Seasonal variation and four-year trend of black carbon in the Mid-west China: The analysis of the ambient measurement and WRF-Chem modeling

Abstract

In-situ measurement of black carbon (BC) concentration from September 2003 to August 2007 in the Xi'an City at the Guanzhong Basin located in the mid-western China (the Guanzhong Basin) was analyzed. A regional dynamics and aerosol model (WRF-Chem) was used to quantify the impacts of local emission, meteorological conditions, and regional atmospheric transport on seasonal variation of BC concentration at the Guanzhong Basin. The results show that the regional prevailing winds at the Guanzhong Basin were unfavorable for the horizontal transport. The mean wind speeds ranged from 1.0 m/s to 1.9 m/s. During winter, the wind at the Guanzhong Basin was very weak (∼1.0 m/s). During spring and autumn, there was a wind convergent zone at the Guanzhong Basin, constraining the BC concentrations inside the Guanzhong Basin. As a result, the BC concentrations were persistently high at the Guanzhong Basin. In addition to the high background concentrations, there was a strong seasonal variation, with a maximum in winter (winter maximum) and a minimum in summer (summer minimum), with the maximum of the mean concentration of 30 μg m−3 in 2003–2004 winter, and the minimum of 5 μg m−3 in 2004 summer. The model sensitivity study shows that the seasonal variation of BC concentration was largely due to the seasonal variation of BC emission, especially during winter with the maximum of BC emission. A strong annual decrease trend of the BC concentration was found from 2004 to 2007. It is interesting to note that the decrease of the BC concentration only occurred in winter. For example, the winter maximum was 20 μg m−3 in 2003, and reduced to 11 μg m−3 in 2006, with about 50% decrease. In contrast, the summer minimum was 10 μg m−3 in 2004 and 9 μg m−3 in 2007, with only 10% decrease. This study suggests that the rapid decrease in the winter maximum was mainly due to the reduction of the BC emission in winter, implying the effective winter emission control at the Guanzhong Basin.