Comparison of temporal and Spatial Characteristics of Ozone Pollution at Ground Level in the Eastern China

Monitoring data from ozone（O3） automatic stations in three typical cities with different climatic areas in the southern and northern parts of eastern China are used to analyze temporal and spatial characteristics of ozone pollution at ground level. The results show that ozone pollution level has distinct regional differences and the concentration in the suburbs is higher than that in the urban areas. The seasonal variation of ozone concentration in different climatic areas is greatly affected by the variation of precipitation. Ozone concentration in Shenyang and Beijing , in the temperate zone, has one perennial peak concentration, occurring in early summer, May or June. Ozone concentration in Guangzhou, in sub-tropical zone, has two peak values year round. The highest values occur in October and the secondary high value in June. The ozone season in the south is longer than that in the north. The annual average daily peak value of ozone concentrations in different climates usually occur around 3 pm. The diurnal variation range of ozone concentration declines with the increase of latitude. Ozone concentration does not elevate with the increase of traffic flow. Ozone concentration in Guangzhou has a distinct reverse relation to CO and NOx. This complicated non-linearity indicates that the equilibrium of ozone photochemical reaction has regional differences. Exceeding the rate of Beijing＇s lh ozone concentration is higher than that of Guangzhou, whereas the average 8h ozone level is lower than that of Guangzhou, indicating that areas in low latitude are more easily affected by moderate ozone concentrations and longer exposure. Thus, China should work out standards for 8h ozone concentration.     

Long-Term Changes in the Fauna of Diurnal Lepidopterans (Lepidoptera,Diurna) in the Northern Taiga Subzone of the Western Russian Plain

In the diurnal lepidopteran fauna of the northern taiga subzone in the western Russian Plain, the species inhabiting primary biotopic complexes typical of this subzone currently account for slightly more than 60% of the total species richness and abundance. A large part of the fauna is represented by the species of more southern origin, whose expansion to the northern taiga was caused by anthropogenic transformation of landscapes between the 12th and 20th centuries and recent climate warming.     

A Preliminary Study of Geographic Influence on Arsenic Concentrations in Human Hair

Past mining activities in the county of Cornwall in the United Kingdom, has exposed the local environment to raised levels of As. Previous research has shown an increased concentration of As in crops grown in such areas and the subsequent take-up of As through the food chain may lead to an increased body burden in man. In an attempt to evaluate this, a pilot study was carried out using Particle Induced X-ray Emission to compare the hair As concentration of a group of Cornish residents to that of a control group consisting of residents in the counties of Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. The null hypothesis being that there is no significant difference between the hair As concentrations of the two groups.Each group comprised thirty six age and sex matched subjects. The mean hair As concentration for the Cornish group was 2.51 g g-1, which is significantly greater than that of 0.7 g g-1 found in the control group (p = 0.004). The World Health Organisation suggests a hair As value greater than 1 g g-1 as evidence of increased exposure to As and 5 g g-1 is quoted by the Canadian Government as evidence of significant ingestion of As. Twenty one Cornish subjects registered a value at or above 1 g As g-1 compared to nine in the control group (p = 0.0003). Five subjects in the Cornish group had values that exceed 5 g As g-1, compared to only two in the control group (p = 0.23). We use the results of this study as evidence to support our continued work in this area in order to evaluate possible health implications.     

北京市二次有机气溶胶生成潜势的日变化规律

二次有机气溶胶(secondary organic aerosol,SOA)是大气细粒子(PM_(2.5))的重要组成部分.研究实际大气SOA生成潜势的日变化规律对于认知SOA生成转化机制及其对大气细粒子污染的影响具有重要意义.首次使用氧化流动管反应器(oxidation flow reactor,OFR)研究了北京夏季城市大气SOA生成潜势的日变化规律,利用高浓度的羟基自由基(·OH)氧化进入反应器内的环境空气,直接测定SOA的生成潜势.结果表明,一天内,SOA生成潜势的小时均值在3.9~9.4μg·m~(-3)范围内变化,呈现夜间高白天低的趋势,在16:00左右达到最低.SOA生成潜势和甲苯等城市典型挥发性有机物(volatile organic compounds,VOCs)变化趋势一致,而和臭氧浓度反相关.实验结果表明,除了边界层高度变化影响污染物浓度进而影响SOA生成潜势以外,夏季白天强烈的光化学反应导致环境大气VOCs的消耗,对降低环境气体白天的SOA生成潜势值也有重要影响.同国外同类研究相比,北京环境大气由于具有更高的VOCs浓度,其SOA生成潜势要明显高于其他地区,可能对北京地区细颗粒物污染具有重要贡献.     

北京南郊区PM2.5中水溶性无机盐季节变化及来源分析

为研究北京偏南地区细颗粒物(PM_(2.5))中水溶性无机离子的变化特征,利用大气细颗粒物快速捕集系统及化学成分分析系统RCFP-IC,于2016年对北京南郊区大兴PM_(2.5)中9种水溶性无机离子(Cl~-、NO_2~-、NO_3~-、SO_4~(2-)、Na~+、NH_4~+、K~+、Mg~(2+)和Ca~(2+))展开为期1 a的连续在线观测.结果表明,观测期间,9种水溶性无机离子总质量浓度为38.6μg·m~(-3),并呈现冬春高,夏秋低的特征,浓度水平高低顺序为SO_4~(2-)NO_3~-NH_4~+Ca~(2+)NO_2~-Cl~-Na~+K~+Mg~(2+);在冬季,SO_4~(2-)、NO_3~-和NH_4~+浓度占比高达75.7%;春季次之,为72.8%;夏季最低,仅为60.2%.并且随着空气污染的加剧,SO_4~(2-)、NO_3~-和NH_4~+浓度显著增加,这表明SO_4~(2-)、NO_3~-和NH_4~+与空气质量的恶化密切相关,但相比NO_3~-和NH_4~+,SO_4~(2-)在二次离子形成过程中占据主导地位;SO_4~(2-)、NO_3~-和NH_4~+存在显著的日变化特征,SO_4~(2-)统计日变化为双峰型,峰值分别出现在10:00和18:00左右,而NO_3~-和NH_4~+呈单峰型,峰值出现在10:00左右.基于后向轨迹聚类分析结果发现,对南郊区污染有影响的气团主要有3类,分别来自东南方向、西部和来自蒙古高原的高空气团,东南方向气流会加重南郊区水溶性盐的累积,而偏北气流有利于污染物扩散和稀释;基于主成分分析发现,北京南郊区水溶性盐的污染来源分别为二次源、燃煤源和土壤风沙尘及建筑扬尘的混合源.利用潜在源贡献因子分析法对南郊区冬季水溶性盐的潜在污染源区进行分析发现,影响大兴水溶性盐浓度潜在源区主要分布在南郊区的东南部.     

青藏高原背景站大气VOCs浓度变化特征及来源分析

采用大气预浓缩与气象色谱/质谱联用法,对2013-09-13到2013-10-14期间在国家大气背景站青海门源站所采集的大气样品进行分析.结果显示,本次研究共检测出38种挥发性有机物(VOCs),其中烷烃16种,烯烃11种,芳香烃9种,卤代烃2种.从组成成分来看,烷烃所占比例最大,达58.6%,烯烃和芳香烃分别占29%和10.5%,卤代烃所占比例最小,仅为1.7%.观测期间大多数VOCs物种呈现白天浓度低、夜晚浓度高的变化趋势,具有明显的高原站点特性,但异戊烷、异戊二烯、甲苯则呈现相反趋势.采用臭氧生成潜势(OFP)对VOCs各组分活性进行分析,各类VOCs中烯烃对OFP贡献最大.利用主成分分析VOCs物种,提取出4个因子,分别归类于燃烧源、天然气和液化石油气的泄露、工业源、生物源.结合HYSPLIT 4.0后向轨迹模型,进一步确定气团的来源与运输途径,发现来自南向的污染源贡献是门源地区VOCs物种浓度增加的主要原因.     

北京大气中CFC-11的浓度观测与变化趋势

近几年大气中CFC的浓度在人类活动的影响下发生了迅速变化,考虑到CFC浓度变化对平流层臭氧和全球变暖的影响,采用两步深冷冻浓缩自动进样系统,配以气相色谱/质谱联机对北京大气中的CFC-11进行了连续观测.结果表明,1999～2003年CFC-11的浓度季节变化均呈单峰形态,峰值出现在7～8月,月平均浓度最高值为1149.5±531.9×10^-12(体积分数);谷值出现在春季的3～5月份,月平均浓度最低值为487.5±131.5×10^-12(体积分数);北京大气中CF-11年平均浓度在观测时间段内呈先上升后下降的趋势,其中1995～1998年增长较快,平均增长率为17.9%,1999年后呈缓慢下降趋势,平均下降率为10.7%,平均浓度是Mauna Loa全球基准观测站观测到大气本底CFC-11浓度的3～5倍.     

RELATIONSHIP OF NITRATE CONCENTRATIONS TO DISTANCE OF WELL SCREEN OPENINGS BELOW CASING WATER LEVELS1

ABSTRACT: Data from 54 well in central and eastern Kansas developed in unconsolidated deposits of Quaternary age indicate that nitrate concentrations are inversely related to the depth of the well screen opening below the water level in the well casing because this relationship was found to exist in an area of Nebraska and in a large area of Kansas, the relationship is generally valid over a wide geo- graphical area. In addition, the data indicate that the incidence of nitrate concentrations exceeding 45 milligrams per liter and nitrate concentrations, in general, are significantly lower in water from wells with screens deeper than 25 feet below the water table in unconfined aquifers or where screens are placed in deep confined aquifers. No concentrations of nitrate greater than 45 milligrams per liter were in obseved wells where screens were deeper than 60 feet below the casing water level. These findings suggest that general placement of well screens as far below the water table as possible in unconfined unconsolidated aquifers in Kansas. and possibly other areas of the Midwest, may be an effective measure in preventing undesirable nitrate concentrations in ground water supplies. particularly in areas where nitrate is a problem.     

Trace Element Contaminants in Sediments From the Noaa National Status and Trends Programme Compared to Data From Throughout the World

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Status and Trends (NS&T) Programme has analyzed samples of surface sediment collected at almost 300 coastal and estuarine sites throughout the United States since 1984. the overall distributions for concentrations of each element are approximately lognormal allowing a definition of geometric means and of “high” concentrations as those exceeding the mean plus one standard deviation of the lognormal distribution. Those mean and “high” concentrations should be useful for comparing the NS&T data set and with other reports on sediment contamination. A world-wide data set, constructed from data in the literature, was summarized in an identical manner. It was found, after excluding locally extreme values, that the NS&T and world-wide data sets yielded very similar mean and “high” concentrations for Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn. Chromium was the sole element showing higher summary statistics in the NS&T data set, a result attributed to NS&T sampling in areas of naturally (not contaminated) elevated Cr content. It remains undetermined, however, why the world-wide data set, even with exclusion of “hot spots”, yielded higher means and “highs” for Cd, Hg, As, and Ag.     

Is The Ca + K + Mg/Al Ratio in the Soil Solution a Predictive Tool for Estimating Forest Damage?

The ratio between (Ca +K +Mg) and Al in nutrientsolution has been suggested as a predictive tool forestimating tree growth disturbance. However, the ratiois unspecific in the sense that it is based on severalelements which are all essential for plant growth;each of these may be growth-limiting. Furthermore,aluminium retards growth at higher concentrations. Itis therefore difficult to give causal and objectivebiological explanations for possible growthdisturbances. The importance of the proportion ofbase-cations to N, at a fixed base-cation/Al ratio, isevaluated with regard to growth of Picea abies.The uptake of elements was found to be selective;nutrients were taken up while most Al remained insolution. Biomass partitioning to the roots increasedafter aluminium addition with low proportions of basecations to nitrogen. We conclude that the low growthrates depend on nutrient limitation in thesetreatments. Low growth rates in the high proportionexperiments may be explained by high internal Alconcentrations. The results strongly suggest thatgrowth rate is not correlated with the ratio in therooting medium and question the validity of usingratios as predictive tools for estimating forestdamage. We suggest that growth limitation of Picea abies in the field may depend on lowproportions of base cations to nitrate. It istherefore important to know the nutritional status ofthe plant material in relation to the growth potentialand environmental limitation to be able to predict andestimate forest damage.