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Water-soluble inorganic ions (WSIs) in the aerosols from Central Asia via transboundary transport measured in Jimunai in 2020

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Abstract

Air pollution is a global issue that often transcends national borders, leading to disputes over environmental concerns and climate-mitigation responsibilities. Between March and July 2020, we collected aerosol samples in Jimunai, a town in western China neighboring Kazakhstan, to assess transboundary air pollution in the region. Our analysis focused on major water-soluble inorganic ions (WSIs), with Ca2+ and SO42− accounting for almost 60% of the total ion loading. The ratio of cations to anions was greater than one (1.33 ± 0.27), indicating alkaline aerosols during the sampling period. Our results suggest that the pollutants measured were primarily sourced from Kazakhstan, as demonstrated by local meteorological data, air-mass trajectory analysis, and pollutant emission inventories in Kazakhstan. Correlation and primary component analysis indicated that NH4+ played an important role in neutralizing NO3− and SO42−, while Cl− was significantly depleted by the probable reaction HNO3↑ + NaCl = HCl↑ + NaNO3. These findings highlight the need for continued monitoring and regulation of air pollution sources in the region to address transboundary air pollution.

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The data and materials used in this research are available upon request. Please contact the corresponding author in need.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the staff working at the Tianshan Glaciological Station for helping collect data. We are also grateful to the upcoming comments from the anonymous reviewers.

Funding

This work is supported by the Third Comprehensive Scientific Expedition of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (2022xjkk0802), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42001066 and 42001067) and the State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science (SKLCS-ZZ-2022).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Lin Wang, Xin Zhang & Feiteng Wang

  2. Beacon Science & Consulting, Malvern, SA, 5061, Australia

    Jing Ming

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  1. Lin Wang
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  2. Xin Zhang
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  3. Feiteng Wang
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  4. Jing Ming
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Contributions

JM and FW conceived the concept; XZ conducted the field work and data collection including sampling and laboratory analysis; LW drafted the manuscript; JM revised the writing and graphing.

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Correspondence to Jing Ming.

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Wang, L., Zhang, X., Wang, F. et al. Water-soluble inorganic ions (WSIs) in the aerosols from Central Asia via transboundary transport measured in Jimunai in 2020. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 97040–97051 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29083-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29083-7

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