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Abstract. From 2006 to 2007, the daily concentrations of major inorganic water-soluble constituents, mineral aerosol, organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in ambient PM 10 samples were investigated from 16 urban, rural and remote sites in various regions of China, and were compared with global aerosol measurements. A large difference between urban and rural chemical species was found, normally with 1.5 to 2.5 factors higher in urban than in rural sites. Optically-scattering aerosols, such as sulfate (∼16 %), OC (∼15 %), nitrate (∼7 %), ammonium (∼5 %) and mineral aerosol (∼35 %) in most circumstance, are majorities of the total aerosols, indicating a dominant scattering feature of aerosols in China. Of the total OC, ∼55 %-60 % can be attributed to the formation of the secondary organic carbon (SOC). The absorbing aerosol EC only accounts for ∼3.5 % of the total PM 10 . Seasonally, maximum concentrations of most aerosol species were found in winter while mineral aerosol peaks in spring. In addition to the regular seasonal maximum, secondary peaks were found for sulfate and ammonium in summer and for OC and EC

[1] The elemental (EC) and organic carbon (OC) fractions of ambient aerosols were determined by thermo-chemical analysis of 24-h samples collected during 2006 at 18 stations in China located at various rural, urban and remote locations. The annual mean concentration levels are found to be 0.35 ± 0.01 mg EC m À3 and 3.0 ± 0.21 mg OC m À3 for the remote background sites; 3.6 ± 0.93 mg EC m À3 and 16.1 ± 5.2 mg OC m À3 for the regional sites; and 11.2 ± 2.0 mg EC m À3 and 33.1 ± 9.6 mg OC m À3 for the urban sites, respectively. At rural sites representing regionally dispersed aerosols, levels are comparable to other locations in Asia. At all sites, both EC and OC show a consistent seasonal variation with a peak in winter, dropping in spring, reaching a minimum in summer and then increasing in autumn. The ratio of OC to EC is on the order of 3 for the urban locations, but can reach as high as 6 at the rural sites. This may partly be due to the open biomass burning in field of rural area, but may also indicate the presence of a regional background of secondary organic carbon (SOC) in China. These high ratios of OC/EC complicate the assessment of the climatic impacts of carbonaceous aerosols in China, as optical scattering from the high OC concentrations may lead to a cooling effect that counteracts the possible warming caused by EC optical absorption.

The spatial distribution of the aerosols over 86 Chinese cities was reconstructed from air pollution index (API) records for summer 2000 to winter 2006. PM₁₀ (particulate matter ≤10 μm) mass concentrations were calculated for days when PM₁₀ was the principal pollutant, these accounted for 91.6% of the total 150 428 recorded days. The 83 cities in mid-eastern China (100° E to 130° E) were separated into three latitudinal zones using natural landscape features as boundaries. Areas with high PM₁₀ level in northern China (127 to 192 μg m⁻³) included Urumchi, Lanzhou-Xining, Weinan-Xi'an, Taiyuan-Datong-Yangquan-Changzhi, Pingdingshan-Kaifeng, Beijing-Tianjin-Shijiazhuang, Jinan, and Shenyang-Anshan-Fushun; in the middle zone, high PM₁₀ (119–147 μg m⁻³) occurred at Chongqing-Chengdu-Luzhou, Changsha-Wuhan, and Nanjing-Hangzhou; in the southern zone, only four cities (Qujing, Guiyang, Guangzhou and Shaoguan) showed PM₁₀ concentration >80 μg m⁻³. The median PM₁₀ concentration decreased from 108 μg m⁻³ for the northern cities to 95 μg m⁻³ and 55 μg m⁻³ for the middle and southern zones, respectively. PM₁₀ concentration and the APIs both exhibited wintertime maxima, summertime minima, and the second highest values in spring. PM₁₀showed evidence for a decreasing trend for the northern cities while in the other zones urban PM₁₀ levels fluctuated, but showed no obvious change over time. The spatial distribution of PM₁₀ was compared with the emissions, and the relationship between the surface PM₁₀ concentration and the aerosol optical depth (AOD) was also discussed

Abstract. Concentrations of PM 10 , PM 2.5 and PM 1 were monitored at 24 CAWNET (China Atmosphere Watch Network) stations from 2006 to 2014. The highest particulate matter (PM) concentrations were observed at the stations of Xian, Zhengzhou and Gucheng, on the Guanzhong Plain and the Huabei Plain (HBP). The second highest PM concentrations were observed in northeast China, followed by southern China. According to the latest air quality standards of China, 14 stations reached the PM 10 standard, and only 7 stations, mainly rural and remote stations, reached the PM 2.5 standard. The ratios of PM 2.5 to PM 10 showed a clear increasing trend from northern to southern China, because of the substantial contribution of coarse mineral aerosol in northern China. The ratios of PM 1 to PM 2.5 were higher than 80 % at most stations. PM concentrations tended to be highest in winter and lowest in summer at most stations, and mineral dust influenced the results in spring. A decreasing interannual trend was observed on the HBP and in southern China for the period 2006 to 2014, but an increasing trend occurred at some stations in northeast China. Bimodal and unimodal diurnal variation patterns were identified at urban stations. Both emissions and meteorological variations dominate the long-term PM concentration trend, while meteorological factors play a leading role in the short term.