scholarly journals An agricultural biomass burning episode in eastern China: Transport, optical properties, and impacts on regional air quality

2017 ◽  
Vol 122 (4) ◽  
pp. 2304-2324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yonghua Wu ◽  
Yong Han ◽  
Apostolos Voulgarakis ◽  
Tijian Wang ◽  
Mengmeng Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Properties ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Agricultural Biomass ◽  
Regional Air Quality

scholarly journals Intra-regional transport of black carbon between the south edge of North China Plain and Central China during winter haze episodes

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huang Zheng ◽  
Shaofei Kong ◽  
Fangqi Wu ◽  
Yi Cheng ◽  
Zhenzhen Niu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Properties ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
North China Plain ◽  
North China ◽  
Fossil Fuel ◽  
Central China ◽  
Geographic Origins ◽  
Regional Air Quality ◽  
Pollution Episodes

Abstract. Black carbon (BC), from the incomplete combustion sources (mainly fossil fuel, biofuel and open biomass burning), is chemically inertness and optical absorbance in the atmosphere. It has significant impacts on global climate, regional air quality, and human health. During the transportation, its physical-chemical characteristics, optical properties and sources would change dramatically. To investigate the BC properties (i.e., mass concentration, sources and optical properties) during the intra-regional transport between the south edge of North China Plain (SE-NCP) and Central China (CC), simultaneous observations of BC at a megacity (Wuhan, WH) in CC, three borderline cities (Xiangyang, XY, Suixian, SX and Hong'an, HA, distributing from the west to east) between SE-NCP and CC and a city (Luohe, LH) in SE-NCP were conducted during the typical winter haze episodes. Using Aethalometer, the highest equivalent BC (eBC) mass concentrations and aerosol absorption coefficients (σabs) were found in the city (LH) at SE-NCP, followed by the borderline cities (XY, SX and HA) and megacity (WH). The levels, sources, optical properties (i.e., σabs and absorption Ångström exponent, AAE) and geographic origins of eBC were different between clean and pollution episodes. Compared to clean days, the higher eBC levels (increased by 26.4–163 %) and σabs (increased by 18.2–236 %) were found during pollution episodes due to more combustion of fossil fuel (contributing for 51.1–277 %), supported by the decreased AAE (by 7.40–12.7 %). Non-parametric wind regression (NWR) and concentration-weighted trajectory (CWT) results showed that the geographic origins of biomass burning (BCbb) and fossil fuel (BCff) combustion derived BC were different. Based on cluster analysis of trajectories, air parcels from south direction dominated for border sites during clean days, with contributions of 46.0–58.2 %, while trajectories from the northeast had higher contributions (37.5–51.2 %) during pollution episodes. At the SE-NCP site (LH), transboundary influences from south direction (CC) exhibited more frequent impact (with the air parcels from this direction contributed 47.8 % of all the parcels) on the ambient eBC levels during pollution episodes. At WH, eBC was mainly from the northeast transport route during the whole observation period. Two transportation cases showed that from upwind to downwind direction, the mass concentrations of eBC, BCbb and BCff all increased, while AAE decreased. This study highlighted that intra-regional prevention and control for dominated sources of specific sites should be considered to improve the regional air quality.

scholarly journals Importance of transboundary transport of biomass burning emissions to regional air quality in Southeast Asia during a high fire event

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 363-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Aouizerats ◽  
G. R. van der Werf ◽  
R. Balasubramanian ◽  
R. Betha
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Basis Set ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Test Model ◽  
Air Masses ◽  
Fire Emissions ◽  
Regional Air Quality

Abstract. Smoke from biomass and peat burning has a notable impact on ambient air quality and climate in the Southeast Asia (SEA) region. We modeled a large fire-induced haze episode in 2006 stemming mostly from Indonesia using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with chemistry (WRF-Chem). We focused on the evolution of the fire plume composition and its interaction with the urbanized area of the city state of Singapore, and on comparisons of modeled and measured aerosol and carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations. Two simulations were run with WRF-Chem using the complex volatility basis set (VBS) scheme to reproduce primary and secondary aerosol evolution and concentration. The first simulation referred to as WRF-FIRE included anthropogenic, biogenic and biomass burning emissions from the Global Fire Emissions Database (GFED3) while the second simulation referred to as WRF-NOFIRE was run without emissions from biomass burning. To test model performance, we used three independent data sets for comparison including airborne measurements of particulate matter (PM) with a diameter of 10 μm or less (PM10) in Singapore, CO measurements in Sumatra, and aerosol optical depth (AOD) column observations from four satellite-based sensors. We found reasonable agreement between the model runs and both ground-based measurements of CO and PM10. The comparison with AOD was less favorable and indicated the model underestimated AOD, although the degree of mismatch varied between different satellite data sets. During our study period, forest and peat fires in Sumatra were the main cause of enhanced aerosol concentrations from regional transport over Singapore. Analysis of the biomass burning plume showed high concentrations of primary organic aerosols (POA) with values up to 600 μg m−3 over the fire locations. The concentration of POA remained quite stable within the plume between the main burning region and Singapore while the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) concentration slightly increased. However, the absolute concentrations of SOA (up to 20 μg m−3) were much lower than those from POA, indicating a minor role of SOA in these biomass burning plumes. Our results show that about 21% of the total mass loading of ambient PM10 during the July–October study period in Singapore was due to biomass and peat burning in Sumatra, but this contribution increased during high burning periods. In total, our model results indicated that during 35 days aerosol concentrations in Singapore were above the threshold of 50 μg m−3 day−1 indicating poor air quality. During 17 days this was due to fires, based on the difference between the simulations with and without fires. Local pollution in combination with recirculation of air masses was probably the main cause of poor air quality during the other 18 days, although fires from Sumatra and probably also from Kalimantan (Indonesian part of the island of Borneo) added to the enhanced PM10 concentrations. The model versus measurement comparisons highlighted that for our study period and region the GFED3 biomass burning aerosol emissions were more in line with observations than found in other studies. This indicates that care should be taken when using AOD to constrain emissions or estimate ground-level air quality. This study also shows the need for relatively high resolution modeling to accurately reproduce the advection of air masses necessary to quantify the impacts and feedbacks on regional air quality.

scholarly journals Chemical and optical properties of carbonaceous aerosols in Nanjing, eastern China: regionally transported biomass burning contribution

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (17) ◽  
pp. 11213-11233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoyan Liu ◽  
Yan-Lin Zhang ◽  
Yiran Peng ◽  
Lulu Xu ◽  
Chunmao Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Optical Properties ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Solar Energy ◽  
Energy Absorption ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Water Soluble ◽  
Carbonaceous Aerosols ◽  
Southeastern China ◽  
Brown Carbon

Abstract. Biomass burning can significantly impact the chemical and optical properties of carbonaceous aerosols. Here, the biomass burning impacts were studied during wintertime in a megacity of Nanjing, eastern China. The high abundance of biomass burning tracers such as levoglucosan (lev), mannosan (man), galactosan (gal) and non-sea-salt potassium (nss-K+) was found during the studied period with the concentration ranges of 22.4–1476 ng m−3, 2.1–56.2 ng m−3, 1.4–32.2 ng m−3 and 0.2–3.8 µg m−3, respectively. The significant contribution of biomass burning to water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC; 22.3±9.9 %) and organic carbon (OC; 20.9±9.3 %) was observed in this study. Backward air mass origin analysis, potential emission sensitivity of elemental carbon (EC) and MODIS fire spot information indicated that the elevations of the carbonaceous aerosols were due to the transported biomass-burning aerosols from southeastern China. The characteristic mass ratio maps of lev∕man and lev∕nss-K+ suggested that the biomass fuels were mainly crop residuals. Furthermore, the strong correlation (p < 0.01) between biomass burning tracers (such as lev) and light absorption coefficient (babs) for water-soluble brown carbon (BrC) revealed that biomass burning emissions played a significant role in the light-absorption properties of carbonaceous aerosols. The solar energy absorption due to water-soluble brown carbon and EC was estimated by a calculation based on measured light-absorbing parameters and a simulation based on a radiative transfer model (RRTMG_SW). The solar energy absorption of water-soluble BrC in short wavelengths (300–400 nm) was 0.8±0.4 (0.2–2.3) W m−2 (figures in parentheses represent the variation range of each parameter) from the calculation and 1.2±0.5 (0.3–1.9) W m−2 from the RRTMG_SW model. The absorption capacity of water-soluble BrC accounted for about 20 %–30 % of the total absorption of EC aerosols. The solar energy absorption of water-soluble BrC due to biomass burning was estimated as 0.2±0.1 (0.0–0.9) W m−2, considering the biomass burning contribution to carbonaceous aerosols. Potential source contribution function model simulations showed that the solar energy absorption induced by water-soluble BrC and EC aerosols was mostly due to the regionally transported carbonaceous aerosols from source regions such as southeastern China. Our results illustrate the importance of the absorbing water-soluble brown carbon aerosols in trapping additional solar energy in the low-level atmosphere, heating the surface and inhibiting the energy from escaping the atmosphere.

Characterizing two distinct biomass burning regimes over Southeast Asia and their impacts on regional air quality

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Marvin ◽  
Paul Palmer ◽  
Fei Yao ◽  
Barry Latter ◽  
Richard Siddans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Atmospheric Chemistry ◽  
Agricultural Waste ◽  
Critical Evaluation ◽  
Dry Season ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Regional Air Quality

&lt;p&gt;Mainland and maritime Southeast Asia is home to more than 655 million people, representing nearly 10% of the global population. The dry season in this region is typically associated with intense biomass burning activity, which leads to a significant increase in surface air pollutants that are harmful to human health, including ozone (O&lt;sub&gt;3&lt;/sub&gt;) and fine (radii smaller than 2.5 microns) particulate matter (PM&lt;sub&gt;2.5&lt;/sub&gt;). Latitude-based differences in dry season timing and land use distinguish two regional biomass burning regimes: (1) agricultural waste burning on the peninsular mainland from February through April and (2) coastal peat burning across the equatorial islands in September and October. The type and amount of material burned determines the chemical composition of emissions and subsequently their impact on regional air quality. Understanding the individual and collective roles of these biomass burning regimes is a crucial step towards developing effective air quality mitigation strategies for Southeast Asia. Here, we use the nested GEOS-Chem atmospheric chemistry transport model (horizontal resolution of 0.25&amp;#176; x 0.3125&amp;#176;) to simulate fire-atmosphere interactions over Southeast Asia during March and September of 2014, when emissions peak from the two regional burning seasons. Based on our analysis of model output, we report how these two distinct biomass burning regimes impact the photochemical environment over Southeast Asia and what the resulting consequences are for surface air quality. We will also present a critical evaluation of our model using ground-based and satellite observations of atmospheric composition across the region.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Spatial oscillation of the particle pollution in eastern China during winter: Implications for regional air quality and climate

2016 ◽  
Vol 144 ◽  
pp. 100-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Minghui Tao ◽  
Liangfu Chen ◽  
Rong Li ◽  
Lili Wang ◽  
Jun Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Particle Pollution ◽  
Regional Air Quality ◽  
Spatial Oscillation

Speciation of “brown” carbon in cloud water impacted by agricultural biomass burning in eastern China

2013 ◽  
Vol 118 (13) ◽  
pp. 7389-7399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yury Desyaterik ◽  
Yele Sun ◽  
Xinhua Shen ◽  
Taehyoung Lee ◽  
Xinfeng Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Cloud Water ◽  
Brown Carbon ◽  
Agricultural Biomass

Biomass burning in Indo-China peninsula and its impacts on regional air quality and global climate change-a review

2017 ◽  
Vol 227 ◽  
pp. 414-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ishwar Chandra Yadav ◽  
Ningombam Linthoingambi Devi ◽  
Jun Li ◽  
Jabir Hussain Syed ◽  
Gan Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Regional Air Quality

scholarly journals Aerosol optical properties and direct radiative forcing based on measurements from the China Aerosol Remote Sensing Network (CARSNET) in eastern China

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 405-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huizheng Che ◽  
Bing Qi ◽  
Hujia Zhao ◽  
Xiangao Xia ◽  
Thomas F. Eck ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Optical Properties ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Size Distributions ◽  
Angstrom Exponent ◽  
Ångström Exponent ◽  
Fine Mode ◽  
Ångstrom Exponent

Abstract. Aerosol pollution in eastern China is an unfortunate consequence of the region's rapid economic and industrial growth. Here, sun photometer measurements from seven sites in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) from 2011 to 2015 were used to characterize the climatology of aerosol microphysical and optical properties, calculate direct aerosol radiative forcing (DARF) and classify the aerosols based on size and absorption. Bimodal size distributions were found throughout the year, but larger volumes and effective radii of fine-mode particles occurred in June and September due to hygroscopic growth and/or cloud processing. Increases in the fine-mode particles in June and September caused AOD440 nm > 1.00 at most sites, and annual mean AOD440 nm values of 0.71–0.76 were found at the urban sites and 0.68 at the rural site. Unlike northern China, the AOD440 nm was lower in July and August (∼ 0.40–0.60) than in January and February (0.71–0.89) due to particle dispersion associated with subtropical anticyclones in summer. Low volumes and large bandwidths of both fine-mode and coarse-mode aerosol size distributions occurred in July and August because of biomass burning. Single-scattering albedos at 440 nm (SSA440 nm) from 0.91 to 0.94 indicated particles with relatively strong to moderate absorption. Strongly absorbing particles from biomass burning with a significant SSA wavelength dependence were found in July and August at most sites, while coarse particles in March to May were mineral dust. Absorbing aerosols were distributed more or less homogeneously throughout the region with absorption aerosol optical depths at 440 nm ∼ 0.04–0.06, but inter-site differences in the absorption Angström exponent indicate a degree of spatial heterogeneity in particle composition. The annual mean DARF was −93 ± 44 to −79 ± 39 W m−2 at the Earth's surface and ∼ −40 W m−2 at the top of the atmosphere (for the solar zenith angle range of 50 to 80∘) under cloud-free conditions. The fine mode composed a major contribution of the absorbing particles in the classification scheme based on SSA, fine-mode fraction and extinction Angström exponent. This study contributes to our understanding of aerosols and regional climate/air quality, and the results will be useful for validating satellite retrievals and for improving climate models and remote sensing algorithms.

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