MULTI-SCALE CHARACTERISTICS STUDY ON THE FREQUENCY OF FOGGY DAYS OCCURRING IN NANJING IN DECEMBER 2007

Based on the number of foggy days in Nanjing in December from 1980 to 2011, we analyzed the surface temperature and atmospheric circulation characteristics of foggy years and less-foggy years. Positive anomalies of the Arctic Oscillation(AO) were found to weaken the East Asian trough, which is not conducive to the southward migration of cold air. Simultaneously, this atmospheric condition favors stability as a result of a high-pressure anomaly from the middle Yangtze River Delta region. A portion of La Nia events increases the amount of water vapor in the South China Sea region, so this phenomenon could provide the water vapor condition required for foggy days in Nanjing.Based on the data in December 2007, which contained the greatest number of foggy days for the years studied, the source of fog vapor in Nanjing was primarily from southern China and southwest Taiwan Island based on a synoptic scale study. The water vapor in southern China and in the southwestern flow increased, and after a period of 2-3 days,the humidity in Nanjing increased. Simultaneously, the water vapor from the southwestern of Taiwan Island was directly transported to Nanjing by the southerly wind. Therefore, these two areas are the most important sources of water vapor that results in heavy fog in Nanjing. Using the bivariate Empirical Orthogonal Function(EOF) mode on the surface temperature and precipitable water vapor, the first mode was found to reflect the seasonal variation from early winter to late winter, which reduced the surface temperature on a large scale. The second mode was found to reflect a large-scale,northward, warm and humid airflow that was accompanied by the enhancement of the subtropical high, particularly between December 15-21, which is primarily responsible for the consecutive foggy days in Nanjing.

Impact of climate variation on fog in China

Using foggy days and mean temperature and relative humidity data of 602 stations from January to December in the period 1961-2003 in China, the relationship between variations of foggy days and temperature and its possible reason for the 43 years were analyzed by regression, correlation and contrastive analysis methods. The results show that the higher （lower） the mean temperature and the lower （higher） the relative humidity correspond to less （more） foggy days, the relationship is the best in the western, northern and eastern Sichuan, Yunnan-Guizhon Plateau, and southeast highland in China. This induces a decrease in relative humidity when the climate becomes warmer, and eventually brings about a decrease in foggy days in China.

Seasonal variations and size distributions of water-soluble ions in atmospheric aerosols in Beijing, 2012

The characteristics of water-soluble ions in airborne particulate matter in Beijing were investigated using ion chromatography. The results showed that the total concentrations of ions were 83.7 ± 48.9 μg/m3 in spring, 54.0 ± 17.0 μg/m3 in summer, 54.1 ± 42.9 μg/m3 in autumn, and 88.8 ± 47.7 μg/m3 in winter, respectively. Furthermore, out of all the ions, NO3-,SO42-and NH4＋accounted for 81.2% in spring, 78.5% in summer, 74.6% in autumn, and 76.3%in winter. Mg2＋and Ca2＋were mainly associated with coarse particles, with a peak that ranged from 5.8 to 9.0 μm. Na＋, NH4＋and Cl-had a multi-mode distribution with peaks that ranged from 0.43 to 1.1 μm and 4.7 to 9.0 μm. K＋, NO3-, and SO42-were mainly associated with fine particles, with a peak that ranged from 0.65 to 2.1 μm. The concentrations of Na＋, K＋,Mg2＋, Ca2＋, NH4＋, Cl-, NO3-and SO42-were 2.69, 2.32, 1.01, 4.84, 16.9, 11.8, 42.0, and 44.1 μg/m3 in particulate matter（PM） on foggy days, respectively, which were 1.4 to 7.3 times higher than those on clear days. The concentrations of these ions were 2.40, 1.66, 0.92, 4.95, 17.5,7.00, 32.6, and 34.7 μg/m3 in PM on hazy days, respectively, which were 1.2–5.7 times higher than those on clear days.