Boundary Layer Ozone Transport from Eastern China to Southern Japan: Pollution Episodes Observed during Monsoon Onset in 2004

Abstract

The trajectory analysis of boundary layer ozone data at four regional sites in the East Asian outflow regions in Japan was carried out together with boundary layer ozone data observed at Mt. Tai and Mt. Huang in the source region of central eastern China during the monsoon onset in May-June 2003 and 2004. At all sites, the influences of anthropogenic emissions from East Asia have been found. During May and June 2004, the evidences of direct pollution transport from central eastern China to Hedo, an outflow site in Okinawa Island were observed. Ozone mixing ratios associated with air masses from central eastern China averaged 45 ppb while those associated with clean air masses from the Pacific were only 14 ppb, which resulted in averaged 31 ppb increase of ozone mixing ratios during the pollution episodes from central eastern China at Cape Hedo. Using transport time analysis and averaging all ozone episodes transported from central eastern China, the ozone dilution rate of 5.4 ppb per day was roughly estimated during air masses transported from source to outflow regions at Hedo. In the regions nearby Japanese mainland, however ozone increases by long-range transports were more related to both domestic and East Asian sources as a whole.