Long-Term Trends in Pre-Summer Daytime and Nocturnal Extreme Hourly Rainfall in a Coastal City of South China

The long-term trends in the occurrence frequency of pre-summer daytime and nocturnal extreme hourly rainfall(EXHR) during 1988-2018 in Hong Kong and their spatial distributions are examined and analyzed. Despite a significant increasing trend observed in the occurrence frequency of pre-summer EXHRs during the investigated period,the increase in daytime and nocturnal EXHRs show distinct spatial patterns. Nocturnal EXHRs show uniform increasing trends over the entire Hong Kong. However, the increa...     

热带气旋对香港地区臭氧污染影响的初步研究

利用1998—2008年所有西北太平洋海域生成的264个热带气旋资料、香港地区11个环境监测站点的地面臭氧(O3)小时浓度数据，研究热带气旋对香港地区臭氧污染的影响。分析表明当西北太平洋有热带气旋活动时，香港地区地面O3浓度均有不同程度增大，且半数以上造成香港地区O3高污染；热带气旋对香港地区O3污染的影响程度与气旋强度相关，且有显著的季节变化特征。运用SPSS软件进行轨迹聚类分析，将热带气旋分为四种类型，并对香港地区O3污染影响的进一步分析发现，西行或转向登陆型和近大陆转向不登陆型是最易引起香港地区O3高污染的两类热带气旋，二者平均影响程度大体相当；热带气旋中心位于台湾岛东北部洋面及巴士海峡附近时，香港地区O3浓度最易出现极大值。物理量场和对气团后向轨迹的条件概率场分析表明，热带气旋期间偏北到东北气流的水平输送以及下沉气流的局地积聚作用造成香港地区O3地面浓度显著增加。     

TYPICAL WEATHER CHARACTERISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH AIR POLLUTION IN HONG KONG AREA

With the hourly data of Air Pollution Index (API) by Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department (HKEPD) during the 6 years of 2000 - 2005 and NCEP / NCAR reanalysis data of 2.5° × 2.5° wind and pressure fields, the characteristics of API in Hong Kong area and the impacts of typical weather characteristics on the air pollution in Hong Kong have been studied. The results are shown as follows. (1) The API exhibits obvious seasonal variability as the number of air pollution days increases by the year. For most of the local monitoring stations, it is the most from January to March, a little less from July to September and the least from April to June. (2) There are four typical types of weather situations that are responsible for the air pollution in Hong Kong: tropical cyclones, continental cold highs, transformed highs that have moved out to sea and low pressure troughs.     

Relationships Between Rainwater Composition and Synoptic Weather Systems Deduced from Measurement and Analysis of Hong Kong Daily Rainwater Data

The composition of Hong Kong rainwater has been studied in the context of seven types of prevailing synoptic weather system. These represent different precipitating airmass origins in terms of continental, maritime, local or mixed sources. Replicate sampling was performed on a daily basis from 1994–1995 for both bulk deposition (n = 60) and simultaneous wet deposition (n = 27) collectors. Reliable analytical data were obtained for the concentrations of the soluble components H+, Na+, Ca2+, K+, Mg2+, Cl-, NO3- and SO42-. The acidity of rainwater was found to be greater when Hong Kong was under the influence of an approaching cyclone (type AC), northeasterly monsoon (type NE) or cold front (type CF) than for prevailing easterly anticyclones (type E), southerly/southwesterly monsoon systems (type S), or cyclonic flows (type C). A common characteristic of occasions of acid rain in Hong Kong was the build-up of local pollutants under conditions of low windspeed, as shown by the significant correlation between rainwater pH and lognormal surface windspeed, but not windvector. The acidity of Hong Kong rainwater was thus largely determined by local sources, although the participation of a continental airmass was evident for some systems. The daily bulk deposition flux of H+ on rainy days varied by more than an order of magnitude from type C (0.2 meq m-2 d-1) to types AC, trough (T) and NE (>2 meq m-2 d-1).     

气溶胶影响亚洲夏季风机理的数值研究

利用NCEP/NCAR （National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research）2001-2010年再分析资料,检验了全球气候系统模式CESM中大气模块CAM （Community Atmosphere Model）对亚洲夏季风和大气热源的模拟能力。结果显示,模式可以再现亚洲夏季风和大气热源的主要特征。通过敏感试验探讨人为气溶胶影响亚洲夏季风的机理,分析、讨论了气溶胶引起的非均匀加热的变化对辐散风和无辐散风强度的影响,在机理上解释了亚洲夏季风减弱的原因。结果表明,人为气溶胶浓度的升高使东亚夏季风强度在中国东南地区、中南半岛北部和印度半岛北部减弱。而中国东南部季风的减弱促使中国内陆降水减少,沿海降水增多。进一步分析人为气溶胶浓度升高的作用发现,其改变了大气热源的分布,造成阿拉伯海、孟加拉湾和中国南海大气热源增强,中国东部地区和中南半岛大气热源减弱,其中气溶胶通过影响凝结潜热来改变大气热源,主要是对对流过程的影响。此外,大气热源分布的变化改变了季风区的热力结构,使中国东南地区、中南半岛北部的加热减弱,从而减少了全位能的产生,使得全位能向辐散风的转换减小,辐散风减弱;同时,中国东南部、中南半岛北部季风由于辐散风向无辐散风转换的减弱,无辐散风减弱,最终导致了夏季风强度的减弱。而且,人为气溶胶对亚洲夏季风的影响主要通过大气热力和动力过程的响应产生作用。     

Organic matter of the troposphere — V: Application of molecular marker analysis to biogenic emissions into the troposphere for source reconciliations

Organic matter in tropospheric aerosols is derived from two major sources and is admixed depending on the geographic area. These sources are biogenic detritus and anthropogenic emissions. The biogenic materials in the solvent-extractable organic matter are comprised predominantly of higher plant waxes, with lesser amounts of resin and microbial detritus and the anthropogenic components are primarily vehicular emissions (e.g. oils, soot, etc.) and input from combustion (e.g. charcoal, thermally-altered biogenic matter, etc.). Both biogenic detritus and anthropogenic emissions contain organic compounds (C₁₂–C₄₀₊), which can be identified with unique and distinguishable distribution patterns. Molecular composition analysis has been applied to such extracts after suitable chemical separation into subfractions (i.e. hydrocarbons, ketones, aldehydes, carboxylic acids, alcohols, and wax esters). Both homologous compound series and specific natural products (e.g. phytosterols, terpenes, etc.) are identified as molecular markers.Aerosols from rural and remote areas in the western United States, South America, Nigeria and Australia have been analyzed and all contained predominantly plant waxes. The loadings of hydrocarbons ranged approximately from 10–1400 ng/m³ of air, of fatty acids from 10–450 ng/m³ and of fatty alcohols from 10–1650 ng/m³. These higher molecular weight lipids primarily from flora comprise a major component of the organic carbon in rural and remote aerosols. They are thus important indicators for regional biogenic sources in the global cycling of organic carbon.Presented in part at the International Symposium on Biosphere-Atmosphere Exchange, Mainz, E.R. Germany, March 16–22, 1986, for Part IV see Simoneit et al. (1988) Atmos. Environ. 22, 983–1004.     

2010-2019年粤港澳地区气溶胶光学厚度时空分布特征

为了解粤港澳地区气溶胶光学厚度分布和时序变化规律, 深入认识大气气溶胶的光学特性及其气候效应, 利用2010—2019年的MODIS C61 AOD 3 km逐日产品, 分析了粤港澳地区的AOD空间分布及年、季、月变化特征。(1) MODIS AOD与AERONET CE318 AOD最优拟合系数为0.96, 与SolarSIM-D2 AOD拟合系数为0.62, 与PM < sub > 2.5 < /sub > 、PM < sub > 10 < /sub > 的最优拟合系数为0.58、0.56。(2)空间上表现为珠三角AOD值高, 粤西次之, 粤北及粤东北较低。(3)年变化特征整体上呈明显的下降趋势, 2010—2014年AOD波动上升, 至2014年达到峰值, 2015年后AOD显著减小, 于2016年达到最低值。(4)季节上表现为春季 > 夏季 > 秋季 > 冬季。(5)月变化特征表现为3月最大(AOD值: 0.73), 4月次之, 5—8月AOD维持在高值且波动平稳, 9—12月显著下降。研究显示, 粤港澳地区颗粒物污染防治应以佛山、广州等珠江三角洲城市及粤西为主, 重点控制春夏季高污染企业生产强度及颗粒物排放。      

Aerosol characteristics during winter fog at Agra,North India

Simultaneous measurements on physical, chemical and optical properties of aerosols over a tropical semi-arid location, Agra in north India, were undertaken during December 2004. The average concentration of total suspended particulates (TSP) increased by about 1.4 times during intense foggy/hazy days. Concentrations of SO₄ ²⁻, NO₃ ⁻, NH₄ ⁺ and Black Carbon (BC) aerosols increased by 4, 2, 3.5 and 1.7 times, respectively during that period. Aerosols were acidic during intense foggy/hazy days but the fog water showed alkaline nature, mainly due to the neutralizing capacity of NH₄ aerosols. Trajectory analyses showed that air masses were predominantly from NW direction, which might be responsible for transport of BC from distant and surrounding local sources. Diurnal variation of BC on all days showed a morning and an evening peak that were related to domestic cooking and vehicular emissions, apart from boundary layer changes. OPAC (Optical properties of aerosols and clouds) model was used to compute the optical properties of aerosols. Both OPAC-derived and observed aerosol optical depth (AOD) values showed spectral variation with high loadings in the short wavelengths (<1 μm). AOD value at 0.5 μm wavelength was significantly high during intense foggy/hazy days (1.22) than during clear sky or less foggy/hazy days (0.63). OPAC-derived Single scattering albedo (SSA) was 0.84 during the observational period, indicating significant contribution of absorbing aerosols. However, the BC mass fraction to TSP increased by only 1% during intense foggy/hazy days and thereby did not show any impact on SSA during that period. A large increase was observed in the shortwave (SW) atmospheric (ATM) forcing during intense foggy/hazy days (+75.8 W/m²) than that during clear sky or less foggy/hazy days (+38 W/m²), mainly due to increase in absorbing aerosols. Whereas SW forcing at surface (SUF) increased from −40 W/m² during clear sky or less foggy/hazy days to −76 W/m² during intense foggy/hazy days, mainly due to the scattering aerosols like SO₄ ^2-.     

An operational MODIS aerosol retrieval algorithm at high spatial resolution,and its application over a complex urban region

Aerosol retrieval algorithms for the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) have been developed to estimate aerosol and microphysical properties of the atmosphere, which help to address aerosol climatic issues at global scale. However, higher spatial resolution aerosol products for urban areas have not been well-researched mainly due to the difficulty of differentiating aerosols from bright surfaces in urban areas. Here, an aerosol retrieval algorithm using the MODIS 500-m resolution bands is described, to retrieve aerosol properties over Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region. The rationale of our technique is to first estimate the aerosol reflectances by decomposing the top-of-atmosphere reflectances from surface reflectances and Rayleigh path reflectances. For the determination of surface reflectances, a Minimum Reflectance Technique (MRT) is used, and MRT images are computed for different seasons. For conversion of aerosol reflectance to aerosol optical thickness (AOT), comprehensive Look Up Tables specific to the local region are constructed, which consider aerosol properties and sun-viewing geometry in the radiative transfer calculations. Four local aerosol types, namely coastal urban, polluted urban, dust, and heavy pollution, were derived using cluster analysis on 3 years of AERONET measurements in Hong Kong. The resulting 500 m AOT images were found to be highly correlated with ground measurements from the AERONET (r² = 0.767) and Microtops II sunphotometers (r² = 0.760) in Hong Kong. This study further demonstrates the application of the fine resolution AOT images for monitoring inter-urban and intra-urban aerosol distributions and the influence of trans-boundary flows. These applications include characterization of spatial patterns of AOT within the city, and detection of regional biomass burning sources.     

Intraseasonal Variation of Visibility in Hong Kong

Visibility is one of the parameters for indicating air pollution.In this study,visibility variation in Hong Kong during summer and winter is investigated.Visibility in Hong Kong has clear intraseasonal variation.Examination of different environmental parameters suggests that the intraseasonal component dominates the overall circulation anomalies in both summer and winter.Associated with the intraseasonal variation of environmental parameters,obvious variation in visibility impairment is found in both summer and winter.In summer,local visibility and air quality are found to be significantly affected by the(MJO)and the 10–30-day intraseasonal oscillation(ISO)through modulation of associated atmospheric circulations.In winter,the modulation effects appear to be weaker due to the southward shift of the associated convection.The results in this study highlight the importance of the ISO in contributing to the overall variation in visibility in Hong Kong,and provide useful implications for the development of possible mitigation strategies associated with visibility impairment and air pollution in Hong Kong.     

Trace elements in the atmospheric aerosols at Delhi,North India

The total suspended particulate (TSP) levels at Delhi (north India) were measured on 116 days between February and October 1980. The observations were stratified according to season and the values of cross-correlation of the TSP and its components were evaluated. High TSP (209 g m^-3) levels were found during the summer period associated with hot and dry weather in the region and low TSP (109 g m^-3) were found during the monsoon period. Most of the TSP mass was associated with natural soil elements, such as Fe, Al, Mn, Ca, and K. Only a fraction of the mass of the TSP was comprised of elements from anthropogenic sources, e.g., Pb, Ni, Cd, Sb, Cu, and Zn. The aerosols at Delhi were potentially basic in nature, unlike those in European countries which are acidic in nature and cause acid rainfall.     

Summer rain events in south-east Asia: Spatial and temporal variations

During the summer monsoon period in south-east Asia marine airstreams normally prevail at the south China coast. However, when tropical cyclones approach then polluted airmasses from south-eastern China can impart high ionic concentrations and high acidity to rainwater. This is illustrated by two examples and the small-scale horizontal variations in rainwater composition are minor during these episodes. Since long-term quality-assured studies of the composition of rainwater in south-east Asia are scarce, the results at three sampling sites in Hong Kong during summer monsoon periods are compared with previous data from the same season. The results for the mid- to end-1990's show a similar trend to those for the ambient concentrations of sulphate and nitrate in aerosol in Hong Kong, which show flattened trends from 1995 to 1999. A marked increase in acidity is found in the summer monsoon period of 2004 which is attributed to the greater proportion of approaching cyclone weather systems in the dataset, reflecting both the increased local emission sources and the burgeoning economic growth of the Pearl River Delta Region. Comparison of the rainwater composition with that at other south-east Asian cities during the summer monsoon period shows that it is most acidic in Hong Kong.     

台风对深港局地风影响数值模及地形敏感性试验

采用WRF中尺度模式和美国国家环境预报中心每6h一次的1°×1°全球再分析资料,分别对西北太平洋1208号台风韦森特及1415号台风海鸥个例进行了数值模拟,结果表明WRF模式可以较好地模拟台风中心移动的路径与强度变化,单点风速的时间变化表明模拟得到的近地风场与实际观测吻合。在模式结果与实际观测比较一致的基础上,开展了改变特定区域内的地形和陆面特征的敏感性试验,通过比较不同站点的观测和模拟风速的变化,探究台风影响下香港及深圳地区地形和下垫面性质的改变对深圳不同地区阵风变化的作用,发现对于登陆粤西或向西移动的台风,香港地形和陆地的阻挡和摩擦作用减弱了台风在深圳中西部地区引起的风速,香港对深圳中西部起到了一定的缓冲和保护作用,另外深圳地区的梧桐山地形所形成的峡口使得盐田港风力增大。     

Influence of Tropical Cyclones on Hong Kong Air Quality

Tropical cyclones(TCs) constitute one of the major atmospheric activities affecting the air quality of the Pearl River Delta region. In this study, the impact of TCs on air quality in Hong Kong during the TC active season(July–October) from 2000 to 2015 is investigated. It is found that 57.5% of days with concentration of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter 10 μm(PM_(10)) above the 90th percentile are related to TC activity. TCs in three regions, located to the east, southeast, and southwest of Hong Kong, have obvious impacts on pollutant concentration. When TCs are located east of Hong Kong near Taiwan, 65.5%/38.7% of the days have high or extremely high PM_(10)/ozone(O_3) levels, which are associated with northerly wind, sinking motion, and relatively low precipitation. When TCs are located southeast of Hong Kong, 48.1%/58.2% of the days have high pollution levels, associated mainly with continental air mass transport. When TCs are south or west of Hong Kong, only 20.8%/16.9% of the days have high PM_(10)/O_3 levels, and the air quality in Hong Kong is generally good or normal due to TC-associated precipitation, oceanic air mass transport, and an enhanced rising motion. The higher chance of high O_3 days when TCs are present between Hong Kong and Taiwan, possibly due to lower-than-normal precipitation along the east coast of China under TC circulation. The results in this study highlight the important influence of TC position and associated atmospheric circulations on the air quality in Hong Kong.     

The sources and seasonal variations of organic compounds in PM<Subscript>2.5</Subscript> in Beijing and Shanghai

Fine aerosol samples were collected throughout spring, summer, and winter in 2004∼2005 at a major urban traffic junction (BNU) and a suburban location (MY) in Beijing and at a downtown site (SH) in Shanghai, China. Ten of the 16 EPA priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), seven fatty acids, levoglucosan, and cholesterol were identified and quantified. PAHs detected in Beijing and Shanghai were up to one order of magnitude higher than those reported in the developed countries either in urban or suburban areas, while levoglucosan was one order of magnitude lower than that in other countries for no biomass combustion in domestic heating in the mega-cities in China. PAHs showed the same seasonal trend in all sampling sites as the highest in winter and the lowest in summer, while fatty acids no pronounced seasonal variation. A significant fraction of levoglucosan from cooking with higher concentrations in urban than in suburban area contributed to the ambient atmosphere, indicating that the main source of levoglucosan in urban environment would be cooking rather than biomass burning. The relative contributions of coal combustion and vehicle exhaust sources to PAHs in fine aerosols were preliminarily estimated to be 1:2 in Beijing and 1:1 in Shanghai, revealing that the air pollution in these mega-cities in China was mainly the mixing of coal combustion with vehicle exhaust. Cooking was one of the major sources of organic aerosols in both Beijing and Shanghai.     

Origin and source regions of PM10 in the Eastern Mediterranean atmosphere

A set of daily PM₁₀ (n = 281) samples collected from April 2001 to April 2002 at a rural site (Erdemli), located on the coast of the Eastern Mediterranean, were analyzed applying Mass Closure (MC), absolute principal factor analysis (APFA) and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) to determine source contributions. The results from the three techniques were compared to identify the similarities and differences in the sources and source contributions. Source apportionment analysis indicated that PM₁₀ were mainly originated from natural sources (sea salt + crustal ≈ 60%) whilst secondary aerosols and residual oil burning accounted for approximately 20% and 10% of the total PM₁₀ mass, respectively. Calculations for sulfate showed that on average 8% and 12% of its total concentration were originated from sea salt and biogenic emissions, respectively. However, the contribution by biogenic emissions may reach up to a maximum of ~ 40% in the summer. Potential Source Contribution Function (PSCF) analysis for identification of source regions showed that the Saharan desert was the main source area for crustal components. For secondary aerosol components the analysis revealed one source region, (i.e. the south-Eastern Black Sea), whereas for residual oil, Western Europe and the western Balkans areas were found to be the main source regions.     

Geochemistry of regional background aerosols in the Western Mediterranean

The chemical composition of regional background aerosols, and the time variability and sources in the Western Mediterranean are interpreted in this study. To this end 2002–2007 PM speciation data from an European Supersite for Atmospheric Aerosol Research (Montseny, MSY, located 40 km NNE of Barcelona in NE Spain) were evaluated, with these data being considered representative of regional background aerosols in the Western Mediterranean Basin. The mean PM₁₀, PM_2.5 and PM₁ levels at MSY during 2002–2007 were 16, 14 and 11 µg/m³, respectively. After compiling data on regional background PM speciation from Europe to compare our data, it is evidenced that the Western Mediterranean aerosol is characterised by higher concentrations of crustal material but lower levels of OM + EC and ammonium nitrate than at central European sites. Relatively high PM_2.5 concentrations due to the transport of anthropogenic aerosols (mostly carbonaceous and sulphate) from populated coastal areas were recorded, especially during winter anticyclonic episodes and summer midday PM highs (the latter associated with the transport of the breeze and the expansion of the mixing layer). Source apportionment analyses indicated that the major contributors to PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ were secondary sulphate, secondary nitrate and crustal material, whereas the higher load of the anthropogenic component in PM_2.5 reflects the influence of regional (traffic and industrial) emissions. Levels of mineral, sulphate, sea spray and carbonaceous aerosols were higher in summer, whereas nitrate levels and Cl/Na were higher in winter. A considerably high OC/EC ratio (14 in summer, 10 in winter) was detected, which could be due to a combination of high biogenic emissions of secondary organic aerosol, SOA precursors, ozone levels and insolation, and intensive recirculation of aged air masses. Compared with more locally derived crustal geological dusts, African dust intrusions introduce relatively quartz-poor but clay mineral-rich silicate PM, with more kaolinitic clays from central North Africa in summer, and more smectitic clays from NW Africa in spring.     

New evidence of orographic precipitation suppression by aerosols in central China

The correlation between light precipitation events and visibility at Mt. Hua, (Shannxi Province, China) and at the surrounding plains stations was analyzed. Trends and changes in visibility, precipitation, the precipitation difference between Mt. Hua and the plains stations (De) and wind speed over the study area during the years 1980–2009 were also investigated. The significant positive correlation between visibility and light precipitation throughout the study period indicates that light precipitation events, notably orographic precipitation, are suppressed by aerosol pollution in this region. The trend of increasing air pollution aerosols since 1980, represented by visibility at Mt. Hua, ended in 2002 with a decreasing trend observed in more recent years. These changes were mirrored by corresponding changes in De. However, the total precipitation trends at Mt. Hua and the plains stations are consistent in both frequency and amount during the two periods, suggesting that the suppressive effect of pollution aerosols on light and moderate precipitation is the most likely cause for the changes in orographic precipitation at Mt. Hua during this time. The analysis of wind strength suggests that the increase in winds at Mt. Hua is highly related to the aerosol radiative effects; this increase of mountain winds is therefore a potential cause for the reduction in precipitation at Mt. Hua. This research provides further support for the hypothesis that aerosol microphysical effects can reduce orographic precipitation and suggests that aerosol radiative effects might act to suppress orographic precipitation through changes in wind speed.     

香港地区海陆风的显式模拟研究

利用MM5模式对香港地区的海陆风进行了显式数值研究,模拟的风向、风速和温度与站点的观测值比较一致,较详细地分析了海陆风的日变化规律和三维结构特征,结果显示香港地区海风分布复杂,主要受偏西、偏南和偏东海风气流的影响,形成多个辐合带,海风锋最远可以深入内陆约90 km;陆风较简单,主要是偏北气流,陆风的风速和强度都比海风要弱,与山谷风、城市热岛环流等形成弱的辐合。香港是一个海岸曲折、多丘陵的地区,其中75%的面积是山区,为了研究这些丘陵地形对香港地区海陆风的影响,设计了保留海陆分布,去掉丘陵地形的敏感性试验,结果表明,由于丘陵地形的存在,在白天地形的热力作用是主要的,增强了海风的强度;而晚上动力阻挡作用比较明显,减弱了陆风的强度。     

Sulfur budget above the Eastern Mediterranean: relative contribution of anthropogenic and biogenic sources

To access the relative contribution of anthropogenic and biogenic sulfur sources to the sulfur budget in the Eastern Mediterranean, an area characterized by very high nss-     levels, measurements of both wet and dry deposition of sulfur were performed at a remote area on the island of Crete (Finokalia) during a 3-yr period (1996–1999). The estimation of dry deposition is based on both gaseous sulfur dioxide (SO₂) and particulate phase non-sea-salt sulfate (nss-     ) and methane sulfonate (MSA) measurements. During the dry period, deposition of SO₂ from long-range transport is the main component of anthropogenic sulfur deposition in the area. The results of the wet and dry deposition obtained at Finokalia have been compared with DMS emission from seawater obtained during two yearly surveys (1997–1998) in the Cretan Sea. Our results indicate that the contribution from biogenic sources to the sulfur budget in the Eastern Mediterranean, although negligible during winter, can account for up to 26% during summer.