Surface and Column-Integrated Aerosol Properties of Heavy Haze Events in January 2013 over the North China Plain

ABSTRACTHeavy haze events were recorded over the North China Plain (NCP) during January 2013. The meteorological condition, in-situ measurement, and ground remote sensing of aerosol size distributions and aerosol optical properties were analyzed to study the meteorological effects on surface and column-integrated aerosol loading. Besides special terrain, analysis of meteorological parameters showed that such a long-standing pollution event was attributable to stagnant weather with high humidity, frequent inversion and low wind speed. The monthly average mass concentration of particulate matter smaller than 1.0 µm (PM1), 2.5 µm (PM2.5), and 10 µm (PM10) was 169, 190, and 233 µg/m3, respectively. High mass fraction of PM1 (73%) and PM2.5 (82%) in PM10 indicated the domination of fine mode particles. Increase of the fraction of PM1–2.5 during haze events was attributed to the increase of secondary aerosol under high humidity. Two polluted aerosol types (A1, A3) and one background aerosol (A2) were classified based on aerosol optical depth at 440 nm (AOD440) and column-integrated size distributions. The AOD440 of cloud/fog processed aerosol (1.43) was about two and seven times larger than that of A1 and A2, respectively. The single scattering albedo at 675 nm (SSA675) of A3 was ~0.93, which was larger than that of A1 (0.85) and A2 (0.80) due to hygroscopic growth under humid environment.

[1]  Jianping Guo,et al.  A study of the meteorological causes of a prolonged and severe haze episode in January 2013 over central-eastern China , 2014 .

[2]  Jin-Seok Han,et al.  Physical, Chemical and Optical Properties of Fine Aerosol as a Function of Relative Humidity at Gosan, Korea during ABC-EAREX 2005 , 2013, Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment.

[3]  Xiangao Xia,et al.  Climatological aspects of aerosol optical properties in North China Plain based on ground and satellite remote-sensing data , 2013 .

[4]  Yele Sun,et al.  Aerosol composition, sources and processes during wintertime in Beijing, China , 2013 .

[5]  Steven Platnick,et al.  Fog‐ and cloud‐induced aerosol modification observed by the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) , 2012 .

[6]  Yan Yin,et al.  East Asian Studies of Tropospheric Aerosols and their Impact on Regional Climate (EAST‐AIRC): An overview , 2011 .

[7]  W. Landman.  Climate change 2007: the physical science basis , 2010 .

[8]  H. Che,et al.  CHANGES OF ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OVER BEIJING—2008 Olympic Monitoring Campaign , 2009 .

[9]  J. Jimenez,et al.  Absorption Angstrom Exponent in AERONET and related data as an indicator of aerosol composition , 2009 .

[10]  R. Harrison,et al.  Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Real-time Secondary Aerosol Formation during a Fog Event in London , 2009 .

[11]  Tami C. Bond,et al.  Spectral absorption properties of atmospheric aerosols , 2007 .

[12]  Xiangao Xia,et al.  Aerosol optical properties and their radiative effects in northern China , 2007 .

[13]  P. J. Silva,et al.  Fine particle concentrations and composition during wintertime inversions in Logan, Utah, USA , 2007 .

[14]  Vincent R. Gray.  Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis Summary for Policymakers , 2007 .

[15]  Judith C. Chow,et al.  Review of Measurement Methods and Compositions for Ultrafine Particles , 2007 .

[16]  Yong-liang Ma,et al.  Concentration and chemical characteristics of PM2.5 in Beijing, China: 2001-2002. , 2006, The Science of the total environment.

[17]  Jiming Hao,et al.  Improving Urban Air Quality in China: Beijing Case Study , 2005, Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association.

[18]  Clemens Simmer,et al.  A network suitable microwave radiometer for operational monitoring of the cloudy atmosphere , 2005 .

[19]  Chen Hongbin,et al.  Aerosol properties and their spatial and temporal variations over North China in spring 2001 , 2005 .

[20]  Douglas R. Worsnop,et al.  Particle Morphology and Density Characterization by Combined Mobility and Aerodynamic Diameter Measurements. Part 1: Theory , 2004 .

[21]  K. Krishna Moorthy,et al.  A study of PM, PM10 and PM2.5 concentration at a tropical coastal station , 2002 .

[22]  Kebin He,et al.  The characteristics of PM2.5 in Beijing, China , 2001 .

[23]  T. Eck,et al.  An emerging ground-based aerosol climatology: Aerosol optical depth from AERONET , 2001 .

[24]  Alexander Smirnov,et al.  Cloud-Screening and Quality Control Algorithms for the AERONET Database , 2000 .

[25]  T. Eck,et al.  Accuracy assessments of aerosol optical properties retrieved from Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Sun and sky radiance measurements , 2000 .

[26]  Irina N. Sokolik,et al.  Incorporation of mineralogical composition into models of the radiative properties of mineral aerosol from UV to IR wavelengths , 1999 .

[27]  A. Cohen,et al.  Lung cancer and air pollution. , 1995, Environmental health perspectives.

[28]  Judith C. Chow,et al.  Evolution of PM2.5 Measurements and Standards in the U.S. and Future Perspectives for China , 2013 .

[29]  Yuesi Wang,et al.  Mechanism for the formation of the January 2013 heavy haze pollution episode over central and eastern China , 2013, Science China Earth Sciences.

[30]  C. Chan,et al.  Air pollution in mega cities in China , 2008 .

[31]  김종환,et al.  aerosol optical properties , 2008 .