science - MSc
degree grantor: University of British Columbia
description: The transport of coal by train through residential neighbourhoods in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada is a growing concern for many residents living near the railway. This study aimed to identify and quantify any potential particulate matter (PM) increase caused by the presence of rail traffic adjacent to John Oliver Park in Delta, BC. Field work was carried out during August and September 2014, using a GRIMM optical particle counter that measured PM concentration at various size ranges. A select number of passing trains were confirmed visually, while the majority of passages were identified with audio data recorded by a microphone. A horizontally operating mini-micropulse lidar system was also set up at the park on three individual days to make intensive backscatter measurements. Wind data were recorded by collocated instruments maintained by Metro Vancouver. Finally, the Corporation of Delta had a dustfall measurement campaign during the same time period. Trains carrying coal are associated with a 5.28, 4.11, and 2.55 µg/m³ average increase in concentration over a 15 minute period, compared to control conditions for PM₃, PM₁₀, and PM₂₀, respectively. These increases are all statistically significant at α=0.01. PM concentrations during train passages of all types were not found to be significantly different from PM concentrations during control conditions. The presence of coal dust particles at the site was confirmed by the dustfall measurements carried out by the Corporation of Delta. Lidar backscatter imagery provided individual snapshots of train passages. However, it is clear that not every train passage causes an increase in PM concentration, and the effect appears to be highly dependent on wind direction and local meteorology.
aggregated CHO: https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/55018
note: Impact of Coal-Carrying Trains on Particulate MatterConcentrations in the Lower Mainland region of BritishColumbia, CanadabyKevin J. AkaokaB.Sc. (Hons.), The University of Western Ontario, 2012a thesis submitted in partial fulfillmentof the requirements for the degree ofMaster of ScienceinThe Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies(Atmospheric Science)The University of British Columbia(Vancouver)October 2015© Kevin J. Akaoka, 2015AbstractThe transport of coal by train through residential neighbourhoods in Metro Vancou-ver, British Columbia, Canada is a growing concern for many residents living nearthe railway. This study aimed to identify and quantify any potential particulatematter (PM) increase caused by the presence of rail trac adjacent to John OliverPark in Delta, BC.Field work was carried out during August and September 2014, using a GRIMMoptical particle counter that measured PM concentration at various size ranges. Aselect number of passing trains were confirmed visually, while the majority of pas-sages were identified with audio data recorded by a microphone. A horizontallyoperating mini-micropulse lidar system was also set up at the park on three individ-ual days to make intensive backscatter measurements. Wind data were recorded bycollocated instruments maintained by Metro Vancouver. Finally, the Corporationof Delta had a dustfall measurement campaign during the same time period.Trains carrying coal are associated with a 5.28, 4.11, and 2.55 µg/m3 averageincrease in concentration over a 15 minute period, compared to control conditions forPM3, PM10, and PM20, respectively. These increases are all statistically significantat ↵ = 0.01. PM concentrations during train passages of all types were not foundto be significantly di↵erent from PM concentrations during control conditions. Thepresence of coal dust particles at the site was confirmed by the dustfall measurementscarried out by the Corporation of Delta.Lidar backscatter imagery provided individual sn…
has type: Thesis/Dissertation
date issued: 2015-11
is shown at: 10.14288/1.0166777
language: eng
degree discipline: Atmospheric Science
provider: Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
publisher: University of British Columbia
rights: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 Canada
rights URI: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/
scholar level: Graduate
type: Text
identifier URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/55018