scholarly journals Aerosol transport pathways and source attribution in China during the COVID-19 outbreak

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lili Ren ◽  
Yang Yang ◽  
Hailong Wang ◽  
Pinya Wang ◽  
Lei Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
North China Plain ◽  
North China ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Aerosol Transport ◽  
Anthropogenic Aerosol ◽  
Transport Pathways ◽  
Local Emissions

Abstract. Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, human activities and industrial productions were strictly restricted during January–March 2020 in China. Despite the fact that anthropogenic aerosol emissions largely decreased, haze events still occurred. Characterization of aerosol transport pathways and attribution of aerosol sources from specific regions are beneficial to the air quality and pandemic control strategies. This study establishes source-receptor relationships in various regions of China during the COVID-19 outbreak based on the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 with Explicit Aerosol Source Tagging (CAM5-EAST). Our analysis shows that PM2.5 burden over the North China Plain between January 30 and February 19 is largely contributed by local emissions (40–66 %). For other regions in China, PM2.5 burden is largely contributed from non-local sources. During the polluted days of COVID-19 outbreak, local emissions within North China Plain and Eastern China, respectively, contribute 66 % and 87 % to the increase in surface PM2.5 concentrations. This is associated with the anomalous mid-tropospheric high pressure at the location of climatological East Asia trough and the consequently weakened winds in the lower troposphere, leading to the local aerosol accumulation. The emissions outside China, especially from South and Southeast Asia, contribute over 50 % to the increase in PM2.5 concentration in Southwestern China through transboundary transport during the polluted day. As the reduction in emissions in the near future, aerosols from long-range transport together with unfavorable meteorological conditions are increasingly important to regional air quality and need to be taken into account in clean air plans.

scholarly journals Aerosol transport pathways and source attribution in China during the COVID-19 outbreak

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (20) ◽  
pp. 15431-15445
Author(s):  
Lili Ren ◽  
Yang Yang ◽  
Hailong Wang ◽  
Pinya Wang ◽  
Lei Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
North China Plain ◽  
North China ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Aerosol Transport ◽  
Transport Pathways ◽  
The North ◽  
The North China Plain ◽  
Local Emissions

Abstract. Due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, human activities and industrial productions were strictly restricted during January–March 2020 in China. Despite the fact that anthropogenic aerosol emissions largely decreased, haze events still occurred. Characterization of aerosol transport pathways and attribution of aerosol sources from specific regions are beneficial to air quality and pandemic control strategies. This study establishes source–receptor relationships in various regions covering all of China during the COVID-19 outbreak based on the Community Atmosphere Model version 5 with Explicit Aerosol Source Tagging (CAM5-EAST). Our analysis shows that PM2.5 burden over the North China Plain between 30 January and 19 February is mostly contributed by local emissions (40 %–66 %). For other regions in China, PM2.5 burden is largely contributed from nonlocal sources. During the most polluted days of the COVID-19 outbreak, local emissions within the North China Plain and eastern China contributed 66 % and 87 % to the increase in surface PM2.5 concentrations, respectively. This is associated with the anomalous mid-tropospheric high pressure at the location of the climatological East Asia trough and the consequently weakened winds in the lower troposphere, leading to the local aerosol accumulation. The emissions outside China, especially those from South Asia and Southeast Asia, contribute over 50 % to the increase in PM2.5 concentration in southwestern China through transboundary transport during the most polluted day. As the reduction in emissions in the near future is desirable, aerosols from long-range transport and unfavorable meteorological conditions are increasingly important to regional air quality and need to be taken into account in clean-air plans.

scholarly journals Insights into particulate matter pollution in the North China Plain during wintertime: Local contribution or regional transport?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiarui Wu ◽  
Naifang Bei ◽  
Yuan Wang ◽  
Xia Li ◽  
Suixin Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Source Apportionment ◽  
North China Plain ◽  
North China ◽  
Regional Transport ◽  
The North ◽  
The North China Plain ◽  
Haze Event ◽  
Non Local ◽  
Local Emissions

Abstract. Accurate identification and quantitative source apportionment of fine particulate matters (PM2.5) provide an important prerequisite for design and implementation of emission control strategies to reduce PM pollution. Therefore, a source-oriented version of the WRF-Chem model is developed in the study to make source apportionment of PM2.5 in the North China Plain (NCP). A persistent and heavy haze event occurred in the NCP from 05 December 2015 to 04 January 2016 is simulated using the model as a case study to quantify PM2.5 contributions of local emissions and regional transport. Results show that local and non-local emissions contribute 36.3 % and 63.7 % of the PM2.5 mass in Beijing during the haze event on average. When Beijing's air quality is excellent or good in terms of hourly PM2.5 concentrations, local emissions dominate the PM2.5 mass with contributions exceeding 50 %. However, when the air quality is severely polluted, the PM2.5 contribution of non-local emissions is around 75 %. The non-local emissions also dominate the Tianjin's air quality, with average PM2.5 contributions exceeding 70 %. The PM2.5 level in Hebei and Shandong is generally controlled by local emissions, but in Henan, local and non-local emissions play an almost equivalent role in the PM2.5 level, except when the air quality is severely polluted, with non-local PM2.5 contributions of over 60 %. Additionally, the primary aerosol species are generally dominated by local emissions with the average contribution exceeding 50%. However, the source apportionment of secondary aerosols shows more evident regional characteristics. Therefore, except cooperation with neighboring provinces to carry out strict emission mitigation measures, reducing primary aerosols constitutes the priority to alleviate PM pollution in the NCP, especially in Beijing and Tianjin.

How aerosol transport from the North China plain contributes to air quality in northeast China

2020 ◽  
Vol 738 ◽  
pp. 139555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hujia Zhao ◽  
Huizheng Che ◽  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Ke Gui ◽  
Yanjun Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
Northeast China ◽  
North China Plain ◽  
North China ◽  
Aerosol Transport ◽  
The North ◽  
The North China Plain

scholarly journals Quantifying the emission changes and associated air quality impacts during the COVID-19 pandemic in North China Plain: a response modeling study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jia Xing ◽  
Siwei Li ◽  
Yueqi Jiang ◽  
Shuxiao Wang ◽  
Dian Ding ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
North China Plain ◽  
North China ◽  
Control Strategies ◽  
Time Estimation ◽  
Nox Emission ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Spring Festival ◽  
Emission Changes ◽  
Quality Response

Abstract. Quantification of emission changes is a prerequisite for the assessment of control effectiveness in improving air quality. However, the traditional bottom-up method for characterizing emissions requires detailed investigation of emissions data (e.g., activity and other emission parameters) that usually takes months to perform and limits timely assessments. Here we propose a novel method to address this issue by using a response model that provides real-time estimation of emission changes based on air quality observations in combination with emission-concentration response functions derived from chemical transport modeling. We applied the new method to quantify the emission changes in the North China Plain (NCP) due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, which overlapped the Spring Festival holiday. Results suggest that the anthropogenic emissions of NO2, SO2, VOC, and primary PM2.5 in NCP were reduced by 51 %, 28 %, 67 % and 63 %, respectively, due to the COVID-19 shutdown, indicating longer and stronger shutdown effects in 2020 compared to the previous Spring Festival holiday. The reductions of VOC and primary PM2.5 emissions are generally effective in reducing O3 and PM2.5 concentrations. However, such air quality improvements are largely offset by reductions in NOx emissions. NOx emission reductions lead to increases in O3 and PM2.5 concentrations in NCP due to the strongly VOC-limited conditions in winter. A strong NH3-rich condition is also suggested from the air quality response to the substantial NOx emission reduction. Well-designed control strategies are recommended based on the air quality response associated with the unexpected emission changes during the COVID-19 period. In addition, our results demonstrate that the new response-based inversion model can well capture emission changes based on variations in ambient concentrations, and thereby illustrate the great potential for improving the accuracy and efficiency of bottom-up emission inventory methods.

scholarly journals Profiling of Dust and Urban Haze Mass Concentrations during the 2019 National Day Parade in Beijing by Polarization Raman Lidar

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (16) ◽  
pp. 3326
Author(s):  
Zhuang Wang ◽  
Cheng Liu ◽  
Yunsheng Dong ◽  
Qihou Hu ◽  
Ting Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
North China Plain ◽  
North China ◽  
Raman Lidar ◽  
Relative Contribution ◽  
Lidar Ratio ◽  
Local Emissions ◽  
532 Nm ◽  
Mass Concentrations

The polarization–Raman Lidar combined sun photometer is a powerful method for separating dust and urban haze backscatter, extinction, and mass concentrations. The observation was performed in Beijing during the 2019 National Day parade, the particle depolarization ratio at 532 nm and Lidar ratio at 355 nm are 0.13 ± 0.05 and 52 ± 9 sr, respectively. It is the typical value of a mixture of dust and urban haze. Here we quantify the contributions of cross-regional transported natural dust and urban haze mass concentrations to Beijing’s air quality. There is a significant correlation between urban haze mass concentrations and surface PM2.5 (R = 0.74, p < 0.01). The contributions of local emissions to air pollution during the 2019 National Day parade were insignificant, mainly affected by regional transport, including urban haze in North China plain and Guanzhong Plain (Hebei, Tianjin, Shandong, and Shanxi), and dust aerosol in Mongolia regions and Xinjiang. Moreover, the trans-regional transmission of natural dust dominated the air pollution during the 2019 National Day parade, with a relative contribution to particulate matter mass concentrations exceeding 74% below 4 km. Our results highlight that controlling anthropogenic emissions over regional scales and focusing on the effects of natural dust is crucial and effective to improve Beijing’s air quality.

scholarly journals Insights into particulate matter pollution in the North China Plain during wintertime: local contribution or regional transport?

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 2229-2249
Author(s):  
Jiarui Wu ◽  
Naifang Bei ◽  
Yuan Wang ◽  
Xia Li ◽  
Suixin Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Source Apportionment ◽  
North China Plain ◽  
North China ◽  
Regional Transport ◽  
The North ◽  
The North China Plain ◽  
Haze Event ◽  
Local Emissions

Abstract. Accurate identification and quantitative source apportionment of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) provide an important prerequisite for design and implementation of emission control strategies to reduce PM pollution. Therefore, a source-oriented version of the WRF-Chem model is developed in the study to conduct source apportionment of PM2.5 in the North China Plain (NCP). A persistent and heavy haze event that occurred in the NCP from 5 December 2015 to 4 January 2016 is simulated using the model as a case study to quantify PM2.5 contributions of local emissions and regional transport. Results show that local and nonlocal emissions contribute 36.3 % and 63.7 % of the PM2.5 mass in Beijing during the haze event on average. When Beijing's air quality is excellent or good in terms of hourly PM2.5 concentrations, local emissions dominate the PM2.5 mass, with contributions exceeding 50 %. However, when the air quality is severely polluted, the PM2.5 contribution of nonlocal emissions is around 75 %. Nonlocal emissions also dominate Tianjin's air quality, with average PM2.5 contributions exceeding 65 %. The PM2.5 level in Hebei and Shandong is generally controlled by local emissions, but in Henan, local and nonlocal emissions play an almost equivalent role in the PM2.5 level, except when the air quality is severely polluted, with nonlocal PM2.5 contributions of over 60 %. Additionally, the primary aerosol species are generally dominated by local emissions, with the average contribution exceeding 50 %. However, the source apportionment of secondary aerosols shows more evident regional characteristics. Therefore, except for cooperation with neighboring provinces to carry out strict emission mitigation measures, reducing primary aerosols is a priority to alleviate PM pollution in the NCP, especially in Beijing and Tianjin.

scholarly journals A Study on Parameterization of the Beijing Winter Heavy Haze Events Associated with Height of Pollution Mixing Layer

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Niu ◽  
Jizhi Wang ◽  
Yuanqin Yang ◽  
Yaqiang Wang ◽  
Cheng Chen
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
North China Plain ◽  
North China ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Mixing Layer ◽  
Vertical Diffusion ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Heavy Pollution

North China Plain, Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei province are the major areas facing the decreasing air quality and frequent pollution events in the recent years. Identifying the effect of meteorological conditions on changes in aerosol concentration and the mechanism for forming such heavy pollution in North China Plain has become the focus of scientific research. The influence of atmospheric boundary layer characteristics on air quality has become the focus of attention and research. However, the boundary layer describes that the influences of air pollution have sometimes been duplicated and confused with each other in some of the studies. It is necessary to pay attention to some extent, raising awareness of related pollution mixing layer. The conclusions of the study include the following:(1)The lowered height of pollution mixing layer (H_PML) was favorable for the increase of the PM2.5density. The lowered height of pollution mixing layer had significant impacts on formation of severe haze.(2)A statistical analysis of large-scale heavy pollution cases in eastern China shows that the H_PML parameters have significant contributions.(3)The feedback effect of the high value of the convection inhibition (CIN), which is unfavorable to vertical diffusion of pollution, causes further reduction of H_PML, resulting in cumulative pollution again.

scholarly journals Source attribution of black carbon and its direct radiative forcing in China

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 4319-4336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Yang ◽  
Hailong Wang ◽  
Steven J. Smith ◽  
Po-Lun Ma ◽  
Philip J. Rasch
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
East Asia ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Radiative Forcing ◽  
North China ◽  
Eastern China ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Direct Radiative Forcing ◽  
Local Emissions

Abstract. The source attributions for mass concentration, haze formation, transport and direct radiative forcing of black carbon (BC) in various regions of China are quantified in this study using the Community Earth System Model (CESM) with a source-tagging technique. Anthropogenic emissions are from the Community Emissions Data System that is newly developed for the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6). Over north China where the air quality is often poor, about 90 % of near-surface BC concentration is contributed by local emissions. Overall, 35 % of BC concentration over south China in winter can be attributed to emissions from north China, and 19 % comes from sources outside China in spring. For other regions in China, BC is largely contributed from nonlocal sources. We further investigated potential factors that contribute to the poor air quality in China. During polluted days, a net inflow of BC transported from nonlocal source regions associated with anomalous winds plays an important role in increasing local BC concentrations. BC-containing particles emitted from East Asia can also be transported across the Pacific. Our model results show that emissions from inside and outside China are equally important for the BC outflow from East Asia, while emissions from China account for 8 % of BC concentration and 29 % in column burden in the western United States in spring. Radiative forcing estimates show that 65 % of the annual mean BC direct radiative forcing (2.2 W m−2) in China results from local emissions, and the remaining 35 % is contributed by emissions outside of China. Efficiency analysis shows that a reduction in BC emissions over eastern China could have a greater benefit for the regional air quality in China, especially in the winter haze season.

scholarly journals Size-resolved and bulk activation properties of aerosols in the North China Plain

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 3835-3846 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Z. Deng ◽  
C. S. Zhao ◽  
N. Ma ◽  
P. F. Liu ◽  
L. Ran ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
North China Plain ◽  
North China ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Number Concentration ◽  
Anthropogenic Aerosol ◽  
Number Size Distribution ◽  
The North ◽  
The North China Plain ◽  
Activation Ratio

Abstract. Size-resolved and bulk activation properties of aerosols were measured at a regional/suburban site in the North China Plain (NCP), which is occasionally heavily polluted by anthropogenic aerosol particles and gases. A Cloud Condensation Nuclei (CCN) closure study is conducted with bulk CCN number concentration (NCCN) and calculated CCN number concentration based on the aerosol number size distribution and size-resolved activation properties. The observed CCN number concentration (NCCN-obs) are higher than those observed in other locations than China, with average NCCN-obs of roughly 2000, 3000, 6000, 10 000 and 13 000 cm−3 at supersaturations of 0.056, 0.083, 0.17, 0.35 and 0.70%, respectively. An inferred critical dry diameter (Dm) is calculated based on the NCCN-obs and aerosol number size distribution assuming homogeneous chemical composition. The inferred cut-off diameters are in the ranges of 190–280, 160–260, 95–180, 65–120 and 50–100 nm at supersaturations of 0.056, 0.083, 0.17, 0.35 and 0.7%, with their mean values 230.1, 198.4, 128.4, 86.4 and 69.2 nm, respectively. Size-resolved activation measurements show that most of the 300 nm particles are activated at the investigated supersaturations, while almost no particles of 30 nm are activated even at the highest supersaturation of 0.72%. The activation ratio increases with increasing supersaturation and particle size. The slopes of the activation curves for ambient aerosols are not as steep as those observed in calibrations with ammonium sulfate suggesting that the observed aerosols is an external mixture of more hygroscopic and hydrophobic particles. The calculated CCN number concentrations (NCCN-calc) based on the size-resolved activation ratio and aerosol number size distribution correlate well with the NCCN-obs, and show an average overestimation of 19%. Sensitivity studies of the CCN closure show that the NCCN at each supersaturation is well predicted with the campaign average of size-resolved activation curves. These results indicate that the aerosol number size distribution is critical in the prediction of possible CCN. The CCN number concentration can be reliably estimated using time-averaged, size-resolved activation efficiencies without accounting for the temporal variations.

scholarly journals A new approach to estimate pollutant emissions based on trajectory modelling and its application in the North China Plain

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 31137-31158 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Y. Xu ◽  
C. S. Zhao ◽  
P. F. Liu ◽  
L. Ran ◽  
N. Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Quality ◽  
North China Plain ◽  
North China ◽  
Pollutant Emissions ◽  
New Approach ◽  
The North ◽  
The North China Plain ◽  
Source Contributions ◽  
Co Emission

Abstract. Emission information is crucial for air quality modelling and air quality management. In this study, a new approach based on the understanding of the relationship between emissions and measured pollutant concentrations has been proposed to estimate pollutant emissions and source contributions. The retrieval can be made with single point in-situ measurements combined with backward trajectory analyses. The method takes into consideration the effect of meteorology on pollutant transport when evaluating contributions and is independent of energy statistics, therefore can provide frequent updates on emission information. The spatial coverage can be further improved by using measurements from several sites and combining the derived emission fields. The method was applied to yield the source distributions of black carbon (BC) and CO in the North China Plain (NCP) using in-situ measurements from the HaChi (Haze in China) Campaign and to evaluate contributions from specific areas to local concentrations at the measurement site. Results show that this method can yield a reasonable emission field for the NCP and can directly quantify areal source contributions. Major BC and CO emission source regions are Beijing, the western part of Tianjin and Langfang, Hebei, with Tangshan being an additional important CO emission source area. The source contribution assessment suggests that, aside from local emissions in Wuqing, Tianjin and Hebei S, SW (d < 100 km) are the greatest contributors to measured local concentrations, while emissions from Beijing contribute little during summertime.

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