[Observation Analyses of Aerosol Size Distribution Properties from February to March, 2019 in Tianjin Urban Area].

The aerosol size distribution is an important physical parameter reflecting the source, formation process, and pollution characteristics of aerosol particles. In order to study the properties of aerosol number concentration and size distributions in the Tianjin urban area,the aerosol number concentration and size distributions ranging from 10-600 nm were detected using a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) during February and March, 2019. The results showed that in the Tianjin urban area, the aerosol number concentration,surface area concentration. and volume concentration in the size range of 10-600 nm were 22188.22 cm-3, 1581.08 µm2·cm-3, and 70.76 µm3·cm-3,respectively, in late winter and early spring. The aerosol number concentration,surface area concentration, and volume concentration spectrum were all unimodally distributed,and the peak value sizes were 109.40, 269.00, and 429.40 nm. The number concentrations of the nucleation mode (10-20 nm),Aitken mode (20-100 nm), and accumulation mode (100-600 nm) aerosols accounted for 1.40%, 52.44%, and 46.16% of the total number concentration. The diurnal variation in aerosol number concentration showed three peaks (06:00-08:00, 12:00-14:00, and 18:00-20:00) on work days and two peaks (07:00-08:00 and 19:00-21:00) on weekends. The peaks appeared 1-2 hours later on weekends,and the increment of aerosol number concentration was attributed to vehicle exhaust emissions. Meteorological factors had a significant influence on the aerosol size distribution in Tianjin; aerosol number concentration values were high in east and southwest wind. On non-precipitation days,the aerosol number size distribution moved to larger size ranges with the increment of relative humidity (RH); as the RH increased from <20% to 50%-60%,the size peak increased from 50 nm to 131 nm. The precipitation removed 100-200 nm aerosol particles discernibly,which resulted in the size peak decreasing to 98 nm.

[Characteristics of BTEX and Health Risk Assessment During Typical Pollution Episodes in Summer and Winter in Tianjin Urban Area].

Real-time BTEX(including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m-, p-, and o-xylenes) were measured continuously in Tianjin urban site in July 2019 and January 2020 using a Syntech Spectras GC955 analyzer. The BTEX concentration levels, composition, and evolutionary mechanisms during typical pollution episodes were investigated. The potential sources of BTEX were analyzed qualitatively using the diagnostic ratios method. Finally, the BTEX health risk was evaluated by using the human exposure analysis and evaluation method according to US EPA. The averaged total mixing ratio of BTEX were 1.32×10-9 and 4.83×10-9 during ozone pollution and haze episodes, respectively. Benzene was the most abundant species, followed by toluene. The mixing ratio of BTEX was largely affected by short southwestern distance transportation in January, while local emissions in July. In addition, the BTEX mixing ratio depended on the influence of temperature and relative humidity(RH) in July, while the concentration was more sensitive to changes in RH when the temperature was low in January. Diagnostic ratios and source implications suggested that the BTEX was affected mainly by biomass/biofuel/coal burning during haze episodes. The traffic related emissions also had an impact except for the influence of biomass/biofuel/coal burning in July. The averaged hazard quotient(HQ) values were 0.072 and 0.29 during ozone pollution and haze episodes, respectively, which were in the upper safety range limit recommended by the US EPA. The carcinogenic risk posed by benzene in both cleaning and pollution processes was higher than the safety threshold set by the US EPA, which should be monitored carefully.

[Transport Characteristics of PAN and O3 in the Lower Atmosphere of the Boundary Layer in Tianjin in Summer].

The volume concentration of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) and O3 in the atmosphere were measured at the Tianjin Meteorological Tower in summer 2017 by using the online instrument with meteorological parameters and back trajectory analysis to analyze the delivery characteristics of PAN and O3. The average volume concentrations of PAN and O3 during the observational period are (0.73±0.56)×10-9 and (53±25)×10-9, respectively. The hourly maximum concentrations of PAN and O3 are 3.49×10-9 and 137×10-9. The volume concentrations of PAN and O3 show pronounced diurnal profiles, which are both characterized by much higher values at daytime than at nighttime. In addition, the correlation coefficient between PAN and O3 at daytime (R2=0.52) is notably higher than that at nighttime (R2=0.21). The air masses originating from the south show the highest volume concentration of PAN and O3, with the lowest volume concentration originating from the east. The wind rose plot and cluster analysis of the back trajectories show that the highest concentration of pollutants mainly originates in the southwest. The air massess originating from the east and circulating through the Bohai Sea and coastal areas of the Hebei and Liaoning provinces show the lowest volume concentrations of PAN and O3. The transportation within the boundary layer plays an important role in the concentration distribution of PAN and O3.

[Construction and Application of Vertical Diffusion Index for Analyzing Weather During Pollution Events in Tianjin].

Based on temperature and wind speed data from the 255 meter tall meteorological tower, the characteristics of atmospheric stability were analyzed in Tianjin, with the vertical diffusion index ß and φ constructed by atmospheric chemical models. This provided information to use the vertical dispersion analysis method to forecast pollution from weather data. The results show that the comprehensive use of atmospheric stability and the vertical diffusion index can provide a better pollution forecast. When the atmospheric stability was D from 07:00-08:00 and 18:00-20:00, compared to when atmospheric stability was C, the probability of heavy pollution weather increased by 10 times. If the vertical diffusion index ß and wind speed index were used to forecast heavy pollution, the accuracy rate was 67% higher than when using the single wind speed index. The coefficient between vertical diffusion index φ and PM2.5 mass concentration was 0.8.When the vertical diffusion index φ was less than 0.52, the probability of heavy pollution was 75%, identifying 59% of heavy pollution events.

Vertical observation and analysis on rapid formation and evolutionary mechanisms of a prolonged haze episode over central-eastern China.

To clarify the rapid formation and evolutionary mechanisms of an extremely severe and persistent haze and fog (HF) episode that occurred in central-eastern China from Dec 20 to 25, 2015, a novel campaign was conducted and vertical profiles of wind, temperature, light extinction coefficient (LEC) and PM2.5 concentration were used to analyze the rapid formation and evolutionary mechanisms of this HF episode. The substantial downward transportation of regional pollution from high layers and stagnant weather conditions favorable for the local pollution accumulation were the two main causes of the rapid increase in pollutant concentration. Southwest wind speeds of 4m/s between 300 and 600m and obvious downward flows were observed, whereas the southwest wind speeds were low below 300m, and strong temperature inversion with intensity of 4.5°C/100m expanded vertically to a height of 600m. Two peaks of PM2.5 concentration were observed at 200 and 700m, corresponding to 235 and 215µg/m3, respectively. The frequent change in wind direction and wind speeds resulted in the fluctuation of PM2.5 concentration. The turbulence within lower layers of the troposphere was enhanced by easterly and northerly winds which decreased the pollution level; however, the strength and stretching height of the winds were insufficient to fully clear the air of pollutants. The PM2.5 concentration revealed 2-high concentration layers in the vertical direction. The maximum concentration layer was below 100m, while the second high-concentration layer was at 400m.

[Characteristics of the Size Distribution of Water-soluble Ions During a Heavy Pollution Episode in the Winter in Tianjin].

To characterize the size distribution of water-soluble inorganic ions (WSⅡ) during a heavy pollution episode, particle samples were collected by an Andersen cascade sampler in Tianjin in January 2014, and the concentrations of eight WSⅡ (Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-, NO3-, and SO42-) during a typical haze episode were analyzed by ion chromatography. The sources and formation mechanisms of WSⅡ were analyzed based on their size distributions. The results showed that the daily average concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were (138±100) µg·m-3 and (227±142) µg·m-3, respectively, and the average concentration of total WSⅡ concentrations (TWSⅡ) in the coarse and fine particles were (34.07+6.16) µg·m-3 and (104.16+51.76) µg·m-3, respectively. The concentrations of SO42-, NO3-, and NH4+ in the fine particles were much higher than concentrations of the other ions, and there were strong correlations between these three ions. The TWSⅡ on clear days, light pollution days, and heavy pollution days were (41.55±12.41) µg·m-3, (94.46±31.19) µg·m-3, and (147.55±27.76) µg·m-3, respectively. On clear days, SO42- showed a unimodal distribution, peaking at 0.43-0.65 µm; and NO3- showed a trimodal distribution, peaking at 0.43-0.65 µm, 2.1-3.3 µm, and 5.8-9.0 µm. NH4+ had a bimodal distribution, peaking at 0.43-0.65 µm and 4.7-5.8 µm. On heavy pollution days, however, the size distributions of these three secondary inorganic ions switched to a unimodal size distribution, peaking at 0.65-1.1 µm. Unimodal NH4+ mainly coexisted with SO42- and NO3-, and the excess NH4+ was found to be combined with Cl- in the fine particles. In the coarse particles, NH4+ completely coexisted with SO42- and NO3-.

Vertical characteristics of PM2.5 during the heating season in Tianjin, China.

In this study, PM2.5 samples were collected at four heights (10m, 40m, 120m and 220m) at a meteorological tower in the daytime and nighttime during the heating season in Tianjin, China. The vertical variation and diurnal variability of the concentrations of PM2.5 and main chemical compositions were analyzed in clear days and heavy pollution days. Generally, mass concentrations of PM2.5 and the chemical compositions showed a decreasing trend with increasing height, while mass percentages of SO4(2-), NO3(-) and OC showed an increasing trend with increasing height. Concentrations of ion species and carbon compound in PM2.5 samples in the daytime were higher than those collected at night, which was due to intense human activities and suitable meteorological condition in the daytime. The ratios of NO3(-)/SO4(2-) and OC/EC were also considered, and we have observed that their levels on heavy pollution days were higher than those on clear days. In addition, source apportionments were identified quantitatively using the CMB-iteration model. The results indicated that contributions of secondary ion species increased with increasing height, while contributions of other pollutant sources decreased, and contributions of vehicle exhaust were relatively high on clear days.