Potential source regions of air pollutants at a regional background station in Northern China

Abstract

ABSTRACTUnderstanding the potential source regions of air pollutants and their relative contribution from surrounding areas are of great importance for air pollution control strategies in Northern China. Six years of measurement of air pollutants was conducted from 2005 to 2010 in Shangdianzi (SDZ) regional background station. During the study period, the annual average concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide and ozone (Ox), and fine particle matter less than or equal to 2.5 μm (PM2.5) range from 15.7 to 20.0 μg/m3, 577.7 to 856.0 μg/m3, 90.4 to 101.8 μg/m3, and 39.8 to 62.4 μg/m3, respectively. In this work, Potential Source Contribution Function (PSCF) and Trajectory Sector Analysis (TSA) methods are applied to identify locations of sources and their relatively contribution of air pollutants at SDZ. PSCF analysis shows that central Inner Mongolia, north Shanxi, west and south Hebei, and west Liaoning are all potential sources of SO2. The North China Plain (NCP) region, especially south Hebei and north Shandong, are major potential source regions for CO, Ox, and PM2.5. Therefore, reducing anthropogenic emissions from the coal industry, biomass burning, agricultural activities, and vehicles in these areas could be an effective way of controlling air pollution at SDZ. Based on the TSA results, the contributions of SO2, CO, Ox, and PM2.5 from long-distance transport are 5.5 μg/m3, 301.4 μg/m3, 14.8 μg/m3, and 25.8 μg/m3, accounting for approximately 22.6%, 32.3%, 13.1%, and 37.5% of the respective air pollutant concentrations at SDZ.