Partial neutralization of rain by seaspray: the case of Recôncavo, Bahia-Brazil

In the Recôncavo of Bahia (located between 12°33′ and 13°10′S and 38°00′and 39°00′W), there are significant discharges of SO₂ and NO_x due to local, industrial and urban activities. The incoming air masses from the Atlantic Ocean are enriched with seaspray, which neutralizes part of the rain acidity. The extent of seaspray neutralization of rain acidity was quantified in four sites of the region, each with different loads of seaspray. Rain samples were obtained daily at the same time, integrating the precipitation of the previous 24 h, using wet-only collectors and analyzed for pH by potentiometry and for sodium by flame photometry. The amount of rain acidity in Recôncavo neutralized by seaspray ranged from <1% up to 88% and depended on the site. On average, neutralization ranged from 5% to 18%.     

Threatened and Endangered Species: At What Cost? The Corps of Engineers Looks at Expenditures and Priorities

Current political conditions, primarily budgetary uncertainty, and the related reluctance to make funding commitments for future generations, have raised questions about the costs of conservation and environmental protection that have not previously been asked. As Federal investments are scrutinized and budgets become ever more constrained, the costs associated with environmental requirements could begin to be of greater importance and to influence decisions on Federal projects. In response to concerns about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) spending under the Endangered Species Act (P.L. 93-205) (ESA), a limited investigation was performed to determine the accuracy of reported Corps expenditures. The investigation showed that, for particular groups of species, actual conservation costs for threatened and endangered species may be twice the amounts previously reported in the annual ESA expenditure reporting to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In light of this finding, the Corps has sought a means to provide more accurate and consistent reporting of expenditures for addressing threatened and endangered species. A Species Costs Template (template) has been developed to identify the types and magnitude of costs related to the ESA and to counteract the impediments (legal, institutional, and practical) to underreporting costs. The template will be used by the Corps for reporting ESA costs beginning with Fiscal Year 2005 (FY05) (reported in January 2006). Five broad categories of expenditures (effects determination costs, ESA protection and conservation costs, equipment costs, opportunity costs, and other species costs) are identified by the template.     

Application of Zoning and “Limits of Acceptable Change” to Manage Snorkelling Tourism

Zoning and applying Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) are two promising strategies for managing tourism in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Typically, these management strategies require the collection and integration of ecological and socioeconomic data. This problem is illustrated by a case study of Koh Chang National Marine Park, Thailand. Biophysical surveys assessed coral communities in the MPA to derive indices of reef diversity and vulnerability. Social surveys assessed visitor perceptions and satisfaction with conditions encountered on snorkelling tours. Notably, increased coral mortality caused a significant decrease in visitor satisfaction. The two studies were integrated to prescribe zoning and “Limits of Acceptable Change” (LAC). As a biophysical indicator, the data suggest a LAC value of 0.35 for the coral mortality index. As a social indicator, the data suggest that a significant fraction of visitors would find a LAC value of under 30 snorkellers per site as acceptable. The draft zoning plan prescribed four different types of zones: (I) a Conservation Zone with no access apart from monitoring or research; (II) Tourism Zones with high tourism intensities at less vulnerable reefs; (III) Ecotourism zones with a social LAC standard of <30 snorkellers per site, and (IV) General Use Zones to meet local artisanal fishery needs. This study illustrates how ecological and socioeconomic field studies in MPAs can be integrated to craft zoning plans addressing multiple objectives.     

南京秋冬季非难熔性亚微米颗粒物来源解析

利用Aerodyne高分辨率飞行时间气溶胶质谱仪（HR-ToF-AMS）对南京北郊秋冬季非难熔性亚微米气溶胶（NR-PM₁）的化学组分（包括有机物、硝酸盐、硫酸盐、铵盐和氯化物）和特征进行实时在线监测,并利用多元线性模型（ME-2）对其中复杂的有机物进行来源解析.观测期间,有机物、硝酸盐、硫酸盐、铵盐、氯化物对NR-PM₁的贡献分别为42%,28%,15%,13%和2%.有机物解析出6类有机气溶胶：烃类有机气溶胶（HOA）、烹饪类有机气溶胶（COA）、生物质燃烧有机气溶胶（BBOA）、高氧化有机气溶胶（MO-OOA）、低氧化有机气溶胶（LO-OOA）、液相反应生成氧化有机气溶胶（aq-OOA）,平均浓度分别占总有机气溶胶的18%,14%,19%,19%,11%和19%.通过不同污染事件的对比结果表明,本次观测期间二次气溶胶在污染时期占比会明显上升并且液相反应对二次组分的形成有显著的促进作用.     

复合污染条件下人为源VOCs的SOA生成研究进展

大气细颗粒物(PM_2.5)仍是我国空气质量持续改善的重大挑战.近年来,二次有机气溶胶(SOA)对PM_2.5的贡献日益凸显.因此,深入认识复合污染条件下SOA生成机制和影响因素可以为进一步降低PM_2.5提供重要理论依据.实验室模拟是深入认识SOA生成机制的关键途径,也是模式模拟参数化方案的可靠来源之一.主要综述了我国多污染物共存条件下典型人为源挥发性有机物(VOCs)的SOA生成研究进展,包括汽油蒸气VOCs、生物质燃烧VOCs和含氧VOCs形成SOA过程中,前体物浓度、芳香烃含量、无机气体、种子气溶胶和相对湿度(RH)等不同因素对SOA生成的影响;阐述了实际大气VOCs的SOA生成潜势及其影响因素,最后提出了目前在SOA机制研究方面存在的关键科学问题,并对未来的研究方向进行了展望.     

基于环境一号卫星的四川盆地气溶胶光学厚度精细化反演

四川盆地为中国灰霾形势较为严重的区域之一,对四川盆地大气灰霾的监测具有十分重要的意义。利用环境一号卫星数据,对能表征大气污染程度的气溶胶光学厚度进行了反演。提出了用EVI植被指数判定暗像元精细化反演气溶胶光学厚度的方法,该方法能较好地去除部分大气影响,气溶胶光学厚度反演结果与CE318的气溶胶光学厚度结果相关性较高,误差较小,具有较高的精度,反演结果满足精细化要求。反演结果表明,四川盆地内有德阳、成都、眉山和乐山4个气溶胶光学厚度高值区,该高值区呈带状分布且与四川盆地的地形密切相关。     

Aerosol structure and vertical distribution in a multi-source dust region

The vertical distribution of aerosols was directly observed under various atmospheric conditions in the free troposphere using surface micro-pulse lidar (MPL4) at the Zhangye Station (39.08°N, 100.27°E) in western China in the spring of 2008. The study shows that the aerosol distribution over Zhangye can be vertically classified into upper, middle and lower layers with altitudes of 4.5 to 9 km, 2.5 to 4.5 km, and less than 2.5 km, respectively. The aerosol in the upper layer originated from the external sources at higher altitude regions, from far desert regions upwind of Zhangye or transported from higher atmospheric layers by free convection, and the altitude of this aerosol layer decreased with time; the aerosols in the middle and lower layers originated from both external and local sources. The aerosol extinction coefficients in the upper and lower layers decreased with altitude, whereas the coefficient in the middle layer changed only slightly, which suggests that aerosol mixing occurs in the middle layer. The distribution of aerosols with altitude has three features: a single peak that forms under stable atmospheric conditions, an exponential decrease with altitude that occurs under unstable atmospheric conditions, and slight change in the mixed layer. Due to the impact of the top of the atmospheric boundary layer, the diurnal variation in the aerosol extinction coefficient has a single peak, which is higher in the afternoon and lower in the morning.     

中国望都地区夏季大气气溶胶挥发性特征

采用热扩散管与气溶胶质谱联用系统对2014年夏季河北望都乡村点位亚微米级气溶胶进行在线测量,获取了两段污染过程的气溶胶化学组成及挥发性特征：相对低污染期气溶胶平均质量浓度为（23.3±15.1）·g/m³,有机物占主导,主要受偏北方向气团影响;重污染期平均浓度为（86.6±19.7）·g/m³,硫酸盐占主导,受偏南方向气团影响;主要化学组分挥发性顺序均为硝酸盐 > 氯盐 > 铵盐 > 有机物 > 硫酸盐;与相对低污染期相比,重污染期的硫酸盐对质量浓度贡献更高且挥发性降低,而硝酸盐表现出更高的挥发性;对有机气溶胶而言,重污染期有机物氧化态更高且挥发性更低,老化特征明显.气溶胶半挥发性特征反映了华北夏季高污染条件下区域传输的重要作用.     

Morphology, composition, and sources of individual aerosol particles at a regional background site of the YRD, China

Aerosol samples were collected at Lin'an, a background site of Yangtze River Delta(YRD).Morphology, size, composition, and mixing state of individual aerosol particles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy(TEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDS), and the soluble ions of PM_(1.0) were studied by aerosol mass spectrometer(AMS). The daily average AMS mass concentrations of sulfate, nitrate, and ammonium were about 5.8, 8.6, and 5.6 μg/m~3, respectively. Individual aerosol particles were classified into seven types: S-rich, K-rich, organic matter(OM), soot, fly ash, metal, and mineral. S-rich particles were dominant in all size bins, and 51%(by number) of S-rich particles were internally mixed with other particles. The fraction of organic coating particles was 13.7% in morning, 25.2% in afternoon, and 11% in evening, suggesting that the strong photochemical process during afternoon produced more secondary organic aerosols(SOA) on the surface of inorganic particles. Fly ash and metal particles were abundant during the day, suggesting the influence of emissions from coal-fired power plants and steel plants. The results indicate that the intense industrial emissions in the YRD significantly transported to the background areas. PM_(2.5) concentration may be lower in background air than in urban air but complex mixing state of aerosol particles indicates that the long-range transported particles substantially influenced the background air quality.     

基于GOCI数据的霾天气气溶胶辐射强迫的日内变化——以长江三角洲为例

以长江三角洲（以下简称长三角）为研究区,基于2017年10~12月内共16d 94景的晴空静止卫星GOCI L1B图像和6S模型,采用深蓝算法反演长三角地区气溶胶光学厚度（AOD）,并利用2个实测站数据进行验证.再通过反演得到的AOD结果进一步模拟计算该区域地表和大气层顶的气溶胶直接辐射效应（ADRE）,并结合典型的雾霾天气进行分析.结果表明：利用GOCI数据反演的AOD具有较高拟合精度,北辰楼站点拟合相关性R²为0.68,太湖站点为0.67.空间上,由于气溶胶存在制冷效应,AOD和地表面、大气层顶气溶胶直接辐射强度均呈现出显著的线性关系.时间上,由于气溶胶扩散和风向等因素,早上和下午辐射效应强度较高,中午较低.其中10：00和11：00影像可以较好地模拟日均ADRE的特征,利用ADRE日内变化成功捕捉到一次雾霾爆发并消失的现象,对气象部门监测近地表气温和分析灰霾的形成等具有重要意义.