美国国家航天局（NASA）航天任务研究埃塞俄比亚的空气污染

一个由美国国家航天局（NASA）资助的空气污染（air pollution）监测网络，为埃塞俄比亚首都亚的斯亚贝巴的黑碳（即由火灾、柴油车辆及其他燃烧源产生的烟尘）的作用提供了迄今为止最详细的长期观测视角之一。详细的测量数据展示了污染如何随一天中的时间和季节而变化，包括与高峰时段交通和节日庆典相关的污染增加。这些发现对于包括美国在内的世界各地城市都具有参考意义。

A NASA-funded air pollution monitoring network has provided one of the most detailed long-term views yet of the role of black carbon, or soot produced by fires, diesel vehicles, and other combustion sources, in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa. The detailed measurements show how pollution changes by time of day and season, including increases associated with rush-hour traffic and holiday celebrations. The findings are relevant to cities around the world, including in the United States.

在一篇发表于《环境科学与技术：空气》（ES&T: Air）的新论文中，科学家分析了2022年至2025年间在亚的斯亚贝巴收集的数据，这些数据来自NASA“多角度气溶胶成像仪”（MAIA）项目部署的10个空气质量监测站点。

In a new paper published in ES&T: Air, scientists analyzed data collected throughout Addis Ababa between 2022 and 2025 from 10 air-quality monitoring sites deployed by NASA’s Multi-Angle Imager for Aerosols (MAIA) project.

这项研究开展之际，埃塞俄比亚正采取措施改善空气质量。2024年，该国成为世界上第一个禁止进口内燃机汽车的国家，同时各城市也在增加自行车道和电动汽车基础设施。MAIA项目的测量结果为研究人员提供了一个基准，用以了解随着亚的斯亚贝巴的持续发展与演变，空气质量如何随时间推移而变化。

The research comes as Ethiopia is taking steps aimed at improving air quality. In 2024, the country became the first in the world to ban the import of internal combustion engine vehicles, while cities have been adding bike lanes and electric vehicle infrastructure. The MAIA project’s measurements provide researchers with a baseline for understanding how air quality changes over time as Addis Ababa continues to grow and evolve.

该研究聚焦于直径为2.5微米或以下的颗粒物，即PM2.5。论文中引用的《2025年全球空气状况报告》估计，全球每年约有490万人死亡与接触PM2.5有关。在多种PM2.5中，黑碳因其对人类健康的潜在影响而受到研究。

The study focuses on particulate matter that is 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, also known as PM2.5. The 2025 State of Global Air Report, cited in the paper, estimates that exposure to PM2.5 is associated with approximately 4.9 million deaths globally each year. Among the many kinds of PM2.5, black carbon has been has been studied for its potential effects on human health.

论文发现，亚的斯亚贝巴三年的平均PM2.5浓度为每立方米30微克，这是美国环境保护署（U.S. Environmental Protection Agency）基于健康的年度PM2.5标准的三倍多。新论文援引MAIA地面传感器的数据指出，亚的斯亚贝巴的平均黑碳水平比该任务正在监测的三个美国大都市区高出约四到九倍。

The paper found that Addis Ababa’s three-year average PM2.5 concentration was 30 micrograms per cubic meter, which is more than three times the level of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s health-based annual PM2.5 standard. The new paper cites data from MAIA’s ground sensors indicating that average black carbon levels in Addis Ababa were approximately four to nine times higher than those measured in the three U.S. metropolitan areas the mission is monitoring.

“据我们所知，这是埃塞俄比亚首次针对PM2.5和黑碳进行连续测量的长期、多站点研究，”论文合著者、NASA喷气推进实验室（Jet Propulsion Laboratory，JPL）MAIA副首席研究员Sina Hasheminassab表示，“许多快速发展的城市缺乏长期监测，因此这些测量结果为理解污染如何随空间和时间变化提供了重要的基准。”

“To our knowledge, this is the first long-term, multisite study of continuous PM2.5 and black carbon measurements in Ethiopia,” said Sina Hasheminassab, a coauthor of the paper and MAIA’s deputy principal investigator at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “Many rapidly growing cities have limited long-term monitoring, so these measurements provide an important baseline for understanding how pollution changes across space and time.”

PM2.5的成分和来源在不同城市之间可能存在显著差异，具体取决于当地的地理环境、交通、工业等因素。例如，沙漠城市可能含有更多的灰尘，而靠近燃煤电厂的城市可能含有更高浓度的硫酸盐。在世界许多地区，长期的地面测量仍然有限。

The composition and sources of PM2.5 can differ substantially between cities, depending on their local geography, traffic, industries, and more. Desert cities, for example, may have more dust, while those near coal-fired power plants may have higher concentrations of sulfate. Long-term surface measurements remain limited in many parts of the world.

NASA正在支持MAIA在全球十几个大都市区开展空气污染研究，其中包括美国的三个城市：洛杉矶、亚特兰大和波士顿。该航天任务（space mission）由已投入运行的地面传感器网络以及一个空间天文台（space observatory）组成，后者使用由JPL制造的相机，将由意大利航天局（ASI）在ASI卫星（satellite）上发射，发射时间不早于2027年晚些时候。

NASA is supporting MAIA’s air pollution research in a dozen metropolitan areas around the globe, including three in the U.S.: Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Boston. The mission consists of a ground-based network of sensors already in operation as well as a space observatory, which uses a JPL-built camera that will be launched by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) on an ASI satellite no earlier than late 2027.

该相机旨在根据PM2.5气溶胶反射光线的方式来识别不同类型，从而能够绘制出任务所研究的每个城市的颗粒物浓度图。相机安装在万向节上，利用JPL首创的技术从多个角度捕捉数据，使颗粒物在地面背景下更加突出，从而提供有关其形状和大小的宝贵信息。

The camera is designed to identify different types of PM2.5 aerosols based on how they reflect light, making it possible to map particle concentrations over each city that the mission studies. Mounted on a gimbal, the camera captures data from multiple angles using JPL-pioneered technologies that make particles stand out more prominently against the surface background to provide valuable information about their shape and size.

MAIA任务是NASA首个将公共卫生研究人员纳入航天任务团队的项目。这些研究人员将利用MAIA的PM2.5浓度图结合健康数据，研究不同颗粒物类型与健康结果之间的潜在关系。通过更好地了解颗粒物污染，研究人员有望推动空气质量研究和管理方式的进步。

The MAIA mission is the first NASA project to include public health researchers among a space mission’s team. These researchers will use MAIA’s PM2.5 concentration maps alongside health data to study potential relationships between different particle types and health outcomes. By developing a better understanding of particulate matter pollution, researchers can potentially advance how air quality is studied and managed.

“这篇论文展示了空气传感器数据本身的价值，但将传感器网络与卫星观测相结合将带来革命性的变化，”论文第一作者Kyan Shlipak说道，他在JPL实习期间参与了这项研究。

“This paper shows how valuable the air sensor data is on its own, but combining the sensor network and satellite observations will be a game-changer,” said, Kyan Shlipak, the paper’s lead author, who worked on the research while interning at JPL.

追踪黑碳

Tracking black carbon

亚的斯亚贝巴大都市区拥有近600万人口，根据联合国的预测，到2050年这一数字预计将超过1000万。

The greater Addis Ababa urban area is home to nearly 6 million people, and according to United Nations projections, that figure is expected to surpass 10 million by 2050.

“这是一个拥有许多国际社区的国际化大都市，”论文合著者、亚的斯亚贝巴大学的Araya Asfaw表示，他是MAIA项目的埃塞俄比亚首席合作者，“可以把它看作是非洲版的布鲁塞尔，欧盟的总部所在地。”

“It’s a cosmopolitan city with many international communities,” said Araya Asfaw of Addis Ababa University, a coauthor of the paper and the MAIA project’s lead Ethiopian collaborator. “Think of it as Africa’s version of Brussels, where the European Union is based.”

“即使在夜间交通减少时，你也能看到木炭和其他燃料燃烧产生的高排放，”Asfaw说。

“Even at night, when traffic dies down, you see high emissions from the burning of charcoal and other fuels,” Asfaw said.

MAIA传感器网络在亚的斯亚贝巴的两个主要节日期间检测到了黑碳的增加，这些节日涉及篝火活动，并且能够区分源自火灾的颗粒物和源自化石燃料燃烧的颗粒物。这些发现证明了详细的测量如何帮助研究人员识别颗粒物的不同来源，并更好地了解空气质量如何在城市范围内及随时间推移而变化。

The MAIA sensor network detected increases in black carbon during two major holidays in Addis Ababa that involve bonfires and was able to distinguish between particles originating from the fires and those from fossil fuel combustion. The findings demonstrate how detailed measurements can help researchers identify different sources of particulate matter and better understand how air quality varies across a city and over time.

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