Analysis of Temporal Changes of Air Pollutants Concentrations in Kocaeli, Turkey

Abstract

Air is an essential requirement for living things to survive. Air pollution is defined as the foreign substances in the air reaching a quantity and density above normal. Regular monitoring and analysis of air pollution is an indispensable step for the measures and policies to be taken. In recent years, the use of open-source software in the evaluation and analysis of air quality data has increased. The R software-based Openair Package developed by the Environmental Research Group at King's College London. This package is used to analyze air quality data, identify potential pollutant sources, and identify correlations and statistical relationships between parameters. In this study, the hourly pollutant parameter (PM, SO2, and NOx) measured from two air quality stations between 2018 and 2022 in Kocaeli, were analyzed temporally and statistically with the Openair Package. The study found that the primary sources of pollutants are anthropogenic activities such as vehicle traffic, fossil fuels used for heating, and natural resources. As a result of the analysis, a decrease in PM concentrations and an increase in SO2 concentrations were observed during the study period. In addition, it was determined that traffic density has a linear relationship with the NOx parameter.

Keywords

• Air Pollution
• Time Series
• Theil-Sen Estimator
• R Project / Openair Package

Hava Kirletici Konsantrasyonlarının Zamansal Değişikliğinin Analizi; Kocaeli Örneği

Abstract

Hava, canlıların yaşamlarını sürdürebilmeleri için temel bir gereksinimdir. Hava kirliliği, havadaki yabancı maddelerin normalin üzerinde bir miktar ve yoğunluğa ulaşması olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Hava kirliliğinin düzenli olarak izlenmesi ve analiz edilmesi, alınacak önlemler ve politikalar için vazgeçilmez bir adımdır. Son yıllarda hava kalitesi verilerinin değerlendirilmesi ve analizinde açık kaynak kodlu yazılımların kullanımı artmıştır. King's College London'daki Çevre Araştırma Grubu tarafından R yazılımı tabanlı Openair Paketi geliştirilmiştir. Bu paket, hava kalitesi verilerini analiz etmek, potansiyel kirletici kaynaklarını belirlemek ve parametreler arasındaki korelasyonları ve istatistiksel ilişkileri tespit etmek için kullanılmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, Kocaeli'de 2018-2022 yılları arasında iki hava kalitesi istasyonundan ölçülen saatlik kirletici parametreler (PM, SO2 ve NOx) Openair Paketi ile zamansal ve istatistiksel olarak analiz edilmiştir. Çalışma, kirleticilerin birincil kaynaklarının araç trafiği, ısınma için kullanılan fosil yakıtlar ve doğal kaynaklar gibi antropojenik faaliyetler olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Analiz sonucunda, çalışma dönemi boyunca PM konsantrasyonlarında azalma, SO2 konsantrasyonlarında ise artış gözlemlenmiştir. Ayrıca trafik yoğunluğunun NOx parametresi ile doğrusal bir ilişki içinde olduğu tespit edilmiştir.

Keywords

• Hava Kirliliği
• Zaman Serisi
• Theil-Sen Kestirimi
• R Yazılımı / Openair Paketi

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