Abstract. Discerning mechanisms of sulfate formation during fine-particle pollution (referred to as haze hereafter) in Beijing is important for understanding the rapid evolution of haze and for developing cost-effective air pollution mitigation strategies. Here we present observations of the oxygen-17 excess of PM 2.5 sulfate ( 17 O(SO 2− 4 )) collected in Beijing haze from October 2014 to January 2015 to constrain possible sulfate formation pathways. Throughout the sampling campaign, the 12-hourly averaged PM 2.5 concentrations ranged from 16 to 323 µg m −3 with a mean of (141 ± 88 (1σ )) µg m −3 , with SO Our estimate suggested that in-cloud reactions dominated sulfate production on polluted days (PDs, PM 2.5 ≥ 75 µg m −3 ) of Case II in October 2014 due to the relatively high cloud liquid water content, with a fractional contribution of up to 68 %. During PDs of Cases I and III-V, heterogeneous sulfate production (P het ) was estimated to contribute 41-54 % to total sulfate formation with a mean of (48 ± 5) %. For the specific mechanisms of heterogeneous oxidation of SO 2 , chemical reaction kinetics calculations suggested S(IV) (= SO 2 q H 2 O + HSO − 3 + SO 2− 3 ) oxidation by H 2 O 2 in aerosol water accounted for 5-13 % of P het . The relative importance of heterogeneous sulfate production by other mechanisms was constrained by our observed 17 O(SO 2− 4 ). Heterogeneous sulfate production via S(IV) oxidation by O 3 was estimated to contribute 21-22 % of P het on average. Heterogeneous sulfate production pathways that result in zero-17 O(SO 2− 4 ), such as S(IV) oxidation by NO 2 in aerosol water and/or by O 2 via a radical chain mechanism, contributed the remaining 66-73 % of P het . The assumption about the thermodynamic state of aerosols (stable or metastable) was found to significantly influence the calculated aerosol pH (7.6 ± 0.1 or 4.7 ± 1.1, respectively), and thus influence the relative importance of heterogeneous sulfate production via S(IV) oxidation by NO 2 and by O 2 . Our local atmospheric conditions-based calculations suggest sulfate formation via NO 2 oxidation can be the dominant pathway in aerosols at high-pH conditions calculated assuming stable state while S(IV) oxidation by O 2 can be the dominant pathway providing that highly acidic aerosols (pH ≤ 3) exist. Our local atmospheric-conditions-based calculations illustrate the utility of 17 O(SO 2− 4 ) for quantifying sulfate forPublished by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. 5516 P. He et al.: Isotopic constraints on heterogeneous sulfate production in Beijing haze mation pathways, but this estimate may be further improved with future regional modeling work.

Abstract. The rapid mass increase of atmospheric nitrate is a critical driving force for the occurrence of fine-particle pollution (referred to as haze hereafter) in Beijing. However, the exact mechanisms for this rapid increase of nitrate mass have not been well constrained from field observations. Here we present the first observations of the oxygen-17 excess of atmospheric nitrate (Δ17O(NO3-)) collected in Beijing haze to reveal the relative importance of different nitrate formation pathways, and we also present the simultaneously observed δ15N(NO3-). During our sampling period, 12 h averaged mass concentrations of PM2.5 varied from 16 to 323 µg m−3 with a mean of (141±88(1SD)) µg m−3, with nitrate ranging from 0.3 to 106.7 µg m−3. The observed Δ17O(NO3-) ranged from 27.5 ‰ to 33.9 ‰ with a mean of (30.6±1.8) ‰, while δ15N(NO3-) ranged from −2.5 ‰ to 19.2 ‰ with a mean of (7.4±6.8) ‰. Δ17O(NO3-)-constrained calculations suggest nocturnal pathways (N2O5+H2O/Cl- and NO3+HC) dominated nitrate production during polluted days (PM2.5≥75 µg m−3), with a mean possible fraction of 56–97 %. Our results illustrate the potentiality of Δ17O in tracing nitrate formation pathways; future modeling work with the constraint of isotope data reported here may further improve our understanding of the nitrogen cycle during haze.

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<p><strong>Abstract.</strong> The rapid mass increase of atmospheric nitrate is a critical driving force for the occurrence of fine-particle pollution (referred to as haze hereafter) in Beijing. However, the exact mechanisms for this rapid increase of nitrate mass has been not well constrained from field observations. Here we present the first observations of the oxygen-17 excess of atmospheric nitrate (Δ<sup>17</sup>O(NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>)) collected in Beijing haze to reveal the relative importance of different nitrate formation pathways, and we also present the simultaneously observed δ<sup>15</sup>N(NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>). During our sampling period, 12 h-averaged mass concentrations of PM<sub>2.5</sub> varied from 16 to 323 μg m<sup>−3</sup> with a mean of (141 ± 88 (1σ)) μg m<sup>−3</sup>, with nitrate ranging from 0.3 to 106.7 μg m<sup>−3</sup>. The observed Δ<sup>17</sup>O(NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>) ranged from 27.5 ‰ to 33.9 ‰ with a mean of (30.6 ± 1.8) ‰ while δ<sup>15</sup>N(NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>) ranged from −2.5 ‰ to 19.2 ‰ with a mean of (7.4 ± 6.8) ‰. Δ<sup>17</sup>O(NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>)-constrained calculations suggest nocturnal pathways (N<sub>2</sub>O<sub>5</sub> + H<sub>2</sub>O/Cl<sup>−</sup> and NO<sub>3</sub> + HC) dominated nitrate production during polluted days (PM<sub>2.5</sub> ≥ 75 μg m<sup>−3</sup>) with the mean possible fraction of 56 − 97 %. For δ<sup>15</sup>N(NO<sub>3</sub><sup>−</sup>), we found that a combined effect of variability in NO<sub>X</sub> sources and isotopic exchange between NO and NO<sub>2</sub> is likely to be most responsible for its variations. Our results illustrate the potentiality of isotope in tracing NO<sub>X</sub> sources and nitrate formation pathways, future modelling work with the constraint of isotope data reported here may further improve our understanding of nitrogen cycle during haze.</p>

Abstract. Long-term continuous measurements of speciated atmospheric mercury were conducted from July 2013 to June 2014 in Hefei, a midlatitude inland city in eastern central China that experiences frequent haze pollution. The mean concentrations (±standard deviation) of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM) and particle-bound mercury (PBM) were 3.95 ± 1.93 ng m−3, 2.49 ± 2.41 and 23.3 ± 90.8 pg m−3, respectively, on non-haze days, and 4.74 ± 1.62 ng m−3, 4.32 ± 8.36 and 60.2 ± 131.4 pg m−3, respectively, on haze days. Potential source contribution function (PSCF) analysis suggested that atmospheric mercury pollution on haze days was caused primarily by local emissions, instead of via long-range transport. The poorer mixing conditions on haze days also favored the accumulation of atmospheric mercury. Compared to GEM and GOM, PBM was especially sensitive to haze pollution. The mean PBM concentration on haze days was 2.5 times that on non-haze days due to elevated concentrations of particulate matter. PBM also showed a clear seasonal trend; its concentration was the highest in fall and winter, decreased rapidly in spring and was the lowest in summer, following the same order in the frequency of haze days in different seasons. On both non-haze and haze days, GOM concentrations remained low at night, but increased rapidly just before sunrise, which could be due to diurnal variation in air exchange between the boundary layer and free troposphere. However, non-haze and haze days showed different trends in daytime GEM and GOM concentrations. On non-haze days, GEM and GOM declined synchronously through the afternoon, probably due to the retreat of the free tropospheric air as the height of the atmospheric boundary layer increases. In contrast, on haze days, GOM and GEM showed opposite trends with the highest GOM and lowest GEM observed in the afternoon, suggesting the occurrence of photochemical oxidation. This is supported by simple box-model calculations, which showed that oxidation of GEM to GOM does occur and that the transport of free tropospheric GOM alone is not large enough to account for the observed increase in daytime GOM. Our results further postulate that NO2 aggregation with the HgOH intermediate may be a potential mechanism for the enhanced production of GOM during daytime.