Abstract
Surface ozone (O3) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are dominant air pollutants in China. Concentrations of these pollutants can show significant differences between urban and nonurban areas. However, such contrast has never been explored on the country level. This study investigates the spatiotemporal characteristics of urban-to-suburban and urban-to-background difference for O3 (Δ[O3]) and PM2.5 (Δ[PM2.5]) concentrations in China using monitoring data from 1171 urban, 110 suburban, and 15 background sites built by the China National Environmental Monitoring Center (CNEMC). On the annual mean basis, the urban-to-suburban Δ[O3] is −3.7 ppbv in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, 1.0 ppbv in the Yangtze River Delta, −3.5 ppbv in the Pearl River Delta, and −3.8 ppbv in the Sichuan Basin. On the contrary, the urban-to-suburban Δ[PM2.5] is 15.8, −0.3, 3.5 and 2.4 µg m−3 in those areas, respectively. The urban-to-suburban contrast is more significant in winter for both Δ[O3] and Δ[PM2.5]. In eastern China, urban-to-background differences are also moderate during summer, with −5.1 to 6.8 ppbv for Δ[O3] and −0.1 to 22.5 µg m−3 for Δ[PM2.5]. However, such contrasts are much larger in winter, with −22.2 to 5.5 ppbv for Δ[O3] and 3.1 to 82.3 µg m−3 for Δ[PM2.5]. Since the urban region accounts for only 2% of the whole country’s area, the urban-dominant air quality data from the CNEMC network may overestimate winter [PM2.5] but underestimate winter [O3] over the vast domain of China. The study suggests that the CNEMC monitoring data should be used with caution for evaluating chemical models and assessing ecosystem health, which require more data outside urban areas.
摘要
地表臭氧(O3)和细颗粒物(PM2.5)是中国最主要的空气污染物, 其浓度在城市与非城市地区表现出显著差异。然而这一差异尚未在全国范围内定量评估。本文使用来自中国环境监测总站(CNEMC)实时发布的1171个城市站点、110个郊区站点以及尚未实时发布的15个背景站点监测数据, 研究了中国O3和PM2.5浓度的城市-郊区差异以及城市-背景差异(Δ[O3]和Δ[PM2.5])的时空特征。从年平均来看, 京津冀地区城郊差异Δ[O3]为−3.7 ppbv, 长三角地区为1.0 ppbv, 珠三角地区为−3.5 ppbv, 四川盆地地区为−3.8 ppbv; 上述区域的Δ[PM2.5]分别为15.8, −0.3、3.5和2.4 μg m−3; 且 Δ[O3]和Δ[PM2.5]的城郊差异在冬季更为显著。在中国东部, 夏季城市与背景地区的差异较小, Δ[O3]为−5.1~6.8 ppbv, Δ[PM2.5]为−0.1—22.5 μg m−3; 而冬季差异大得多, Δ[O3]为−22.2—5.5 ppbv, Δ[PM2.5]为3.1—82.3 μg m−3。由于CNEMC监测站点主要位于城市建成区, 而中国城市面积仅占全国国土面积的2%。若以现有的监测站点浓度来代表中国环境空气质量, 会造成全国冬季[PM2.5]的高估和[O3]的低估。研究表明, 在评估大气化学模型和生态系统健康时需要谨慎使用CNEMC站点监测数据, 因为上述研究更依赖城市以外的污染浓度数据。
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Acknowledgements
This work was jointly supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2019YFA0606802) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41975155).
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Article Highlights
• The urban-to-suburban and urban-to-background annual mean differences of O3 are −3.8 to 1.0 ppbv and −10.4 to 9.9 ppbv, respectively.
• The urban-to-suburban and urban-to-background annual mean differences of PM2.5 are −0.3 to 15.8 µg m−3 and 3.0 to 47.3 µg m−3, respectively.
• The urban-to-suburban and urban-to-background pollution exhibits seasonal variations, with more significant differences in winter.
• Both O3 and PM2.5 are higher in urban areas than suburbs during pollution episodes in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei.
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Gao, L., Yue, X., Meng, X. et al. Comparison of Ozone and PM2.5 Concentrations over Urban, Suburban, and Background Sites in China. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 37, 1297–1309 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-020-0054-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-020-0054-2