Lake Michigan Ozone Study (LMOS): Measurements from an instrumented aircraft

As part of the Lake Michigan Ozone Study, the NOAA instrumented King Air research aircraft made a series of flights over Lake Michigan during the summers of 1990 and 1991 to characterize the atmospheric conditions prevailing during times when O₃ concentrations exceeded the air quality standard. Most of the time, O₃ concentrations were within the normal range (40–70 ppbv) for the location and season, but higher concentrations were measured during the afternoon flights at several isolated locations. During three afternoon flights, high O₃ concentrations (> 120 ppbv) were observed along portions of the flight path; the highest 1-min average exceeded 160 ppbv. In two flights the highest O₃ concentrations were observed in the lower boundary layer over the eastern portion of the flight track; in one case the high concentrations were found over the western side of the lake throughout the boundary layer. The increased O₃ was accompanied by moderately increased SO₂ and NO_x (10–20 ppbv); outside the region of elevated O₃, the SO₂ and NO_x were less than 2–3 ppbv. The elevated zone concentrations were related to emissions from the urban region located near the southern and southwestern shores of Lake Michigan.     

Comparison of H2O2 and O3 content in atmospheric samples in the San Bernardino mountains,Southern California

Concentrations of atmospheric H₂O₂ were measured in air, rain, cloud and dew samples in forested areas of the San Bernardino Mountains, southern California, from spring through fall of 1987–1990 O₃ measurements in air were also conducted for comparison. Typical ranges of H₂O₂ concentrations measured were 1–3 ppb in air, 10–90 μM in rain and cloud water, and < μM in dew. The results show that gas-phase H₂O₂ concentrations were slightly higher at nighttime than at daytime or nearly constant throughout a 24-hr period, whereas O₃ concentrations were highest during the afternoon, when polluted air masses from Los Angeles carried by daily sea breezes reached the mountain region. Afternoon concentrations of gaseous H₂O₂ and O₃ in the mountain region were compared with those measured in Los Angeles urban sites to elucidate the regional variation of these oxidants. The results show that ambient concentrations of H₂O₂ and O₃ were about 50–100% higher at the mountains sites than at the Los Angeles sites.     

Calculation of long-term averaged and episodic oxidant concentrations for the Netherlands

Ground-level ozone and oxidant (sum of O₃ and NO₂) concentrations in The Netherlands are calculated during the growing season (May–September) by means of a Lagrangian long-range transport model. Two air parcels—one representative of the mixed layer, the other representative of the polluted layer above the mixed layer (aged smog layer)—are followed along 96 h back trajectories. Long-term averaged and 98 percentile values of hourly averaged concentrations are estimated on the basis of concentrations calculated for four arrival times per day for all days in the period considered.In a number of sensitivity runs the influence of European anthropogenic NO_x and VOC emissions on the oxidant concentrations in The Netherlands has been investigated. In general, the influence of European emissions on the 98-percentile values is 2–3 times as large as on the averaged concentrations. This indicates that long-term averaged concentrations more strongly depend on the concentrations in the free troposphere whereas the episodic concentrations are determined by photochemical production over Europe. VOC emission reduction is more effective in lowering episodic concentrations than NO_x emission reduction. For long-term averaged concentrations, however, NO_x and VOC emission reduction of 50% or more are nearly equally effective.     

2010年广州亚运期间空气质量与污染气象条件分析

利用2010年11月4日～12月10日广州地区NO2、O3、SO2、PM、能见度实测资料,区域空气污染指数RAQI及大气输送扩散特征参数,分析广州亚运期间空气质量与气象条件变化特征.结果表明,亚运期间空气质量比亚运前后好,能见度比亚运前后大,PM1和PM2.5浓度比亚运前后小,能见度与PM1和PM2.5有较好的反相关;亚运期间NO2和SO2日均值和小时均值均达到国家一级标准,PM10日均值和O3小时均值均满足国家二级标准,污染物得到较好的控制;广州地区SO2受本地源和外地源远距离输送叠加影响,NO2受本地源影响较大;广州周边城市NO2、SO2和PM10有向广州输送的潜势,而广州O3有向其周边城市扩散的潜势;亚运期间污染气象条件比亚运前后有利,亚运期间污染物浓度降低得益于政府实施的减排措施及良好的气象条件.     

Potential bias from non-continuous monitoring of ambient ozone concentrations for characterizing hourly and daily 7- and 12-hour average concentrations

Researchers using chamber experiments to investigate O₃ effects on vegetation do not always monitor O₃ concentrations continuously. Errors introduced because of non-continuous monitoring during experimental treatments may result in the inadequate characterization of hourly average concentrations, with the consequence that summarized exposure indices may provide inaccurate linkages between experimental results and the standard-setting process. We have investigated the uncertainties associated with limited sampling to characterize (1) hourly average and (2) daily 7- and 12-h average O₃ concentrations. As expected, accuracy increased with increased sampling; over- and underestimation of hourly values was directly related to whether the actual concentrations were increasing, decreasing or stable from one hour to the next. When non-continuous sampling was used at sites experiencing small changes from one hour to the next, more than 85 and 60% of the estimated hourly average values were within ±5 and ±2.5 ppb of the actual values, respectively. For a site where average O₃ concentrations changed rapidly from one hour to the next, a greater error was observed. For the daily 7- and 12-h average values, when hourly average concentrations did not change rapidly from one hour to the next, 85% or more of the estimated values agreed within ±2 ppb, independent of sampling frequency. Greater uncertainty was experienced when hourly average concentrations changed at a faster rate. When considering the uncertainties associated with non-continuous sampling, investigators should specify the level of accuracy needed to characterize hourly average concentrations and then select the number of samples per hour required to meet that objective.     

Sulfur dioxide,hydrogen sulfide,total reduced sulfur,chlorinated hydrocarbons and photochemical oxidants in southern California museums

Indoor and outdoor concentrations of the air pollutants ozone, NO₂, SO₂, H₂S, total reduced sulfur (TRS), peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), methyl chloroform and tetrachloroethylene, have been measured at three southern California museums. Indoor maxima were 175 ppb for NO₂, 77 ppb for O₃, 0.7 ppb for PAN, 1.2 ppb for C₂Cl₄, >6.3 ppb for CH₃CCl₃, 2.5 ppb for SO₂, 1.4 ppb for TRS, and 46 ppt for H₂S. Indoor levels and indoor/outdoor (I/O) ratios for the chlorinated hydrocarbons pointed out to indoor sources. Outdoor and indoor levels of SO₂ and TRS were low at all three museums, but I/O ratios for SO₂ were high and averaged 0.89. H₂S concentrations were low, 16–46 ppt at one museum and less than 6 ppt at the other two museums. I/O ratios for the air pollutants with outdoor sources (ozone, PAN and NO₂) showed substantial variations, from low values of 0.02–0.33 at locations without influx of outdoor air to high values of 0.85–0.88 at locations experiencing high influx of outdoor air. Of the 10 institutions we have surveyed in southern California to date, eight exhibit high I/O ratios, e.g. 0.60–1.00 for PAN. Of the four museums surveyed that were equipped with HVAC and chemical filtration, only two yielded the expected low I/O ratios.     

Synergistic impacts of anthropogenic and biogenic emissions on summer surface O3 in East Asia

A factor separation technique and an improved regional air quality model (RAQM) were applied to calculate synergistic contributions of anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (AVOCs),biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) to daily maximum surface O3(O3DM) concentrations in East Asia in summer (June to August 2000).The summer averaged synergistic impacts of AVOCs and NOx are dominant in most areas of North China,with a maximum of 60 ppbv,while those of BVOCs and NOx are notable only in some limited areas with high BVOC emissions in South China,with a maximum of 25 ppbv.This result implies that BVOCs contribute much less to summer averaged O3DM concentrations than AVOCs in most areas of East Asia at a coarse spatial resolution (1×1) although global emissions of BVOCs are much greater than those of AVOCs.Daily maximum total contributions of BVOCs can approach 20 ppbv in North China,but they can reach 40 ppbv in South China,approaching or exceeding those in some developed countries in Europe and North America.BVOC emissions in such special areas should be considered when O3 control measures are taken.Synergistic contributions among AVOCs,BVOCs and NOx significantly enhance O3 concentrations in the Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan region and decrease them in some areas in South China.Thus,the total contributions of BVOCs to O3DM vary significantly from day to day and from location to location.This result suggests that O3 control measures obtained from episodic studies could be limited for long-term applications.     

Aerosol effects on ozone concentrations in Beijing: A model sensitivity study

Most previous O₃ simulations were based only on gaseous phase photochemistry. However, some aerosol-related processes, namely, heterogeneous reactions occurring on the aerosol surface and photolysis rate alternated by aerosol radiative influence, may affect O₃ photochemistry under high aerosol loads. A three-dimensional air quality model, Models-3/Community Multi-scale Air Quality-Model of Aerosol Dynamics, Reaction, Ionization, and Dissolution, was employed to simulate the effects of the above-mentioned processes on O₃ formation under typical high O₃ episodes in Beijing during summer. Five heterogeneous reactions, i.e., NO₂, NO₃, N₂O₅, HO₂, and O₃, were individually investigated to elucidate their effects on O₃ formation. The results showed that the heterogeneous reactions significantly affected O₃ formation in the urban plume. NO₂ heterogeneous reaction increased O₃ to 90 ppb, while HO₂ heterogeneous reaction decreased O₃ to 33 ppb. In addition, O₃ heterogeneous loss decreased O₃ to 31 ppb. The effects of NO₂, NO₃, and N₂O₅ heterogeneous reactions showed opposite O₃ concentration changes between the urban and extra-urban areas because of the response of the reactions to the two types of O₃ formation regimes. When the aerosol radiative influence was included, the photolysis rate decreased and O₃ decreased significantly to 73 ppb O₃. The two aerosol-related processes should be considered in the study of O₃ formation because high aerosol concentration is a ubiquitous phenomenon that affects the urban- and regional air quality in China.     

北京大气中NO、NO2和O3浓度变化的相关性分析

臭氧（O₃）是城市污染大气中的首要光化学污染物,其变化规律与氮氧化物(NO_x=NO+NO₂)关系密切.采用49C臭氧分析仪和42CTL氮氧化物分析仪对北京城区O₃和NO_x浓度进行了连续观测,时间为2004-08～2005-07.结果显示,O₃和OX（O₃+NO₂）浓度在午后15:00左右出现峰值,NO_x呈双峰态日变化,在07:00和23:00左右出现峰值.不同季节污染物的浓度变化存在差异,O₃和NO_x浓度分别在夏季和冬季达到最大.NO_x浓度存在100×10^-9(体积分数)的“分界点”,NO_x低浓度时以NO₂为主,NO_x高浓度时NO占大部分.OX区域贡献和局地贡献存在明显的季节变化,前者主要受区域背景O₃的影响,在春季最大,后者主要受局地NO_x光化学反应的制约,在夏季最强,同时OX组分呈现显著的昼夜差异.     

Seasonal,diurnal and nocturnal variations of carbonyl compounds in the semi-urban environment of Orléans,France

Atmospheric carbonyls were measured at a semi-urban site in Orléans, France, from October 2010to July2011. Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and acetone were found to be the most abundant carbonyls, with average concentrations of 3.1, 1.0, 2.0 ppb, respectively in summer, 2.3, 0.7, 2.2 ppb, respectively in autumn, 2.2, 1.0, 2.1 ppb, respectively in spring,and 1.5, 0.7, 1.1 ppb, respectively in winter. Photo-oxidation of volatile organic compounds(VOCs) was found to make a remarkable contribution to atmospheric carbonyls in the semi-urban site based on the distinct seasonal and diurnal variations of the carbonyls, as well as the significantly positive correlations between the carbonyls and ozone. The significantly negative correlations between NO x and O_3 as well as the carbonyls and the positive correlations between wind speed and O_3 as well as the carbonyls implied that the carbonyls and O_3 at the semi-urban site were probably formed during air mass transport from neighboring cities.     

Characteristics and recent trends of sulfur dioxide at urban, rural, and background sites in North China: Effectiveness of control measures

SO₂ measurements made in recent years at sites in Beijing and its surrounding areas are performed to study the variations and trends of surface SO₂ at different types of sites in Northern China. The overall average concentrations of SO₂ are (16.8 ± 13.1) ppb, (14.8 ± 9.4) ppb, and (7.5 ± 4.0) ppb at China Meteorological Administration (CMA, Beijing urban area), Gucheng (GCH, relatively polluted rural area, 110 km to the southwest of Beijing urban area), and Shangdianzi (SDZ, clean background area, 100 km to the northeast of Beijing urban area), respectively. The SO₂ levels in winter (heating season) are 4-6 folds higher than those in summer. There are highly significant correlations among the daily means of SO₂ at different sites, indicating regional characteristics of SO₂ pollution. Diurnal patterns of surface SO₂ at all sites have a common feature with a daytime peak, which is probably caused by the downward mixing and/or the advection transport of SO₂-richer air over the North China Plain. The concentrations of SO₂ at CMA and GCH show highly significant downward trends (-4.4 ppb/yr for CMA and -2.4 ppb/yr for GCH), while a less significant trend (-0.3 ppb/yr) is identified in the data from SDZ, reflecting the character of SDZ as a regional atmospheric background site in North China. The SO₂ concentrations of all three sites show a significant decrease from period before to after the control measures for the 2008 Olympic Games, suggesting that the SO₂ pollution control has long-term effectiveness and benefits. In the post-Olympics period, the mean concentrations of SO₂ at CMA, GCH, and SDZ are (14.3 ± 11.0) ppb, (12.1 ± 7.7) ppb, and (7.5 ± 4.0) ppb, respectively, with reductions of 26%, 36%, and 13%, respectively, compared to the levels before. Detailed analysis shows that the differences of temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and wind direction were not the dominant factors for the significant differences of SO₂ between the pre-Olympics and post-Olympics periods. By extracting the data being more representative of local or regional characteristics, a reduction of up to 40% for SO₂ in polluted areas and a reduction of 20% for regional SO₂ are obtained for the effect of control measures implemented for the Olympic Games.     

Measurement of hydrogen peroxide and organic hydroperoxide concentrations during autumn in Beijing, China

Gaseous peroxides play important roles in atmospheric chemistry. To understand the pathways of the formation and removal of peroxides, atmospheric peroxide concentrations and their controlling factors were measured from 7:00 to 20:00 in September, October, and November 2013 at a heavily trafficked residential site in Beijing, China, with average concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and methyl hydroperoxide (MHP) at 0.55 ppb and 0.063 ppb, respectively. H₂O₂ concentrations were higher in the afternoon and lower in the morning and evening, while MHP concentrations did not exhibit a regular diurnal pattern. Both H₂O₂ and MHP concentrations increased at dusk in most cases. Both peroxides displayed monthly variations with higher concentrations in September. These results suggested that photochemical activity was the main controlling factor on variations of H₂O₂ concentrations during the measurement period. Increasing concentrations of volatile organic compounds emitted by motor vehicles were important contributors to H₂O₂ and MHP enrichment. High levels of H₂O₂ and MHP concentrations which occurred during the measurement period probably resulted from the transport of a polluted air mass with high water vapor content passing over the Bohai Bay, China.     

Air pollutant concentrations in Varanasi,India

This study reports the diurnal patterns in the concentrations of ozone (O₃), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), sulphur dioxide (SO₂) and total suspended particulate matter (TSP) in the urban atmosphere of Varanasi city in India during 1989. The city was divided into five zones and three monitoring stations were selected in each zone.Ambient concentrations of NO₂ and SO₂ were maximum during winter but ozone and TSP concentrations were highest during summer. The measured maximum concentrations (2-h average) were 150 and 231 μg m⁻³ (0.078 and 0.086 ppm) for NO₂ and SO₂, respectively, for the winter season. Ozone and TSP concentrations reached a maximum of 160 (0.08 ppm) and 733 μg m⁻³, respectively, in the summer. NO₂ and SO₂ concentrations peaked in the morning and evening. Peak concentrations of O₃ occurred in the afternoon, generally between noon and 4 p.m. Maximum concentrations of O₃, NO₂, SO₂ and TSP were measured in zones I and II, and minimum in zone V.     

Estimates of dark ecosystem respiration of CO2 from the city of Calgary,Alberta

Carbon dioxide flux can be used as a criterion of the metabolism of terrestrial communities. A method has been developed to estimate this flux from urban areas during nocturnal periods characterized by stable air. The method assumes that biogenic and anthropogenic CO₂ emissions are proportional to one another. This assumption appears to be acceptable for average conditions in Calgary, Alberta, which is an “urban forest” situated in a prairie setting.Application of the method for estimating the CO₂ flux from Calgary's terrestrial ecosystem shows that dark respiration is absent during autumn and winter seasons. It is twice as great in summer as in spring. Its summer level is less than half that observed for an oak—pine forest in New York state. The lesser value is explainable in terms of Calgary's colder climate and the fact that a significant portion of the city is occupied by streets, houses, high-rise buildings and parking lots.     

Nitrous and nitric acid measurements at sites in South-East England

Measurements of HONO and HNO₃ have been made using annular denuder samplers at sites in south-east England. Whilst concentrations of HNO₃ exhibited a diurnal variation, with a maximum in mid-afternoon nitrous acid shows the opposite diurnal cycle with maximum levels at night due to daytime photolysis. Concentrations of HONO increase with those of NO₂, and elevated nighttime HONO level appear to be followed by high levels of HNO₃ the following day. Average concentrations of HONO (0.45± 0.26 ppb in 24 h samples are comparable to those of HNO₃ (0.56±0.36 ppb in 24 h samples), each representing about 5–10% of the concentration of NO₂. Although NO₂ oxidation provides the source of HNO₃ concentrations of the two compounds are not related, presumably since the formation of NH₄NO₃ aerosol limits HNO₃ concentrations at out site.     

Gaseous elemental mercury concentration in atmosphere at urban and remote sites in China

An investigation of gaseous elemental mercury concentration in atmosphere was conducted at Beijing and Guangzhou urban, Yangtze Delta regional sites and China Global Atmosphere Watch Baseline Observatory (CGAWBO) in Mt. Waliguan of remote continental area of China. High temporal resolved data were obtained using automated mercury analyzer RA-915 . Results showed that the overall hourly mean Hg0 concentrations in Mt. Waliguan were 1.7± 1.1 ng/m3 in summer and 0.6±0.08 ng/m3 in winter. The concentration in Yangtze Delta regional site was 5.4±4.1 ng/m3, which was much higher than those in Waliguan continental background area and also higher than that found in North America and Europe rural areas. In Beijing urban area the overall hourly mean Hg0 concentrations were 8.3±3.6 ng/m3 in winter, 6.5±5.2 ng/m3 in spring, 4.9±3.3 ng/m3 in summer, and 6.7±3.5 ng/m3 in autumn, respectively, and the concentration was 13.5±7.1 ng/m3 in Guangzhou site. The mean concentration reached the lowest value at 14:00 and the highest at 02:00 or 20:00 in all monitoring campaigns in Beijing and Guangzhou urban areas, which contrasted with the results measured in Yangtze Delta regional site and Mt. Waliguan. The features of concentration and diurnal variation of Hg0 in Beijing and Guangzhou implied the importance of local anthropogenic sources in contributing to the high Hg0 concentration in urban areas of China. Contrary seasonal variation patterns of Hg0 concentration were found between urban and remote sites. In Beijing the highest Hg0concentration was in winter and the lowest in summer, while in Mt. Waliguan the Hg0 concentration in summer was higher than that in winter. These indicated that different processes and factors controlled Hg0 concentration in urban, regional and remote areas.     

Wintertime peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) in the megacity Beijing: Role of photochemical and meteorological processes

Previous measurements of peroxyacetyl nitrate(PAN) in Asian megacities were scarce and mainly conducted for relative short periods in summer. Here, we present and analyze the measurements of PAN, O3, NOx, etc., made at an urban site(CMA) in Beijing from 25 January to 22 March 2010. The hourly concentration of PAN averaged 0.70 × 10 9mol/mol(0.23 × 10 9–3.51 × 10 9mol/mol) and was well correlated with that of NO2but not O3, indicating that the variations of the winter concentrations of PAN and O3in urban Beijing are decoupled with each other. Wind conditions and transport of air masses exert very significant impacts on O3, PAN, and other species. Air masses arriving at the site originated either from the boundary layer over the highly polluted N-S-W sector or from the free troposphere over the W-N sector. The descending free-tropospheric air was rich in O3, with an average PAN/O3ratio smaller than 0.031, while the boundary layer air over the polluted sector contained higher levels of PAN and primary pollutants, with an average PAN/O3ratio of 0.11. These facts related with transport conditions can well explain the observed PAN-O3decoupling. Photochemical production is important to PAN in the winter over Beijing. The concentration of the peroxyacetyl(PA) radical was estimated to be in the range of 0.0014 × 10 12–0.0042 × 10 12 mol/mol. The contributions of the formation reaction and thermal decomposition to PAN's variation were calculated and found to be significant even in the colder period in air over Beijing, with the production exceeding the decomposition.     

Effects of building aspect ratio, diurnal heating scenario, and wind speed on reactive pollutant dispersion in urban street canyons

A photochemistry coupled computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based numerical model has been developed to model the reactive pollutant dispersion within urban street canyons, particularly integrating the interrelationship among diurnal heating scenario (solar radiation affections in nighttime, daytime, and sun-rise/set), wind speed, building aspect ratio (building-height-to-street-width), and dispersion of reactive gases, specifically nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and ozone (O₃) such that a higher standard of air quality in metropolitan cities can be achieved. Validation has been done with both experimental and numerical results on flow and temperature fields in a street canyon with bottom heating, which justifies the accuracy of the current model. The model was applied to idealized street canyons of different aspect ratios from 0.5 to 8 with two different ambient wind speeds under different diurnal heating scenarios to estimate the influences of different aforementioned parameters on the chemical evolution of NO, NO₂ and O₃. Detailed analyses of vertical profiles of pollutant concentrations showed that different diurnal heating scenarios could substantially affect the reactive gases exchange between the street canyon and air aloft, followed by respective dispersion and reaction. Higher building aspect ratio and stronger ambient wind speed were revealed to be, in general, responsible for enhanced entrainment of O₃ concentrations into the street canyons along windward walls under all diurnal heating scenarios. Comparatively, particular attention can be paid on the windward wall heating and nighttime uniform surface heating scenarios.     

Fast increasing of surface ozone concentrations in Pearl River Delta characterized by a regional air quality monitoring network during 2006-2011

Based on the observation by a Regional Air Quality Monitoring Network including 16 monitoring stations, temporal and spatial variations of ozone(O3), NO2and total oxidant(Ox) were analyzed by both linear regression and cluster analysis. A fast increase of regional O3concentrations of 0.86 ppbV/yr was found for the annual averaged values from 2006 to 2011 in Guangdong, China. Such fast O3increase is accompanied by a correspondingly fast NOx reduction as indicated by a fast NO2 reduction rate of 0.61 ppbV/yr. Based on a cluster analysis, the monitoring stations were classified into two major categories – rural stations(non-urban) and suburban/urban stations. The O3concentrations at rural stations were relatively conserved while those at suburban/urban stations showed a fast increase rate of 2.0 ppbV/yr accompanied by a NO2 reduction rate of 1.2 ppbV/yr. Moreover, a rapid increase of the averaged O3 concentrations in springtime(13%/yr referred to 2006 level) was observed, which may result from the increase of solar duration, reduction of precipitation in Guangdong and transport from Eastern Central China. Application of smog production algorithm showed that the photochemical O3production is mainly volatile organic compounds(VOC)-controlled. However, the photochemical O3production is sensitive to both NOx and VOC for O3pollution episode. Accordingly, it is expected that a combined NOx and VOC reduction will be helpful for the reduction of the O3 pollution episodes in Pearl River Delta while stringent VOC emission control is in general required for the regional O3 pollution control.     

泰山顶臭氧及其前体物一氧化碳浓度变化规律

监测泰山顶O₃及其前体物CO的浓度,分析O₃和CO浓度的变化规律及其相关性.结果表明,泰山顶O₃小时平均浓度超过国家一级标准的频率为15.81%,CO小时平均浓度均达标;O₃浓度的日变化幅度较小,说明该地区受周围工业污染影响较小;O₃和CO浓度的日变化均呈一高一低的双峰型变化规律,二者具有很好的相关性,O₃浓度峰值一般滞后于CO,该区域O₃及其前体物CO浓度的变化主要受局地光化学过程控制;O₃浓度与CO浓度的日际变化的相关性也较好.