Observations of Aerosol Optical Properties in the Beijing Urban Area in Summer

To investigate aerosol optical properties in the Beijing metropolitan area,aerosol absorption coefficient(Ab) ,scattering coefficient(Sc) ,and fine particulate matter(PM2.5) were measured in the Beijing urban area from 20 May to 30 August 2009.The average Ab,Sc,single scattering albedo(SSA) ,and PM2.5 concentration were 58.0±39.5 M m-1,343.5±353.7 M m-1,0.80±0.10 and 63.6±50.0-g m-3,respectively,during the observation period.Ab,Sc,and SSA all showed single peak diurnal variations,with their maximum values being measured at 0500,1000,and 1300 local time,respectively.Ab and Sc had a strong positive correlation with PM2.5,and Ab,Sc,and PM2.5 all had positive correlations with relative humidity and negative correlations with wind speed.

Long-term variations of major atmospheric compositions observed at the background stations in three key areas of China

Atmospheric compositions and acid rain are closely related to atmospheric environment,weather,and climate change.In this study,the concentration levels and long-term trends of CO_(2),CH_(4),O_(3),PM_(2.5),PM_(10),and acid rain were presented at the Mt.Waliguan global baseline station in Qinghai,Shangdianzi and Lin'an regional background stations in the North China Plain(NCP)and the Yangtze River Delta region(YRD)of China based on the data observed until 2018.Significant increasing trends of CO_(2) were found at all of these stations.At Mt.Waliguan,the concentration levels and growth rate were consistent with the average values in the Northern Hemisphere(NH)and those observed at the Mauna Loa station in Hawaii.The CH_(4) also showed a upward tendency similar to that observed in NH.Compared with the observations at Mt.Waliguan global baseline station,the CO_(2) and CH_(4) mole fractions were higher at Shangdianzi and Lin'an regional background stations,indicating the important contributions of anthropogenic activities to the regional background level of CO_(2) and CH_(4).The annual averaged surface ozone showed increasing trends at Mt.Waliguan and Shangdianzi stations,whereas no clear trend was found at Lin'an station.Similar variations in the patterns of aerosol concentrations at Shangdianzi and Lin'an were found according to the PM_(2.5) or PM_(10) observations.Overall,the aerosol concentrations at both stations shown declining trends since the observations.However,two periods of high particle concentrations occurred in 2006-2007 and 2013-2014.The annual mean aerosol concentrations have continuously decreased after 2013-2014,indicating the effectiveness of pollution control in the NCP and YRD,especially since the implementation of the‘Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Air Pollution’in September 2013.Comparative analysis of aerosol with acid rain showed that the period with high concentrations of aerosols in the early years was consistent with that of severe acid rain pollution,suggesting that both aerosol pollution and severe acid rain are closely related to coal combustion emissions in China.As a result of the control of coal combustion emissions for acid and SO_(2),NO_(x) emissions have contributed more substantially to aerosols due to the rapid growth of vehicle ownership.A comparison of the trends of aerosols with the maximum daily 8-h average of surface ozone(MDA8)at Shangdianzi and Lin'an stations revealed the complicated relationship between aerosol reduction and ozone production,i.e.,together with the continuous improvement of particulate pollution in the NCP and YRD,the MDA8 at both stations showed a decreasing trend at first but subsequently increased after 2014 with aerosols remaining reduced.Such different variation patterns of the MDA8 with PM_(2.5)(or PM_(10))indicated the high challenge of synergic control of aerosol and ozone pollution in China.