Impact of aerosol-boundary layer interactions on PM2.5 pollution during cold air pool events in a semi-arid urban basin

Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved..

Global emission reductions still must address winter fine particulate matter (PM2.5) pollution in urban basins with enclosed terrains and frequent cold air pool (CAP) events when the temperatures within the basin are colder than above it. The effects of urban basin aerosol-boundary layer interactions on PM2.5 pollution during CAP events remain unclear. Intensive boundary layer observations in January 2021 and numerical models were used to investigate this issue in the semi-arid urban Lanzhou Basin of China. The results showed that CAPs formed because of the synoptic weather system that exacerbated the warming over the basin. The CAPs in this experiment were characterized by stronger temperature inversion (TI) layers in the vertical direction and lower relative humidity, lower wind speed, and weaker turbulence at the bottom of the basin compared to other conditions. The strong TI layers below the top of the basin inhibited the vertical dispersion of pollutants in the basin and concentrated the PM2.5 within a height of 0.3 km from the bottom of the basin. During CAP events, the proportion of elemental carbon in PM2.5 increased, whereas that of secondary inorganic species decreased. Aerosol absorption increased faster than scattering during CAP events. Therefore, the mean single scattering albedo decreased from 0.85 during non-CAP periods to 0.81 during CAP events. Radiosonde-sounding observations and numerical simulations indicated that aerosols accumulating in the lower basin heated the atmosphere during the daytime and facilitated boundary layer development via the "stove effect" (absorption aerosol heats lower atmosphere to promote boundary layer development). No significant "dome effect" (absorption aerosol heats the upper boundary layer to suppress boundary layer development) occurred during the two CAP events. These findings provide a theoretical basis for scientifically-guided PM2.5 pollution control in winter in isolated urban basins.

Medienart:

E-Artikel

Erscheinungsjahr:

2024

Erschienen:

2024

Enthalten in:

Zur Gesamtaufnahme - volume:922

Enthalten in:

The Science of the total environment - 922(2024) vom: 20. März, Seite 171225

Sprache:

Englisch

Beteiligte Personen:

Zhang, Min [VerfasserIn]
Tian, Pengfei [VerfasserIn]
Zhao, Yiyang [VerfasserIn]
Song, Xin [VerfasserIn]
Liang, Jiening [VerfasserIn]
Li, Jiayun [VerfasserIn]
Zhang, Zhida [VerfasserIn]
Guan, Xu [VerfasserIn]
Cao, Xianjie [VerfasserIn]
Ren, Yan [VerfasserIn]
Shi, Jinsen [VerfasserIn]
Zhang, Lei [VerfasserIn]

Links:

Volltext

Themen:

Aerosol-boundary layer interaction
Cold air pools
Journal Article
Semi-arid region
Urban basin
Winter PM(2.5) pollution

Anmerkungen:

Date Revised 19.03.2024

published: Print-Electronic

Citation Status PubMed-not-MEDLINE

doi:

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171225

funding:

Förderinstitution / Projekttitel:

PPN (Katalog-ID):

NLM368986128