Simultaneous measurements of urban and rural particles in Beijing - Part 2: Case studies of haze events and regional transport

Yang Chen*, Guangming Shi, Jing Cai, Zongbo Shi, Zhichao Wang, Xiaojiang Yao, Mi Tian, Chao Peng, Yiqun Han, Tong Zhu, Yue Liu, Xi Yang, Mei Zheng, Fumo Yang, Qiang Zhang, Kebin He

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Two parallel field studies were conducted simultaneously at both urban and rural sites in Beijing from 1 to 29 November 2016. An online single-particle chemical composition analysis was used as a tracer system to investigate the impact of heating activities and the formation of haze events. Central heating elevated EC-Nit (elemental carbon-nitrate), EC-Nit-Sul (EC-nitrate-sulfate), and ECOCNit (ECOC: internal-mixed elemental carbon and organic carbon) levels by 1.5 2.0 times due to the increased use of coal in the urban areas. However, in the rural areas, residential heating, which mainly consumes low-quality coal, and biomass burning elevated ECOC-Nit-Sul, NaK-Nit, and OCSul levels by 1.2 1.5 times. Four severe haze events (hourly PM2:5 >200 gm3) occurred at both sites during the studies. In each event, a pattern of transport and accumulation was found. In the first stage of the pattern, particles were regionally transported from the south and southwest and accumulated under air stagnation, creating significant secondary formation, then PM2:5 was elevated to 300 gm3. At both sites, the severe haze occurred due to different patterns of local emission, transport, and secondary processes. At Pinggu (PG), the sulfate-rich residential coal burning particles were dominant. The regional transport between PG and Peking University (PKU) was simulated using theWeather Research and Forecasting HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (WRF-HYSPLIT) model, confirming that the transport from PG to PKU was significant, but PKU to PG occurred occasionally. These cases can explain the serious air pollution in the urban areas of Beijing and the interaction between urban and rural areas. This study can provide references for enhancing our understanding of haze formation in Beijing.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)9249-9263
Number of pages15
JournalAtmospheric Chemistry and Physics
Volume20
Issue number15
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 5 Aug 2020

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Acknowledgements. We are grateful for the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41703136 and 81571130100).

Funding Information:
Financial support. This research has been supported by the Na-

Funding Information:
tional Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 41703136 and 81571130100).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 International Union of Crystallography. All rights reserved.

Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Atmospheric Science

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