Characteristics and sources of 2002 super dust storm in Beijing

~~Characteristics and sources of 2002 super dust storm in Beijing~~     

Coupling and feedback between iron and sulphur in air-sea exchange

Iron in surface seawater has been demonstrated to be the limiting nutrient factor for primary productivity in certain oceanic regions where other major nutrients are abundant[1—5]. The available Fe to the phytoplankton in seawater is related to the uptake of carbon dioxide through the ocean and, in turn, to the global greenhouse effect[6—11]. Recent reports showed that the available Fe in the seawater is closely correlative to nitrogen fixation in the ocean[12—17]. Understanding which Fe s…     

Speciation of the elements and compositions on the surfaces of dust storm particles： The evidence for the coupling of iron with sulfur in aerosol during the long-range transport

The speciation of the elements on the surface of the particles collected during dust storm and non-dust storm in Beijing and Inner Mongolia was studied by XPS. The major species of iron on the surface were oxides, sulfate, silicate,FeOOH and minor part sorbed on SiO2/Al2O3. Sulfate is the dominant species of sulfur on the surface. SiO2 and Al2O3 are the main components of Si and Al on the surface respectively.One of the most important findings was that the Fe(Ⅱ) (FeS and FeSO4) produced could account for up to 44.3% and 45.6% of the total Fe on the surface in the aerosol sample collected at that night and next day of the “peak” time of the dust storm occurring on March 20, 2002, while Fe2(SO4)3,one of the Fe(Ⅲ) species on the surface decreased from 67.1% to 49.5% and 48.0% respectively. Both S and Fe enriched on the surface of aerosol particles. Fe(Ⅱ) accounted for 1.3%-5.3% of total Fe in bulk aerosol samples during dust storm. These results provided strong evidence to support the hypothesis of the coupling between iron and sulfur in aerosols during the long-range transport, which would have important impact on the global biogeochemical cycle.     

Size distribution and element composition of dust aerosol in Chinese Otindag Sandland

Dust aerosol is one important component of atmos-pheric aerosols, and plays important roles in the Earth’s climate system and the biogeochemical cycle. Large amounts of dust aerosols produced from windblown soils and deserts are emitted annually into the atmosphere and transported over long distance to downwind land and ocean areas[1]. The deserts and desertification soils in northern China are important sources of East Asia dust aerosols. It is estimated that 800 Mt of dust aerosols emit-t…     

Compound-specific carbon isotope compositions of individual long-chain n-alkanes in severe Asian dust episodes in the North China coast in 2002

Asian dust storms originating from the arid regions of central and eastern Asia and from the Loess Plateau in China frequently occur in spring [1,2]. Driven by the East Asian monsoon, Asian dust can be transported to northern Pacific Ocean[2―8]. Asian du…     

Great progress in study on aerosol and its impact on the global environment

The transport from atmosphere is a more important pathway than that from rivers for certain elements and compounds in the remote ocean. The desert and those arid/semi-arid areas in the northwest of China and the Loess Plateau are the sources of those aerosols over the Pacific. Atmospheric iron is the limiting factor of the productivity in certain ocean regions. The dust storms must now be seen as repeated sources of pollution elements as well as soil elements to the East China Sea and, farther out, to the North Pacific Ocean and even to the USA. The long-range transport of aerosols, especially the dust storm, from China and the positive feedbacks of iron coupled with sulfur in atmosphere might be one of the important mechanisms that would affect the primary productivity in the Pacific and/or the global climate change and deserve to be further studied. It can be seen clearly that the dust storms would affect not only the health of human beings and the local or regional climate, but also the global climate change that has been the focus of environmental study internationally.     

Inorganic chemical composition and source signature of PM2.5 in Beijing during ACE-Asia period

Aerosol samples for PM2.5 were collected in Beijing for 38 consecutive days from March to April 2001 using an IMPROVE Sampler. Concentrations of 20 elements in PM2.5 were determined using a PIXE method. Results show that the average mineral dust concentration of PM2.5 was 14.6 Ilg/m3 during the observation period. On the sand-dust event days of March 21 and April 10, dust PM2.5 mass concentrations were 62.4 and 54.1 μg/m^3, respectively.These demonstrate that fine particle pollution by dust event in Beijing was very severe. The enrichment factors of S and Cu reached minimums on the dusty days and were high on the non-dusty days. It is considered that enrichment factors of elements in PM2.5, which are associated with human activities, can probably provide an effective method to distinguish local sources from external sources of dust. Factor analysis on the chemical composition in PM2.5 shows that sources of crustal matters, anthropogenic emission, and oil combustion contributed to PM2.5 levels in air in the springtime of 2001 in Beijing.     

Territorial Features of Atmospheric Environment in Beijing and Impact of Dust-storm

1Introduction　TheenvironmentproblemsontheEarthcanbeclassifiedasthreekinds ,whicharecalledasthelocalenvironment,terri torialenvironmentandglobalenvironmentproblems ,respec tively .Nowthekindsofanthropogenicactivityhaveledtotheseriousterritorialenvironmentproblemsallovertheworld .Recently ,theterritorialenvironmentproblemsinChinahavebeengraduallyrecognized .　Nowalthoughtheseparateseriouspollutionshavebeende creasedbyremovingandcontrollingthestrongpollutionsources ,theterritorialpollutionprobl…     

Synthesis and antimutagenic effects of selena-morpholine hydrate

The synthesis of selenamorpholine hydrate was described and its antimutagenic effects were investigated by the Ames tests. The results indicated that the mutation induced by the indirect mutagen 2-AF was inhibited obviously by selenamorpholine hydrate at the dosage of Se 0. 16～100 μg /dish for 35.8%～53.7%(TA97) and the mutation induced by direct mutagen Dexon was inhibited for 6.2%～30.0%(TA97) and 2.3%～34.1%(TA100). The mutagenesis of the indirect mutagen cyclophosphamide was suppressed for 5.4%～16.1% by selenamorpholine hydrate at the dosage of Se 0. 16～100 μg /dish.     

MSA in Beijing aerosol

Methane sulphonate (MSA) and sulfate (SO4^2-),the main oxidation products of dirnethyl sulfide (DMS), arethe target of atmospheric chemistry study, as sulfate aerosolwould have important impact on the global climate change. It is widely believed that DMS is rnainly emitted from phyto-plankton production in marine boundary layer (MBL), andMSA is usually used as the tracer of non-sea-salt sulfate (nss-SO4^2-) in marine and coastal areas/MSA/SO4^2- = 1/18) Manyobservations of MSA were in marine and coastal aerosols. Toour surprise, MSA was frequently (＞60%) deteeted in BeijingTSP. PM10, and PM2.5 aerosols, even in the samples collectedduring the dust storm period. The concentrations of MSAwere higher than those measured in marine aerosols. Factoranalysis, correlation analysis and meteorology analysis indi-cated that there was no obvious marine influence on Beljiagaerosols. DMS from terrestrial emissions and dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) from industrial wastes could be the twopossible precursors of MSA. Warm and low-pressure airmasses and long time radiation were beneficial to the forma-tion of MSA. Anthropogenlc pollution from regional andlocal sources might be the dominant contributor to MSA inBeijing aerosol. This was the first report of MSA in aerosolscollected in an inland site in China. This new finding wouldlead to the further study on the balance af sulfur in inlandcities and its global bingcoehemical cycle.     

北京大气污染区域分布及变化趋势研究

本文利用2000-2005年北京市8个国控点PM10、SO2、CO、NO2和NOX等污染物浓度数据,分析了北京各区域大气污染分布与季节变化特征,以及近几年大气污染变化趋势.方法以主成分分析为主,辅以时间序列分析.分析结果显示：北京大气污染存在明显的时空差异,第一、二主分量可以很好地表征城市大气污染属性,所有污染物对第一主分量贡献都为正值,能够清楚区分大气污染程度,以及城市与区域背景的异同,第二主分量可以区分城市污染的源排放特征.基于此标准,全市范围内大气污染划分为燃煤型、机动车排放型、过渡型以及环境背景等四种污染类型.     

兰州远郊区春季碳气溶胶的质量浓度特征

 为探讨春季沙尘(暴)期间兰州大学半干旱气候与环境观测站(SACOL)碳气溶胶的变化特征, 2012 年5 月17-26 日于SACOL 站采用石英膜收集PM₁₀样品, 利用DRI-2001A 热/光碳分析仪测量元素碳(EC)和有机碳(OC)的质量浓度。结果显示, 沙尘(暴)是导致OC、EC 质量浓度增大的主要因素。采样期间EC、OC 和总碳(TC)的平均质量浓度分别为2.71、11.26 和13.97 μg/m³。进一步分析显示, 沙尘(暴)期间兰州城区碳气溶胶污染逐渐加重主要受本地源的影响。PM₁₀中OC 和EC 的相关系数达到0.94, 揭示SACOL 站OC、EC 的来源相对一致。OC/EC 的均值为5.05, 表明春季SACOL 站PM₁₀中碳气溶胶存在二次污染。二次有机碳(SOC)的质量浓度为3.37 μg/m³, 为OC 的29.9%。结合考察周边环境, 分析表明SACOL 站春季碳气溶胶的主要来源是直接污染源, 来自周边环境中的燃煤以及机动车尾气排放。对碳气溶胶8 种组分的因子分析结果也表明, 周边环境的燃煤和机动车尾气排放是春季SACOL 站碳气溶胶的主要贡献源。     

Seasonal variation and sources of low molecular weight organic acids in precipitation in the rural area of Anshun

Low molecular weight (LMW) organic acids are important and ubiquitous chemical constituents in the atmosphere. A comprehensive study of the chemical composition of precipitation was carried out from June 2007 to June 2008 at a rural site in Anshun, in the west of Guizhou Province, China. During this period, 118 rainwater samples were collected and the main LMW carboxylic acids were determined using ion chromatography. The average pH of rainwater was 4.89 which is a typical acidic value. The most abundant carboxylic acids were formic acid (volume weight mean concentration: 8.77 μmol L⁻¹) and acetic acid (6.90 μmol L⁻¹), followed by oxalic acid (2.05 μmol L⁻¹). The seasonal variation of concentrations and wet deposition fluxes of organic acids indicated that direct vegetation emissions were the main sources of the organic acids. Highest concentrations were observed in winter and were ascribed to the low winter rainfall and the contribution of other air pollution sources northeast of the study area. The ratio of formic and acetic acids in the precipitation ([F/A] _T ) was proposed as an indicator of pollution source. This suggested that the pollution resulted from direct emissions from natural or anthropogenic sources. Comparison with acid precipitation in other urban and rural areas in Guizhou showed that there was a decreasing contribution of LMW organic acids to free acidity and all anions in rainwater from urban to remote rural areas. Consequently, it is necessary to control emissions of organic acids to reduce the frequency of acid rain, especially in rural and remote areas.     

Elemental composition of aerosols collected in the glacier area on Nyainqêntanglha Range, Tibetan Plateau, during summer monsoon season

In order to investigate the elemental composition in atmospheric aerosols and its sources in the glacier area over the Tibetan Plateau (TP), seven totally suspended particle samples were collected continuously at the col of the Zhadang glacier (30°28′N,90°39′E,5800 m a.s.l.), Nyainqêntanglha Range, southern TP, from June to October 2006. Twenty-seven elements (Li, Be, B, Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Fe, Mn, Zn, Ga, As, Rb, Sr, Y, Cd, Cs, Ba, Tl, Pb, Bi, Th, U) were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The result indicates that the concentrations of most elements (especially crustal elements) are lower than values at the Nam Co Station during the same period of 2005, and also much lower than other sites in the TP such as Wudaoliang and Waliguan. This suggests that elemental compositions of aerosols in the Zhadang glacier area may represent the background levels of the middle/upper troposphere over the TP. Crustal enrichment factors (EFs) reveal that several elements (e.g. B, Zn, As, Cd, Pb and Bi) may have anthropogenic sources. The southern TP is mainly influenced by the summer Indian monsoon during the sampling period. Backward air mass trajectory analysis suggests that air masses in the region may originate from South Asia. Therefore, anthropogenic pollutants from South Asia may be transported by the summer Indian monsoon to the region which clearly affects the atmospheric environment in the southern TP during the summer monsoon season.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">In situ</Emphasis> measurement of PM<Subscript>1</Subscript> organic aerosol in Beijing winter using a high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometer

Organic aerosol (OA) is a crucial component of atmospheric fine particles. To achieve a better understanding of the chemical characteristics and sources of OA in Beijing, the size-resolved chemical composition of submicron aerosols were measured in-situ using a High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer in the winter of 2010, with a high time resolution of 5 min. During this study, the mean OA mass concentration was 20.9±25.3 μg/m3, varying between 1.9 and 284.6 μg/m3. Elemental analysis showed that the average H/C, O/C and N/C (molar ratio) were 1.70, 0.17, and 0.005, respectively, corresponding to an OM/OC ratio (mass ratio of organic matter to organic carbon) of 1.37. The average mass-based size distributions of OA present a promi- nent accumulation mode peaking at approximately 450 nm. The prominent presence of ultrafine particles (Dva < 100 nm) was mainly from the fresh emissions of combustion sources. A Positive Matrix Factorisation (PMF) analysis of the organic mass spectral dataset differentiated the OA into three components, including hydrocarbon-like (HOA), cooking-related (COA), and oxygenated (OOA) organic aerosols, which, on average, accounted for 26.9%, 49.7% and 23.4%, respectively, of the total organic mass. The HOA and COA likely corresponded to primary organic aerosol (POA) associated with combustion-related and cooking emissions, respectively, and the OOA components corresponded to aged secondary organic aerosol (SOA).     

Source of a floating dust episode over the Qingdao region and dust throughput to the ocean

A floating dust weather happened on March 11–12, 1995 over the Qingdao region. Its source’s and throughput to the ocean were studied. The result indicated that the floating dust was caused by the dust storm that started in northwestern China and developed in northern China. 21 × 10⁶t fine soil particles were carried to the ocean during the episode.     

某企业周边环境降尘中的重金属含量及生态风险分析

目的 研究宝鸡市某企业周边环境降尘中的重金属元素污染状况及生态风险分析,为环境保护管理部门正确决策提供科学依据.方法 在某企业周边布设6个降尘点位进行采样,用原子吸收法测定采样中的Pb,Zn,Cu,Cd,Cr,Ni和Fe七种金属元素含量,再采用富集因子法对金属元素的来源进行分析,并采用潜在生态风险指数法对周边环境进行生态风险评价.结果 某企业周边环境降尘中7种重金属分析结果表明,Cd和Pb超标最为严重,其均值分别是陕西省土壤相应元素背景值的661倍和196倍多;其次是Zn和Cu分别是陕西省土壤相应元素背景值的76倍和7倍多.富集因子计算结果表明,该企业周边环境6个点位的降尘中的重金属元素均已极强富集,该区域环境已受严重污染.潜在生态风险指数法评价结果表明,该企业周边环境降尘中重金属已经达到严重污染水平,周边环境存在严重潜在生态危害.结论 某企业周边环境降尘中重金属已经达到严重污染水平,该周边环境存在严重潜在生态危害.     

Discovery of the superlarge gallium ore deposit in Jungar, Inner Mongolia, North China

Gallium, Ge, V, and U are the associated valuable elements in coal. From the 1950s to the 1970s, some researchers in the departments of coal industry and mineral resources of China investigated these elements in coal during geological explorations. The enrichment mechanism and the environmental influence of trace elements in coal have been deeply studied in recent twenty years. With respect to the ore-forming theories and practical utilizations of metals in coal, germanium was furthest studi…     

Dust storm in Asia continent and its bio-environmental effects in the North Pacific： A case study of the strongest dust event in April, 2001 in central Asia

The iron hypothesis, first proposed by John Martin in 1990[1], suggests that some surface oceans such as North and Equatorial Pacific Oceans have high nutrient but low chlorophyll (HNLC). Thus iron coming from terrestrial dusts is the primary factor limit…     

Summer monsoon and dust signals recorded in the Dasuopu firn core, central Himalayas

In September 1997, a 15-m firn core was recovered from an elevation of 7 000 m a. s.l. from the Dasuopu Glacier in the central Himalayas. The analysis of δ18O values and major ion (Ca2+ , Mg2+ , NH4+ , SO42- and NO3-) concentrations shows that average annual accumulation is 0.75 m (water equivalent) in the Dasuopu firn core. The seasonal variations of δ18O values and major ion concentrations in the core indicate that present summer monsoon and dust signals are recorded with high-resolution in the Dasuopu Glacier. δ18O in precipitation are controlled by amount effect in summer monsoon season, more negative δ18O is representative of summer monsoon signal in snow layers. Higher concentrations of Ca2+ , Mg2+ , SO42- and NO3-are dominated by spring dust storm imput derived from the arid and semi-arid desert regions in central Asia. Also EOF analysis verifies that high spring concentrations of major ions are consistent. Due to the possibly different sources, the secondary variations of NH4+ and NO3- are negatively relevant with that of Ca2+ and Mg2+ .