Environmental impacts of aerosol radiative effect and urbanization and their interactions over the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei City cluster

Abstract

With fast economic development, urban expansion and air pollution are two main eco-environmental challenges confronting China. Though both are associated with intensified human activities, their impacts on urban environment are investigated separately, and the synthetic effect and intricate interaction of the two have not been fully understood. Here, based on in-situ measurements and online-coupled meteorology-chemistry modelling, the impacts of anthropogenic aerosol and urbanization are investigated simultaneously at Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei city cluster during a typical pollution season. The two processes exhibit opposite influences on meteorology and air quality. Aerosol via its radiative effect tends to cause net loss of solar energy with 3 °C cooling at the ground surface and 1 °C warming in the upper boundary layer. In contrast, urbanization yields large increment of net surface solar radiation as well as sensible heat flux, leading to over 1 °C warming in the lower atmosphere. Such modifications of boundary layer structure alter the accumulation and formation of air pollution. Urbanization effect dominated in the modification of near-surface air temperature and air pollution, making the synthetic effect a linear combination of two processes. The study highlights a comprehensive understanding of air pollution and urbanization and their synergy effect on urban environment over megacities.