Establishment of Ozone Monitoring Network and Research Collaboration in Malaysia

ESTABLISHMENT OF OZONE MONITORING NETWORK AND RESEARCH COLLABORATION IN MALAYSIA

10th Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland

28 – 30 March 2017

Status Report on the Ozone Monitoring Network and Research Collaboration in Malaysia

Submitted by Malaysia

The ozone monitoring activities in Malaysia has started since October 1992, after realizing the importance of developing countries in the tropics to play a more prominent role in the global initiative to achieve a better understanding of the significant atmospheric changes and their effects on the ecosystem and life on earth that links to the ozone depletion.

It started with the country’s involvement in the WMO GO3OS with the launching and establishment of Malaysian Meteorological Department (MetMalaysia) ozone monitoring programme that includes surface ozone, vertical ozone distribution as well as total column ozone monitoring. The ozone monitoring and analysis has been providing important information with regards to the trend of ozone composition in the atmosphere which is beneficial to the policy makers who are dealing with environmental issues.

The activities for the establishment of ozone monitoring network and research collaboration in Malaysia comprise the following components:

·  Enhancement of Monitoring System

·  Data Collection and Information Dissemination

·  Research Activities and Data Analysis

·  Capacity Building

·  Local and International Collaboration

·  Future Direction

(1)  Enhancement of Monitoring System

To strengthen the monitoring capability of ozone in Malaysia, several efforts has been undertaken in which MetMalaysia has established the ozone monitoring activities in the western and central part of Peninsular and also in the eastern part of Sabah. The locations of these sites are as shown below:

Figure 1: The Ozone Monitoring Programme in MetMalaysia

The locality of the monitoring sites represent the stations in the equatorial tropical region (Figure 1), where in general, the climate is influenced by drier period during the Southwest Monsoon (summer monsoon) and wetter period during Northeast Monsoon (winter Monsoon).

The surface ozone monitoring in Cameron Highlands GAW Regional station has started since 1997 using the Thermo Environmental Instrument Model 49C Ozone Analyzer, while in Danum Valley GAW Global Station, the monitoring using Thermo ScientificTM Model 49i Ozone Analyzer has been established since 2007. For this report, only the surface ozone analysis from Cameron Highlands is discussed.

The total amount of ozone in a vertical column from the surface to the edge of the atmosphere (total column) is observed using the Brewer Spectrophotometer MKII in Petaling Jaya GAW Regional Station since 1992. In addition, daily ultraviolet (UV) radiation is also measured using the same spectrophotometer as mentioned above.

Finally, the vertical ozone profile is recorded by releasing ECC type ozonesondes (Vaisala, Modem, Chang Feng and GRAW) twice a month in Petaling Jaya (1992 - 1997) and Sepang Meteorological Station (from 1998 onwards). For this report, only the vertical ozone profile from Sepang station is discussed.

Besides MetMalaysia, surface ozone monitoring network is also established under the Department of Environment Malaysia since 1995, focusing mainly in the residential urban areas. This monitoring is part of its Continuous Air Quality Monitoring (CAQM) network all over the country.

(2)  Data Collection and Information Dissemination

Malaysia has established a linkage through the Southern Hemisphere ADditional OZonesonde (SHADOZ) network and World Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation Data Centre (WOUDC) for disseminating, receiving and accessing ozone data from the global network. As part of the international obligation, the surface ozone, total column ozone (TCO) and vertical ozone profile data are submitted to the respective data centre on scheduled basis.

The TCO and UV radiation data are submitted once a month, while the surface ozone and vertical ozone profile are reported annually to WOUDC and SHADOZ network data centre respectively. Information of the current hourly solar UV index is posted on the MetMalaysia website and updated daily, whilst vertical ozone profile data is made available after every launch on SHADOZ website for scientific and research community.

By participating in this international network, MetMalaysia and other relevant research agencies in Malaysia will get access to these data centre for their research project and collaboration work concerning ozone matters.

(3)  Research Activities and Data Analysis

A study was conducted to investigate the surface ozone distribution from 1995-2015 in Cameron Highlands which represents the baseline reading in the central part of Peninsula Malaysia. In general, the analysis shows that while there are no significant changes of the surface ozone trend over the 20 year period, it is also observed that the highest surface ozone concentration occurred during strong El Niño events, while during weak El Niño, La Niña and neutral phases, the values fluctuate within the monthly average range (Figure 2). Studies were also conducted by a group of researchers from The National University of Malaysia which focused on the ozone distribution in the Klang Valley region (1997-2011). The result shows that many industrial areas in Klang Valley recorded high level of ozone concentration, exceeding the Malaysia Ambient Air Quality Standard of 100 ppbv (Latif et al., 2012).

A study on TCO data from 1995-May 2016 for Petaling Jaya was also conducted. The analysis shows that in general, the TCO fluctuated in irregular cycle except during strong El Niño (1997 and 2015) where the changing patterns corresponded to the strength of El Niño (Figure 3). The study also shows that over the 20 years period, the TCO trend is slightly decreasing over the area. The study also concludes that TCO values increased during dry period (Southwest Monsoon) and decreased during wet period (Northeast Monsoon), significantly. During both periods of inter-monsoon, the TCO values were consistent.

The analysis for the vertical ozone profile was conducted using 18 years of observation data (1998-2015). In total there were 396 profiles collected with the average of 22 launches per year and the analysis focused on the significant effect of El Niño and La Niña to the profile recorded. The results show that the maximum stratospheric ozone in Sepang is ranged between 8.5-9.0 ppmv at the altitude of between 29-31 km (Figure 4). It is also important to note that the ozone concentration at the stratospheric layer is not so much influenced by the El Niño/La Niña events.

Results from Observation and Analysis

Surface Ozone

Figure 2 The monthly average of surface ozone and Ocean Niño Index (ONI) in Cameron Highlands and Mauna Loa (1995-2015).

Total Column Ozone

Figure 3 The monthly average of TCO and ONI in Petaling Jaya (1995-2016).

Ozone Vertical Profile Measurement

Figure 4 Vertical ozone profiles during strong El Niño (Feb. 2015-June 2016), moderate La Niña (June 1998-Apr. 2001) and two neutral periods (Apr. 2001-May 2002 & Apr. 2012-Dec. 2014).

There were several studies done by the Malaysian group of researchers, among those are;

i.  Seasonal and Long Term Variation of Surface Ozone Concentration in Malaysia Borneo (Latif et al., 2012);

ii.  Variation of Surface Ozone Concentration Across the Klang Valley, Malaysia (Latif et al., 2016);

iii.  The ozone Monitoring activities and its trend analysis in Malaysia during El Nino and La Nina phenomena (Maznorizan et al., 2016);

iv.  The Influence of Meteorological Factors and Biomass Burning on Surface Ozone Concentrations at Tanah Rata, Malaysia (Toh et al., 2013).

(4)  Capacity Building

The enhancement of the ozone monitoring network and research activities in Malaysia also emphasize on the human resource development and capacity building. Three MetMalaysia officers are currently pursuing their doctoral degree in studies related to air quality modeling and climate research. Training activities in atmospheric chemistry including ozone is ongoing. Experts and scientists from international environmental agencies are invited to MetMalaysia to conduct training courses to MetMalaysia personnel. Besides that, some of MetMalaysia officers went for oversea technical training and workshop such as GAWTECH in Germany, WMO GAW Brewer Operator Course and Asia-Pacific GAW Workshop on Greenhouse Gases in Republic of Korea as well as participated in ozone related training courses and workshops within the country.

(5)  Local and International Collaborations

MetMalaysia has embarked in several collaboration and cooperation with national and international research institutes and universities such as the following:-

i.  Collaboration with National Institute of Environmental Studies, Japan to measure greenhouse gases and reactive gases using the flask sampling method;

ii.  Contribution of monitoring data to international data centres such as WDCGG for the GHGs, WOUDC for UV and ozone;

iii.  Participation in SHADOZ network since 1998 and contributing vertical ozone profiles data annually to the network. SHADOZ is submitting the data to WOUDC on behalf of MetMalaysia;

iv.  Collaboration with The National University of Malaysia in research activities for greenhouse gases, ozone and reactive gases;

v.  Collaboration with the University of Malaya to establish a Regional GAW station in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia as part of the ongoing and future atmospheric research activities.

(6)  Future Direction

With the establishment of the GAW Global station in Danum Valley, MetMalaysia will able to provide good infrastructure for research activities focusing on the environment, climate, atmospheric composition as well as ozone research. As such, MetMalaysia welcomes any institution to participate and collaborate together in extensive research works and subsequently produce research findings that will be beneficial to the country and the region.

MetMalaysia is also looking forward for future cooperation with other international research agencies especially in establishing partnership in areas such as data sharing, technical visit and subsequently establish a good partner in research project to investigate and understand the critical tropical processes and environmental issues that affect both countries as well as global atmosphere.

Since the government of Malaysia has acknowledged the importance of ozone monitoring activities, MetMalaysia is given enough allocation to acquire six units of total column ozone monitoring instrument this year. With the installation of Brewer Spectrophotometer MKIII by early next year (Figure 5), Malaysia will be able to monitor near real time total column ozone as well as other parameters such as total column SO2, UV radiation and AOD.

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