Changes in chemical components of aerosol particles in different haze regions in China from 2006 to 2013 and contribution of meteorological factors

Abstract

Abstract. Since there have been individual reports of persistent haze-fog events in January 2013 in central-eastern China, questions on factors causing the drastic differences in changes in 2013 from changes in adjacent years have been raised. Changes in major chemical components of aerosol particles over the years also remain unclear. The extent of meteorological factors contributing to such changes is yet to be determined. The study intends to present the changes in daily based major water-soluble constituents, carbonaceous species, and mineral aerosol in PM 10 at 13 stations within different haze regions in China from 2006 to 2013, which are associated with specific meteorological conditions that are highly related to aerosol pollution (parameterized as an index called Parameter Linking Aerosol Pollution and Meteorological Elements -PLAM). No obvious changes were found in annual mean concentrations of these various chemical components and PM 10 in 2013, relative to 2012. By contrast, wintertime mass of these components was quite different. In Hua Bei Plain (HBP), sulfate, organic carbon (OC), nitrate, ammonium, element carbon (EC), and mineral dust concentrations in winter were approximately 43, 55, 28, 23, 21, and 130 µg m −3 , respectively; these masses were approximately 2 to 4 times higher than those in background mass, which also exhibited a decline during 2006 to 2010 and then a rise till 2013. The mass of these concentrations and PM 10 , except minerals, respectively, increased by approximately 28 to 117 % and 25 % in January 2013 compared with that in January 2012. Thus, persistent haze-fog events occurred in January 2013, and approximately 60 % of this increase in component concentrations from 2012 to 2013 can be attributed to severe meteorological conditions in the winter of 2013. In the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) area, winter masses of these components, unlike HBP, have not significantly increase since 2010; PLAM were also maintained at a similar level without significant changes. In the Pearl River Delta (PRD) area, the regional background concentrations of the major chemical components were similar to those in the YRD, accounting for approximately 60-80 % of those in HBP. Since 2010, a decline has been found for winter concentrations, which can be partially attributable to persistently improving meteorological conditions and emission cutting with an emphasis on coal combustion in this area.

The interdecadal worsening of weather conditions affecting aerosol pollution in the Beijing area in relation to climate warming

“…Particularly, in the last 8 years between 2010 and 2017, the mean of PLAM increased more than the growth rate of the mean of each of the previous 10 years, which exhibited more noticeable unfavorable weather conditions. When the PM 2.5 mass pollution accu-mulated to a certain extent, it caused the further deterioration of weather conditions, which has been found in almost all HPEs in the Beijing area since 2013 (Zhong et al, 2017(Zhong et al, , 2018Zhang et al, 2017). Therefore, we hypothesized that the substantial rise in mean PLAM between 2010 and 2017 should have benefited from the further worsening of meteorological conditions caused by higher PM 2.5 mass concentra-tions that reached a certain extent.…”

“…(2) for the PLAM Zhang et al, 2009). This index has been employed to evaluate the contribution of meteorological factors to changes in atmospheric composition and optical properties over Beijing during the 2008 Olympic Games, identify the contribution of specific meteorological factors to a 10-day haze-fog event in 2013 , estimate the relative contribution of meteorological factors to changes in aerosol mass concentrations and chemical compositions in different regions of China during winter from 2006 to 2013 and distinguish the feedback effect of meteorological conditions on the explosive increase in PM 2.5 mass concentration during accumulation stages in the Beijing area (Zhong et al, 2017;Zhang et al, 2017).…”

Response of winter fine particulate matter concentrations to emission and meteorology changes in North China

“…3.3, we also found that the effects of approximated changes in temperature between 1960 and 2010 on PM 2.5 concentration are dominant by changes in PBLH and wind fields. Previous studies have pointed out the occurrences of haze events are highly associated with atmospheric circulation anomalies (Chen and Wang, 2015;Zhang et al, 2016). Thus, changes in atmospheric circulations may be another important cause of growing haze pollution in addition to emission changes.…”

Key Role of Nitrate in Phase Transitions of Urban Particles: Implications of Important Reactive Surfaces for Secondary Aerosol Formation

“…The hygroscopicity of atmospheric particles can determine how particles change with varying relative humidity (RH). Thus, RH has a key impact on the physical properties of particles, including size, morphology, and wavelength‐dependent refractive indices (Freney et al, ; L. Zhang et al, ; Wise et al, ). In addition, water uptake of atmospheric aerosols influences their atmospheric lifetimes, reactivity, effects on air quality, and, ultimately, their effects on human health (Ervens, ; Hodas, Sullivan, et al, ; Liu et al, ).…”