A second phase sampling design for monitoring the nitrogen dioxide in Greater Cairo and Delta, Egypt

Abstract

Air pollution is a serious environmental phenomenon that threatens the whole world. In order to be able to take the necessary regulations and policies to face air pollution, one must first depend on measurements and analysis that are correct and reliable. Reaching a well-designed network is the first step to gain access to these measurements and analysis. Throughout the current study, the network of monitoring stations measuring nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in Greater Cairo and Delta Regions in Egypt is improved. Two approaches are followed namely: approach (A) and approach (B). For approach (A), the simultaneous algorithm is applied for adding 11 extra stations to the existing network. Approach (B) consists of two steps: the first step includes choosing the least influential stations of the network, then reallocate them in the second step along with the extra 11 stations using the simultaneous approach. Simulated data are then used to assess the modified networks. The improved network using either approach (A) or approach (B) gives better results than the initial one. However, the network obtained using approach (B) can be considered quite better than that using approach (A).