Summary
Regional climate model (RegCM2) and sulfur transport model (NJUADMS) were combined to simulate the distribution of anthropogenic sulfate aerosol burden over China, where a “look up table” method was applied to illustrate sulfate formation from SO2-oxidation. Direct radiative forcing of sulfate aerosol was further estimated using the scheme suggested by Charlson et al (1991). Investigations show that the annual average total sulfate column over mainland China is 2.01 mg/m2 with high value in East and Central areas (more than 7 mg/m2). The annual average direct radiative forcing of China is about −0.85 W/m2. The forcing can reach −7 W/m2 in Central and East China during the winter season. Total sulfate column shows significant seasonal variations with winter maximum-summer minimum in the Southern part of China and spring maximum-autumn minimum in the northern part of China. Strong seasonal cycles of direct radiative forcing are also found due to the influence of total sulfate column, cloud, relative humidity and the reflectivity of underlying surface
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Received May 16, 2001; accepted August 5, 2002 Published online: May 8, 2003
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, TJ., Min, JZ., Xu, YF. et al. Seasonal variations of anthropogenic sulfate aerosol and direct radiative forcing over China. Meteorol Atmos Phys 84, 185–198 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-002-0581-7
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-002-0581-7