Source Contributions to PM2.5 under Unfavorable Weather Conditions in Guangzhou City,China

Historical haze episodes（2013–16） in Guangzhou were examined and classified according to synoptic weather systems.Four types of weather systems were found to be unfavorable, among which ＂foreside of a cold front＂（FC） and ＂sea high pressure＂（SP） were the most frequent（〉 75% of the total）. Targeted case studies were conducted based on an FC-affected event and an SP-affected event with the aim of understanding the characteristics of the contributions of source regions to fine particulate matter（PM（2.5）） in Guangzhou. Four kinds of contributions—namely, emissions outside Guangdong Province（super-region）, emissions from the Pearl River Delta region（PRD region）, emissions from Guangzhou–Foshan–Shenzhen（GFS region）, and emissions from Guangzhou（local）—were investigated using the Weather Research and Forecasting–Community Multiscale Air Quality model. The results showed that the source region contribution differed with different weather systems. SP was a stagnant weather condition, and the source region contribution ratio showed that the local region was a major contributor（37%）, while the PRD region, GFS region and the super-region only contributed 8%, 2.8% and 7%, respectively, to PM（2.5） concentrations. By contrast, FC favored regional transport. The super-region became noticeable,contributing 34.8%, while the local region decreased to 12%. A simple method was proposed to quantify the relative impact of meteorology and emissions. Meteorology had a 35% impact, compared with an impact of-18% for emissions, when comparing the FC-affected event with that of the SP. The results from this study can provide guidance to policymakers for the implementation of effective control strategies.

Background Characteristics of Atmospheric CO2 and the Potential Source Regions in the Pearl River Delta Region of China

Mole fractions of atmospheric CO2(XCO2)have been continuously measured from October 2014 to March 2016 at the Guangzhou Panyu Atmospheric Composition Site(23.00°N,113.21°E;140 m MSL)in the Pearl River Delta(PRD)region using a cavity ring-down spectrometer.Approximately 66.63%,19.28%,and 14.09%of the observed values were filtered as background,pollutant source,and sink due to biospheric uptake,respectively,by applying a robust local regression procedure.Their corresponding mean values were 424.12±10.12 ppm(×10-6 mol mol-1),447.83±13.63 ppm,and 408.83±7.75 ppm.The background XCO2 levels were highest in spring and winter,moderate in autumn,and lowest in summer.The diurnal XCO2 was at a minimum from 1400-1600 LST(Local Standard Time)and a maximum at 0500 LST the next day.The increase of XCO2 in spring and summer was mainly associated with polluted air masses from south coastal Vietnam,the South China Sea,and the southeast Pearl River Estuary.With the exception of summer,airflow primarily from marine regions southeast of Taiwan that passed over the Pearl River Estuary had a greater impact on XCO2,suggesting an important potential source region.

Aerosol Optical Properties and Radiative Impacts in the Pearl River Delta Region of China during the Dry Season

Aerosol optical properties and direct radiative effects on surface irradiance were examined using seven years （2006-2012） of Cimel sunphotometer data collected at Panyu--the main atmospheric composition monitoring station in the Pearl River Delta （PRD） region of China. During the dry season （October to February）, mean values of the aerosol optical depth （AOD） at 550 nm, the Angstrom exponent, and the single scattering albedo at 440 nm （SSA） were 0.54, 1.33 and 0.87, respectively. About 90% of aerosols were dominated by fine-mode strongly absorbing particles. The size distribution was bimodal, with fine-mode particles dominating. The fine mode showed a peak at a radius of 0.12 μm in February and October （- 0.10 μm3 μm-2）. The mean diurnal shortwave direct radiative forcing at the surface, inside the atmosphere （FATM）, and at the top of the atmosphere, was -33.4± 7.0, 26.1 ± 5.6 and -7.3 ±2.7 W m-2, respectively. The corresponding mean values of aerosol direct shortwave radiative forcing per AOD were -60.0 ±7.8, 47.3 ± 8.3 and -12.8 ±3.1 W m-2, respectively. Moreover, during the study period, FATM showed a significant decreasing trend （p 〈 0.01） and SSA increased from 0.87 in 2006 to 0.91 in 2012, suggesting a decreasing trend of absorbing particles being released into the atmosphere. Optical properties and radiative impacts of the absorbing particles can be used to improve the accuracy of inversion algorithms for satellite-based aerosol retrievals in the PRD region and to better constrain the climate effect of aerosols in climate models.

Comparative evaluation of the impact of GRAPES and MM5 meteorology on CMAQ prediction over Pearl River Delta, China

The community multiscale air quality (CMAQ) model was used to forecast air quality over the Pearl River Delta region from December 2013 to January 2014.The pollution forecasting performance of CMAQ coupled with two different meteorological models,i.e.,the global/regional assimilation and prediction system (GRAPES) and the fifth-generation mesoscale model (MM5),was assessed by comparison with observational data.The effects of meteorological factors and physicochemical processes on the forecast results were discussed through process analysis.The results showed that both models exhibited good performance but that of GRAPES-CMAQ was better.GRAPES was superior in predicting the overall variation tendencies of meteorological fields,but it showed large deviations in atmospheric pressure and wind speed.This contributed to the higher correlation coefficients of the pollutants with GRAPES-CMAQ but with greater deviations.The underestimations of nitrate and ammonium salt contributed to the underestimations of both particulate matter and extinction coefficients.Source emissions made the only positive contributions to surface layer SO2,CO,and NO.It was found that O3 originated primarily from horizontal and vertical transport and that its consumption was predominantly via chemical processes.Conversely,NO2 was found derived primarily from chemical production.

Vertical distribution characteristics of PM in the surface layer of Guangzhou

Measurements of particulate matter （PM）, i.e., PM10, PM2.5, and PM1, have been performed on the Can- ton Tower, a landmark building in Guangzhou, at heights of 121 and 454 m since November 2010, using a GRIMM 180 aerosol particle spectrometer （Germany）. Analyses of data from November 2010 to May 2013 showed that the annual average values of PM10, PM2.5, and PM 1 at the observation height of 121 m above the ground were 44.1, 38,2, and 34.9 μg/m3, respectively, and those at 454m above the ground were 35.7, 30,4, and 27.5 μg/m3, respectively. By considering the values of the secondary concentration limits given in the Ambient Air Quality Standards issued in 2012, it was observed that the annual average values of PM10 at the observation heights of 121 and 454 m, as well as those of PM2.5 at 454 m, reached those standards. Furthermore, the over-standard amplitude of the annual average value of PM2.5 at the observation height of 121 m was 9.1%. During the observation period, the maximum daily average val- ues of PM10, PM2.5, and PMI at the observation height of 121 m were 183.3, 144.8, and 123.8 μg/m3, respectively, and those at 454 m were 102.8, 92.7, and 86.4 μg/m3. The daily average values of PM10 at the observation height of 454 m were not above the standards. The over-standard frequencies of the daily average values of PM10 and PM2.5 at the observation height of 121 m were 0.6% and 10,7% respectively, and the over-standard amplitudes were 9.0% and 24.4%, respectively. The over-standard frequency of the daily average value of PM2.5 at the observation height of 454 m was 2.0%, and the over-standard amplitude was 10.4%. Accordingly, it can be stated that the air at the observation height 454 m above the ground did not reach the secondary limit of the new standards. The pollution was most serious during winter, and the air was relatively cleaner during summer, Overall, the vertical distributions of PM10, PM2.5, and PMI decreased with height. The lapse rates showed the following sequence： PMIO 〉 PM2.5 〉 PM1, which indicates that the vertical distribution of fine particles is more uniform than that of coarse particles; the vertical distribution in summer is more uniform than in other seasons.

Compositions and sources of organic acids in fine particles(PM_(2.5)) over the Pearl River Delta region, south China

Organic acids as important constituents of organic aerosols not only influence the aerosols＇ hygroscopic property, but also enhance the formation of new particles and secondary organic aerosols. This study reported organic acids including C14-C32 fatty acids, C4-C9 dicarboxylic acids and aromatic acids in PM2.5 collected during winter 2009 at six typical urban, suburban and rural sites in the Pearl River Delta region. Averaged concentrations of C14-C32 fatty acids, aromatic acids and C4- C9 dicarboxylic acids were 157, 72.5 and 50.7 ng/m3, respectively. They totally accounted for 1.7% of measured organic carbon. C20-C32 fatty acids mainly deriving from higher plant wax showed the highest concentration at the upwind rural site with more vegetation around, while Cl4-C18 fatty acids were more abundant at urban and suburban sites, and dicarboxylic acids and aromatic acids except 1,4-phthalic acid peaked at the downwind rural site. Succinic and azelaic acid were the most abundant among C4-C9 dicarboxylic acids, and 1,2-phthalic and 1,4-phthalic acid were dominant aromatic acids. Dicarboxylic acids and aromatic acids exhibited significant mutual correlations except for 1,4-phthalic acid, which was probably primarily emitted from combustion of solid wastes containing polyethylene terephthalate plastics. Spatial patterns and correlations with typical source tracers suggested that C14-C32 fatty acids were mainly primary while dicarboxylic and aromatic acids were largely secondary. Principal component analysis resolved six sources including biomass burning, natural higher plant wax, two mixed anthropogenic and two secondary sources; further multiple linear regression revealed their contributions to individual organic acids. It turned out that more than 70% of C14-C18 fatty acids were attributed to anthropogenic sources, about 50%-85% of the C20-C32 fatty acids were attributed to natural sources, 80%-95% of dicarboxylic acids and 1,2-phthalic acid were secondary in contrast with that 81% of 1,4-phthalic acid was primary.