Characteristics of vertical ozone distribution in the lower troposphere in the Yangtze River Delta at Lin'an in the spring of 2001

We analyzed vertical distributions of ozone (O3) in the lower troposphere (< 5 km above ground) at Lin’an (119.75°E, 30.30°N), Zhejiang Province using electrochemical concen- tration cell (ECC) ozonesonde data obtained from February 21 to April 13, 2001. The results showed that the vertical O3 distributions are controlled by metrological conditions and the char- acteristics of O3 profiles are related to those of wet bulb potential temperature and wind field. O3 below 2 km showed that the strongest variability and enhanced O3 mixing ratios were associated with easterly winds that blow pollutants from the upwind source region of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region. Vertical O3 profiles below 5 km can be grouped into 5 categories: (1) peak mixing ratio type, (2) well-mixed type, (3) layered-structure type, (4) episodic pollution type and (5) alti- tudinal increasing type. Vertical distributions of O3 affected by regional transport of polluted air masses were investigated. Transport of polluted air from high latitudes of northern China, ac- companying subsiding motion of air and stagnant atmospheric conditions are important factors that lead to high mixing ratios of O3 at Lin’an. The stagnant atmospheric conditions associated with a continental high pressure system and pollution plume transported from the YRD and cen- tral-eastern China also lead to regional accumulation of O3 and high O3 mixing ratio at Lin’an. Long-range transport of O3 and pollutants from the Pearl River Delta in South China and in-situ O3 formation also resulted in elevated O3 mixing ratios at around 1 km altitudes and layered O3 distribution in the lower troposphere.