The Relationship of PM Variation with Visibility and Mixing-Layer Height under Hazy/Foggy Conditions in the Multi-Cities of Northeast China

Hujia Zhao, Huizheng Che, Yanjun Ma, Yangfeng Wang, Hongbin Yang, Yuche Liu, Yaqiang Wang, Hong Wang and Xiaoye Zhang
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Hujia Zhao: State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather (LASW) and Institute of Atmospheric Composition, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, CMA, Beijing 100081, China
Huizheng Che: State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather (LASW) and Institute of Atmospheric Composition, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, CMA, Beijing 100081, China
Yanjun Ma: Institute of Atmospheric Environment, China Meteorological Administration, Shenyang 110016, China
Yangfeng Wang: Institute of Atmospheric Environment, China Meteorological Administration, Shenyang 110016, China
Hongbin Yang: Institute of Atmospheric Environment, China Meteorological Administration, Shenyang 110016, China
Yuche Liu: Institute of Atmospheric Environment, China Meteorological Administration, Shenyang 110016, China
Yaqiang Wang: State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather (LASW) and Institute of Atmospheric Composition, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, CMA, Beijing 100081, China
Hong Wang: State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather (LASW) and Institute of Atmospheric Composition, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, CMA, Beijing 100081, China
Xiaoye Zhang: State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather (LASW) and Institute of Atmospheric Composition, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, CMA, Beijing 100081, China

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 5, 1-18

Abstract: The variations of visibility, PM-mass concentration and mixing-layer height (MLH) in four major urban/industry regions (Shenyang, Anshan, Benxi and Fushun) of central Liaoning in Northeast China are evaluated from 2009 to 2012 to characterize their dynamic effect on air pollution. The annual mean visibilities are about 13.7 ± 7.8, 13.5 ± 6.5, 12.8 ± 6.1 and 11.5 ± 6.8 km in Shenyang, Anshan, Benxi and Fushun, respectively. The pollution load (PM × MLH) shows a weaker vertical diffusion in Anshan, with a higher PM concentration near the surface. High concentrations of fine-mode particles may be partially attributed to the biomass-burning emissions from September in Liaoning Province and surrounding regions in Northeast China as well as the coal burning during the heating period with lower MLH in winter. The visibility on non-hazy fog days is about 2.5–3.0 times higher than that on hazy and foggy days. The fine-particle concentrations of PM 2.5 and PM 1.0 on hazy and foggy days are ~1.8–1.9 times and ~1.5 times higher than those on non-hazy foggy days. The MLH declined more severely during fog pollution than in haze pollution. The results of this study can provide useful information to better recognize the effects of vertical pollutant diffusion on air quality in the multi-cities of central Liaoning Province in Northeast China.

Keywords: visibility; PM; MLH; multi-cities; Northeast China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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