Analysis of ambient air quality trends at residential air monitoring stations in Edmonton, AB

• Author / Creator

  Fairbank, Salina K

• Trends in ambient air quality concentrations were analyzed for three air pollutants (NO2, PM2.5, CO) in Edmonton, AB for the years 2003-2013. Hourly concentration data was obtained from three residential ambient air monitoring stations: Edmonton South, Woodcroft, and Gold Bar. Annual concentration-based benchmarks were determined between the 50th and 98th percentiles for the three pollutants over the study period. Trend analysis of the concentration percentile data, as well as population, traffic volume, and industrial emissions data for the study area, was completed using Mann-Kendall and Theil-Sen trend tests. An exploratory multiple linear regression analysis was completed to determine if population, traffic volume, and industrial NO2 emissions are predictors of 50th percentile NO2 concentrations at the Woodcroft station.
  Ambient NO2 concentrations showed a statistically significant (α=0.05) decreasing trend at all air monitoring stations over the study period. A statistically significant (α=0.05) increasing trend was detected for PM2.5 at the Edmonton South station, however it is attributed to changes in monitoring instrumentation over the study period. No statistically significant (α=0.05) trends were detected for PM2.5 at the Woodcroft monitoring station, or for CO at the Edmonton South station. Trend analysis of population and traffic volume detected statistically significant (α=0.05) increasing trends for the population and number of registered vehicles in the City of Edmonton over the study period. Analysis of industrial emissions data detected a statistically significant decreasing trend in reported NO2 emissions for the study period; no statistically significant trends were observed for reported PM2.5 and CO industrial emissions (α=0.05). The exploratory multiple linear regression analysis did not detect a relationship between population, traffic volume, industrial NO2 emissions, and 50th percentile NO2 concentrations at the Woodcroft station; the relatively small data set was deemed insufficient for this type of analysis.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • NO2
  • CO
  • Trend
  • PM2.5
  • Air quality
  • Ambient
  • Alberta

• Graduation date

  Fall 2015

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3R785X1S

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.