Abstract
Poor air quality directly affects human health and has become an increasingly important environmental issue in Tianjin, China. The suspension of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere is not only from industrial pollutants, but also soil wind erosion; however, the contributions from farmland, woodland, and grassland have rarely been considered in this region. We conducted an assessment of PM sources through wind erosion, dust emission, and dust transportation from urban and rural areas to the central district in Tianjin, and our results demonstrated that the spatial variability of wind erosion and dust emission strongly depends on land use, particle size distribution and meteorological conditions. The equations in this study were empirical, and soil properties such as aggregation and crusting, as well as surface characteristics such as canopy height and residue cover, were not considered. The dust emission capacity of woodland and grassland was the lowest because of vegetation coverage. The values obtained in this study may overestimate emissions, because soil aggregation was not considered. The yearly dust amounts of PM15–20 (particles with aerodynamic diameter from 15 µm to 20 µm), PM10–15 (particles with aerodynamic diameter from 10 µm to 15 µm), and PM10 (particles with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 µm) from wind erosion in 2009 from the urban area in Tianjin were estimated as 5,400 t, 5700 t and 17,300 t, respectively, while those from the rural area were 14,000 t, 15,300 t and 40,700 t, respectively. The dust emission contributed from farmland accounted for 99.5%, and that from woodland and grassland only accounted for 0.5%. The PM10 transported to the central district and PM10 concentrations in the days with the 20% highest PM10 concentrations in the central district in 2009 were compared. The R 2 was 0.74, which meant the two variables were highly correlated.
Highlights
Poor air quality has become a serious environmental problem in Tianjin, China
We conducted an assessment of particulate matter (PM) sources through wind erosion, dust emission, and dust transportation from urban and rural areas to the central district in Tianjin, and our results demonstrated that the spatial variability of wind erosion and dust emission strongly depends on land use, particle size distribution and meteorological conditions
The yearly dust amounts of PM15–20, PM10–15, and PM10 from wind erosion in 2009 from the urban area in Tianjin were estimated as 5,400 t, 5700 t and 17,300 t, respectively, while those from the rural area were 14,000 t, 15,300 t and 40,700 t, respectively
Summary
Poor air quality has become a serious environmental problem in Tianjin, China. Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10μm (PM10) is a major air pollutant in Tianjin. Dust Storms frequently occurred in Tianjin, especially during the sand period, and the coarser particulate matters such as PM10–15 and PM15–20 were of our concern. Wind erosion on agricultural land is a serious environmental problem in northern China, especially in the arid and semiarid regions. Fine particulates eroded from farmland and subsequently suspended in the atmosphere recently were raised concern about air quality in the western United States (Sharratt et al, 2007). Fine particulates eroded from farmland and subsequently suspended in the atmosphere recently were raised concern about air quality in the western United States (Sharratt et al, 2007). Saxton (1995) reported that windblown dust from farmland was the major noncompliance source of the U.S EPA National Ambient Air
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