Black carbon particles in the urban atmosphere in Beijing

A study of the concentration of black carbon particles and its variation in the urban atmosphere has been carried out since 1996 in the Beijing area. The measurements were done in the late autumn and early winter each year, the period before and after domestic heating activities begin. The results show the presence of black carbon particles at the high level that vary over a large range in the urban atmosphere in Beijing. The mean value of daily average concentration for the whole observation period of 1996-2004is 20.0μg m-3. An evident decrease of black carbon particle concentration in the Beijing area is observed after 2000, and the daily average concentration of black carbon particles is estimated to be 16.0μg m-3with a variation range of 2.10-50.50μg m-3 for the period of 2000-2004. The observation method and main variation behavior characteristics of black carbon particles in the urban atmosphere in the Beijing area are given and discussed.