Abstract
Ambient concentrations of photochemical oxidants (Ox) averaged throughout all ambient monitoring stations in Japan have increased slightly during the past two decades despite decreasing emissions of oxidant precursors such as NOx and hydrocarbons. In the Kanto area of Japan, which is heavily populated and industrialized, Ox concentrations are often high, especially in late spring and summer, and a photochemical smog warning is frequently issued. Although the north Kanto area is about 150 km from the southern metropolitan area, and, moreover, local emissions of precursors are limited because of its agricultural and forested character, high Ox concentration levels (>120 ppbv (1-h average)) are often observed there. We analyzed the relationship between the occurrence of high Ox concentrations in the north Kanto and meteorological conditions. By combining the regional wind pattern and the presence of the inversion layer in the atmospheric boundary layer, we identified five distinct meteorological patterns. High Ox concentrations in the north Kanto area were associated with a southerly extended sea breeze accompanied by a subsidence inversion layer. We inferred that the transport of Ox from the southern urban area by southerly winds and restricted dispersion below the inversion layer can lead to high Ox concentrations in the north Kanto area. This meteorological condition is associated with the presence of a high pressure system centered in the southeastern or eastern sector offshore of the Kanto area. Thus, Ox concentrations in the north Kanto area, where emissions of precursors are relatively low, can easily increase to very high levels under favorable meteorological conditions.
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Acknowledgments
The authors express their thanks to the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) for providing the data set of 1-h ambient pollutant concentrations, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) for providing the AMeDAS measurement data, and the Department of Atmospheric Science of the University of Wyoming for providing the aerological soundings data.
This work was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid from Saitama University.
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Hosoi, S., Yoshikado, H., Gaidajis, G. et al. Study of the Relationship between Elevated Concentrations of Photochemical Oxidants and Prevailing Meteorological Conditions in the North Kanto Area, Japan. Water Air Soil Pollut 215, 105–116 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0462-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0462-5