The Impact of Nonlocal Ammonia on Submicron Particulate Matter and Visibility Degradation in Urban Shanghai

Abstract

To study the role of submicron particulate matter on visibility degradation in Shanghai, mass concentrations of PM 1 , secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA) in PM 1 , and SIA precursor gasses were on-line monitored during a 4-week intensive campaign in December 2012. During the campaign, 8 haze periods were identified when on average PM 1 mass increased to 62.1 ± 25.6 g/m 3 compared to 30.7 ± 17.1 g/m 3 during clear weather periods. The sum of SIA in PM 1 increased in mass concentration during the haze from 14.9 ± 7.4 g/m 3 during clear periods to 29.7 ± 10.7 g/m 3 during the haze periods. Correlation coefficients (R 2 ) of the visibility as function of mass concentrations of SIA species in PM 1 show negative exponential relations implying the importance of the SIA species in visibility reduction. The important role of ammonia in SIA formation is recognized and demonstrated. Generally, ammonium neutralizes sulfate and nitrate and the molar equivalent ratio of ammonium versus the sum of sulfate and nitrate increases during the haze episodes. Air mass backward trajectories introducing the haze periods show the impact of nonlocal ammonia on visibility degradation in Shanghai.

Atmospheric ammonia and its impacts on regional air quality over the megacity of Shanghai, China

“…NH 3 concentrations at FDU showed higher concentrations under the influence of clusters 3, 4 and 6, indicating an impact of polluted air mass transport on ground NH 3 levels. For cluster 4, the air mass originated in the western inner continent and moved slowly, which is expected to bring ammonia rich air to the receptor site 44 , resulting in NH 3 levels of 8.1 ± 3.7 ppb. By contrast, the lowest averaged NH 3 concentrations were measured under cluster 5, with air masses arriving from the East China Sea area.…”

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Analysis of atmospheric ammonia concentration from four sites in Quebec City region over 2010–2013

“…It is known that the chemical reaction of NH 3 with nitrogen oxides (NO ) and sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) in the atmosphere results in ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulphate formation which causes visibility degradation. Due to these problems, the inventory of NH 3 emissions and concentration in air of urban areas is highly recommended (Jansen et al, 2014;Wang et al, 2015).…”