Estimating Particulate Matter Emission from Dust Sources Using ZY-3 Data and GIS Technology—A Case Study in Zhengzhou City, China

With the rapid development of the social economy in China, numerous Chinese cities are facing high levels of particulate matter (PM) pollution problems. In this study, high-resolution ZY-3 images and GIS techniques were used to establish the emission inventory of total suspended particle (TSP), particulate matter 10 (PM10) and particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) from fugitive dust sources in May 2016, and a spatial grid of 3 km × 3 km resolution was established to demonstrate the spatial distribution of PM emission. Results showed that the total emissions of TSP, PM10 and PM2.5 in Zhengzhou city were 237.5 kt·a−1, 103.7 kt·a−1 and 22.4 kt·a−1, respectively. Construction dust source was the main fugitive dust emission source in Zhengzhou city—the TSP, PM10 and PM2.5 emission of which account for 76.42%, 89.68% and 88.39%, respectively, of the total emission, followed by road dust source and soil dust source. PM emission was higher in Zhongyuan, Huiji, Jinshui and Zhengdong New District, while Zhongmou, Xingyang, Dengfeng and other remote areas had low PM emissions. Compared to other Chinese cities or regions, the PM emission from the construction dust source was at a high level in Zhengzhou city, while the PM emissions from the soil dust source and road dust source were at moderate levels