A Case Study of Typical Regional Pollution Transport in Fuzhou City

Based on data of PM2.5 hourly concentration and HYSPLIT model backward trajectory in coastal cities of Fujian Province during January 25 -26, 2014, a typical regional pollution process affecting Fujian from the north to the south and the east to the west on January 26 was investiga- ted. Taking Fuzhou as an example, based on weather situation on the ground and at high altitudes as well as corresponding meteorological data such as wind direction, wind velocity, and visibility, the changes of meteorological elements before, during and after the pollution were compared. Based on the V-3θ atmospheric vertical structure diagrams, the weather reasons for the generation, maintaining and dissipation of the pollution were discussed. The results indicated that the regional pollution was transported from the northeast to the southwest. The northeasterly air flow in front of the cold ridge strengthened and moved toward the east, so that the pollutant from the north affected Fujian form the north to the south and from the east to the west. As a result, there was a dramatic increase of pollutant concentration, rapid drop of visibility, and deterioration of air quality in the affected areas. The heavy pollution process featured high-speed transport and short-time generation. The air quality changed from good state to heavy pollution in just 3 -4 hours. The maximum of IAQIpM2.5 reached 280. The whole pollution process lasted for 14 hours. Solar radiation had been deeply affected by aerosol clouds, so that atmospheric stratification was extremely stable. Along with the eastward movement of cold high pressure into the sea, the dominant wind direction near the ground changed from the northeast to the east, so that the source of the pollutant was cut off , and air quality quickly turned well. The changes of atmospheric vertical structure indicated that the high inversion layer and clouds near 700 hPa kept lower air clean and blocked upper pollution transport. The later sudden increase of wind speed and strengthening of atmospheric mechanical turbu- lent destroyed inversion layer, so that the upper pollutants invaded air near the ground rapidly. During the period of high pollution, the isothermal layer （aerosol clouds） leaded to decrease of wind speed, and the atmosphere became more stable. The pollution ended until the wind field changed.

A Stackelberg game model with tax for regional air pollution control

The command-and-control regulation is likely inefficient and costly.This study investigates a regional pollution control scheme with tax(RPCST)under which the central government sets the tax rate under a given pollutant reduction quota and local governments determine their pollution removal rates based on the central government’s policy.First,a one-leader-multi-follower(OLMF)Stackelberg game model is formulated,in which the central government is the leader and the local governments are the followers.Then,a procedure based on bilevel programming and relaxation method is applied to solve the OLMF model.Finally,a case study analyzing the SO2 reduction of the Yangtze River Delta in China is conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the RPCST.The results show that RPCST works better than the current command-andcontrol scheme.Our analysis provides a guideline for governments to design optimal tax schemes to effectively solve the regional air pollution crisis.

A Numerical Study of Tropospheric Ozone in the Springtime in East Asia

The Models-3 Community Multi-scale Air Quality modeling system (CMAQ) coupled with the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) is applied to East Asia to study the transport and photochemical transformation of tropospheric ozone in March 1998. The calculated mixing ratios of ozone and carbon monoxide are compared with ground level observations at three remote sites in Japan and it is found that the model reproduces the observed features very well. Examination of several high episodes of ozone and carbon monoxide indicates that these elevated levels are found in association with continental outflow, demonstrating the critical role of the rapid transport of carbon monoxide and other ozone precursors from the continental boundary layer. In comparison with available ozonesonde data, it is found that the model-calculated ozone concentrations are generally in good agreement with the measurements, and the stratospheric contribution to surface ozone mixing ratios is quite limited.

Environmental options of local governments for regional air pollution joint control:application of evolutionary game theory

Apanage management is currently the main method used to control air pollution in China,but it has proved to be inefficient for controlling transboundary air pollution.As a result,China’s central government is demanding joint control of regional air pollution.From the perspective of cooperation benefits,we adopt the evolutionary game theory(EGT)to analyse evolutionary trends of regional authorities’behaviours and their stable strategy in the campaign for joint control of regional air pollution.A case study,the intergovernmental cooperation management for‘APEC Blue’,is taken to illustrate the intergovernmental game.The result shows that an evolutionarily stable strategy(ESS)of‘joint control’for local governments depends on individual region’s benefits and collaboration revenues.Local governments should be encouraged in collaborating with their neighbouring governments,because a certain amount of transaction costs will not undermine their cooperation.With regards to the case study,joint control through executive orders is unpractical in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region.‘APEC Blue’can only be temporary and the failure of such collaboration for long-term regional air pollution control is inevitable because of its high control costs,economic loss,transaction costs and low common profits.

Developing chemical signatures of particulate air pollution in the Pearl River Delta region, China

PM 2.5 samples were collected in a regional sampling network with three sites in Hong Kong and four sites in the adjacent inland Pearl River Delta （PRD） or Guangdong Province during four months/seasons from 2002–2003. Trans-boundary transport between Hong Kong and the inland PRD is inevitable under the influence of Asian monsoon. In summer, Hong Kong serves as the upwind site of the inland PRD while during other seasons it is under the influence of continental emissions. Previous studies have recognized the importance of using chemical signatures to differentiate local vs. regional contributions to air pollutants in Hong Kong such as the CO/NOx ratio, ratios of different VOC species. In this study, detailed chemical speciation by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was performed with PM 2.5 samples to identify new chemical signatures to distinguish aerosols in Hong Kong from those from the inland PRD. Since Hong Kong is not influenced by the continental emissions from the inland PRD during summer, comparison focused on chemical data obtained from this season for chemical signatures. The new ratios developed from the current study include LCPI/HCPI ratio of alkanes （0.39 ± 0.02 in Hong Kong vs. 0.78 ± 0.08 in the inland PRD）, pyrene to benzo[ghi]perylene ratio （0.97 ± 0.21 in Hong Kong compared to 0.20 ± 0.06 in the inland PRD）, and the ratio of 1,2-benzenedioic acid to 1,4-benzenedioic acid （1.8 ± 0.1 in Hong Kong vs. 0.6 ± 0.05 in the inland PRD）. Results from this study also revealed that Hong Kong was impacted by ship emissions as reflected by substantially high V/Ni ratio （9 ± 2） while this ratio was about 1–2 at all sites in the inland PRD, which is very close to typical ratios from residual oil combustion.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION WITH A COMPREHENSIVE CHEMICAL TRANSPORT MODEL OF NITRATE,SULFATE,AND AMMONIUM AEROSOL DISTRIBUTIONS OVER EAST ASIA

The transport and chemical production processes of nitrate, sulfate, and ammonium aerosols over East Asia were investigated by use of the Models-3 Community Multi-scale Air Quality （CMAQ） modeling system coupled with the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System （RAMS）. For the evaluation of the model＇s ability in depicting their 3-dimensional concentration distributions and temporal variations, modeled concentrations of nitrate, sulfate, and ammonium aerosols are compared with the observations obtained at a ground station in Japan in March 2001 and onboard of an aircraft DC-8 on 18 and 21 March 2001 during the Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific （TRACE-P） field campaign. Comparison shows that simulated values of nitrate, sulfate, and ammonium aerosols are generally in good agreement with their observed data, and the model captures most important observed features, and reproduces temporal and spatial variations of nitrate, sulfate, and ammonium aerosol concentrations reasonably well, e.g., the timing and locations of the concentration spikes of nitrate, sulfate, and ammonium aerosols are well reproduced, but large discrepancies between observed and simulated values are also clearly seen at some points and some times due to the coarse grid resolution and uncertainties of the emissions used in this study. This comparison results indicate that CMAQ is able to simulate the distributions of nitrate, sulfate, and ammonium aerosols and their related species in the troposphere over East Asia reasonably well.

Air quality management in China:Issues,challenges,and options

This article analyzed the control progress and current status of air quality,identified the major air pollution issues and challenges in future,proposed the long-term air pollution control targets,and suggested the options for better air quality in China.With the continuing growth of economy in the next 10–15 years,China will face a more severe situation of energy consumption,electricity generation and vehicle population leading to increase in multiple pollutant emissions.Controlling regional air pollution especially fine particles and ozone,as well as lowering carbon emissions from fossil fuel consumption will be a big challenge for the country.To protect public health and the eco-system,the ambient air quality in all Chinese cities shall attain the national ambient air quality standards （NAAQS） and ambient air quality guideline values set by the World Health Organization （WHO）.To achieve the air quality targets,the emissions of SO 2,NOx,PM 10,and volatile organic compounds （VOC） should decrease by 60%,40%,50%,and 40%,respectively,on the basis of that in 2005.A comprehensive control policy focusing on multiple pollutants and emission sources at both the local and regional levels was proposed to mitigate the regional air pollution issue in China.The options include development of clean energy resources,promotion of clean and efficient coal use,enhancement of vehicle pollution control,implementation of synchronous control of multiple pollutants including SO 2,NOx,VOC,and PM emissions,joint prevention and control of regional air pollution,and application of climate friendly air pollution control measures.