Mixing state of atmospheric particles over the North China Plain

Abstract In this unique processing study, the mixing state of ambient submicron aerosol particles in terms of hygroscopicity and volatility was investigated with a Hygroscopicity Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer and a Volatility Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer. The measurements were conducted at a regional atmospheric observational site in the North China Plain (NCP) from 8 July to 9 August, 2013. Multimodal patterns were observed in the probability density functions of the hygroscopicity parameter κ and the shrink factor, indicating that ambient particles are mostly an external mixture of particles with different hygroscopicity and volatility. Linear relationships were found between the number fraction of hydrophobic and non-volatile populations, reflecting the dominance of soot in hydrophobic and non-volatile particles. The number fraction of non-volatile particles is lower than that of hydrophobic particles in most cases, indicating that a certain fraction of hydrophobic particles is volatile. Distinct diurnal patterns were found for the number fraction of the hydrophobic and non-volatile particles, with a higher level at nighttime and a lower level during the daytime. The result of air mass classification shows that aerosol particles in air masses coming from north with high moving speed have a high number fraction of hydrophobic/non-volatile population, and are more externally mixed. Only minor differences can be found between the measured aerosol properties for the rest of the air masses. With abundant precursor in the NCP, no matter where the air mass originates, as far as it stays in the NCP for a certain time, aerosol particles may get aged and mixed with newly emitted particles in a short time.

[1]  M. Petters,et al.  Chemical aging and the hydrophobic‐to‐hydrophilic conversion of carbonaceous aerosol , 2006 .

[2]  Yan Yin,et al.  An observational study of the hygroscopic properties of aerosols over the Pearl River Delta region , 2013 .

[3]  A. Wiedensohler,et al.  An approximation of the bipolar charge distribution for particles in the submicron size range , 1988 .

[4]  M. Jacobson,et al.  Strong radiative heating due to the mixing state of black carbon in atmospheric aerosols , 2022 .

[5]  Chunsheng Zhao,et al.  Aerosol optical properties in the North China Plain during HaChi campaign: an in-situ optical closure study , 2011 .

[6]  R. C. Easter,et al.  Simulating the evolution of soot mixing state with a particle-resolved aerosol model , 2008, 0809.0875.

[7]  Y. Mu,et al.  Serious BTEX pollution in rural area of the North China Plain during winter season. , 2015, Journal of environmental sciences.

[8]  S. Loft,et al.  Aerosol exposure versus aerosol cooling of climate: what is the optimal emission reduction strategy for human health? , 2010 .

[9]  T. Petäjä,et al.  Radiative Absorption Enhancements Due to the Mixing State of Atmospheric Black Carbon , 2012, Science.

[10]  N. Takegawa,et al.  Dependence of CCN activity of less volatile particles on the amount of coating observed in Tokyo , 2007 .

[11]  P. Achtert,et al.  Mixing state of nonvolatile aerosol particle fractions and comparison with light absorption in the polluted Beijing region , 2009 .

[12]  U. Baltensperger,et al.  Hygroscopic properties of submicrometer atmospheric aerosol particles measured with H-TDMA instruments in various environments—a review , 2008 .

[13]  A. Stohl,et al.  Black carbon physical properties and mixing state in the European megacity Paris , 2012 .

[14]  R. C. Easter,et al.  Estimating Black Carbon Aging Time-Scales with a Particle-Resolved Aerosol Model , 2009, 0903.0029.

[15]  A. Peters,et al.  Daily measurement of organic compounds in ambient particulate matter in Augsburg, Germany: new aspects on aerosol sources and aerosol related health effects , 2009, Biomarkers : biochemical indicators of exposure, response, and susceptibility to chemicals.

[16]  G. Evans,et al.  Predicting hygroscopic growth using single particle chemical composition estimates , 2014 .

[17]  M. I. Litaor,et al.  コロラド州Niwot Ridgeにおける雪分布,土湿,高山草本植生の種多様性の地形コントロール , 2008 .

[18]  Andreas Petzold,et al.  Multi-angle absorption photometry—a new method for the measurement of aerosol light absorption and atmospheric black carbon , 2004 .

[19]  K. Johnson,et al.  Evaluation of Fetal and Maternal Genetic Variation in the Progesterone Receptor Gene for Contributions to Preterm Birth , 2007, Pediatric Research.

[20]  B. Wehner,et al.  Size segregated water uptake of the urban submicrometer aerosol in Beijing , 2009 .

[21]  Chunsheng Zhao,et al.  Mobility particle size spectrometers: harmonization of technical standards and data structure to facilitate high quality long-term observations of atmospheric particle number size distributions , 2010 .

[22]  Pawan K. Bhartia,et al.  Comparison of Ozone Monitoring Instrument UV Aerosol Products with Aqua/Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer observations in 2006 , 2008 .

[23]  G. Carmichael,et al.  Atmospheric black carbon and warming effects influenced by the source and absorption enhancement in central Europe , 2014 .

[24]  M. Ketzel,et al.  Atmospheric number size distributions of soot particles and estimation of emission factors , 2005 .

[25]  Y. Kondo,et al.  Dependence of size-resolved CCN spectra on the mixing state of nonvolatile cores observed in Tokyo , 2008 .

[26]  S. Tao,et al.  Emission characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from combustion of different residential coals in North China. , 2009, The Science of the total environment.

[27]  A. Frey,et al.  Application of the Volatility-TDMA Technique to Determine the Number Size Distribution and Mass Concentration of Less Volatile Particles , 2008 .

[28]  A. Zelenyuk,et al.  In situ characterization of cloud condensation nuclei, interstitial, and background particles using the single particle mass spectrometer, SPLAT II. , 2010, Analytical chemistry.

[29]  K. Prather,et al.  In-situ measurements of the mixing state and optical properties of soot with implications for radiative forcing estimates , 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[30]  Xiaoye Zhang,et al.  Chemical composition and mass size distribution of PM 1 at an elevated site in central east China , 2014 .

[31]  N. Takegawa,et al.  Rapid aerosol particle growth and increase of cloud condensation nucleus activity by secondary aerosol formation and condensation: A case study for regional air pollution in northeastern China , 2009 .

[32]  J. Mao,et al.  Relationships between submicrometer particulate air pollution and air mass history in Beijing, China, 2004-2006 , 2008 .

[33]  T. Tuch,et al.  Design and performance of an automatic regenerating adsorption aerosol dryer for continuous operation at monitoring sites , 2009 .

[34]  Martin Mohr,et al.  Separation of volatile and non-volatile aerosol fractions by thermodesorption: instrumental development and applications , 2001 .

[35]  Kihong Park,et al.  Volatility and mixing states of ultrafine particles from biomass burning. , 2012, Journal of hazardous materials.

[36]  Y. H. Zhang,et al.  Influence of soot mixing state on aerosol light absorption and single scattering albedo during air mass aging at a polluted regional site in northeastern China , 2009 .

[37]  A. Wiedensohler,et al.  Determination of Differential Mobility Analyzer Transfer Functions Using Identical Instruments in Series , 1997 .

[38]  H. Hansson,et al.  Organic atmospheric aerosols: Review and state of the science , 2000 .

[39]  J. Putaud,et al.  Recommendations for Aerosol Sampling , 2014 .

[40]  Y. H. Zhang,et al.  Size-resolved measurement of the mixing state of soot in the megacity Beijing, China: diurnal cycle, aging and parameterization , 2011 .

[41]  Yutaka Kondo,et al.  Aging of black carbon in outflow from anthropogenic sources using a mixing state resolved model: 2. Aerosol optical properties and cloud condensation nuclei activities , 2009 .

[42]  Chunsheng Zhao,et al.  Hygroscopic properties of aerosol particles at high relative humidity and their diurnal variations in the North China Plain , 2011 .

[43]  T. Bates,et al.  Hygroscopic properties of different aerosol types over the Atlantic and Indian Oceans , 2003 .

[44]  P. Mcmurry,et al.  Variability in morphology, hygroscopicity, and optical properties of soot aerosols during atmospheric processing , 2008, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[45]  J. Hudson,et al.  Intercomparison Study of the Size-Dependent Counting Efficiency of 26 Condensation Particle Counters , 1997 .

[46]  Chunsheng Zhao,et al.  Characteristics of pollutants and their correlation to meteorological conditions at a suburban site in the North China Plain , 2011 .

[47]  Liangfu Chen,et al.  Satellite observation of regional haze pollution over the North China Plain , 2012 .

[48]  M. Petters,et al.  A single parameter representation of hygroscopic growth and cloud condensation nucleus activity , 2006 .

[49]  Y. H. Zhang,et al.  Cloud condensation nuclei in polluted air and biomass burning smoke near the mega-city Guangzhou, China – Part 2: Size-resolved aerosol chemical composition, diurnal cycles, and externally mixed weakly CCN-active soot particles , 2010 .

[50]  A. Wiedensohler,et al.  Measurements of non-volatile fractions of pollution aerosols with an eight-tube volatility tandem differential mobility analyzer (VTDMA-8) , 2004 .

[51]  S. Leinert,et al.  Hygroscopic growth of sub-micrometer and one-micrometer aerosol particles measured during ACE-Asia , 2006 .

[52]  L. Poulain,et al.  Hygroscopic properties of the Paris urban aerosol in relation to its chemical composition , 2013 .

[53]  Direct radiative forcing and climate effects of anthropogenic aerosols with different mixing states over China , 2013 .

[54]  J. M. Mäkelä,et al.  On the formation, growth and composition of nucleation mode particles , 2001 .

[55]  David B. Kittelson,et al.  On-line measurements of diesel nanoparticle composition and volatility , 2003 .

[56]  Matthew West,et al.  Particle‐resolved simulation of aerosol size, composition, mixing state, and the associated optical and cloud condensation nuclei activation properties in an evolving urban plume , 2010 .

[57]  Fan Zhang,et al.  Radiocarbon-based impact assessment of open biomass burning on regional carbonaceous aerosols in North China. , 2015, The Science of the total environment.

[58]  Dingli Yue,et al.  Potential contribution of new particle formation to cloud condensation nuclei in Beijing , 2011 .

[59]  G. Mcfiggans,et al.  Inversion of tandem differential mobility analyser (TDMA) measurements , 2009 .

[60]  Xiaobin Xu,et al.  Characteristics of trace gaseous pollutants at a regional background station in Northern China , 2008 .

[61]  U. Lohmann,et al.  Subarctic atmospheric aerosol composition: 2. Hygroscopic growth properties , 2009 .

[62]  V. Ulevicius,et al.  Nocturnal aerosol particle formation in the North China Plain , 2015 .

[63]  L. Morawska,et al.  Hygroscopic behavior of partially volatilized coastal marine aerosols using the volatilization and humidification tandem differential mobility analyzer technique , 2005 .

[64]  Alexander Smirnov,et al.  Comparison of aerosol optical depths from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on Aura with results from airborne sunphotometry, other space and ground measurements during MILAGRO/INTEX-B , 2009 .

[65]  K. Prather,et al.  Assessment of the relative importance of atmospheric aging on CCN activity derived from field observations , 2007 .

[66]  M. Maricq,et al.  Signature size distributions for diesel and gasoline engine exhaust particulate matter , 2001 .

[67]  K. Carslaw,et al.  The mass and number size distributions of black carbon aerosol over Europe , 2013 .

[68]  Jiachen Zhang,et al.  Hygroscopicity of ambient submicron particles in urban Hangzhou, China , 2011 .

[69]  L. Poulain,et al.  Particle hygroscopicity during atmospheric new particle formation events: implications for the chemical species contributing to particle growth , 2012 .

[70]  Chunsheng Zhao,et al.  A new method to determine the mixing state of light absorbing carbonaceous using the measured aerosol optical properties and number size distributions , 2011 .

[71]  W. Nie,et al.  Impacts of firecracker burning on aerosol chemical characteristics and human health risk levels during the Chinese New Year Celebration in Jinan, China. , 2014, The Science of the total environment.

[72]  Fusuo Zhang,et al.  Atmospheric ammonia and particulate ammonium from agricultural sources in the North China Plain , 2011 .

[73]  M. Andreae,et al.  Size distribution and hygroscopic properties of aerosol particles from dry-season biomass burning in Amazonia , 2005 .

[74]  K. Lehtinen,et al.  Roadside aerosol study using hygroscopic, organic and volatility TDMAs: Characterization and mixing state , 2010 .