Characteristics of Surface Ozone and Nitrogen Oxides over a Typical City in the Yangtze River Delta, China

oleh: Shanshan Qiu, Rongguang Du, Guangtian Tang, Kunpeng Zang, Yi Lin, Yuanyuan Chen, Xuemei Qing, Jiaxin Li, Haoyu Xiong, Kai Jiang, Haixiang Hong, Shuangxi Fang

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2023-02-01

Deskripsi

The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) is the most developed region in China. Influenced by intensive and complex anthropogenic activities, atmospheric pollution in this region is highly variable, and reports are sparse. In this study, a seven-year history of the atmospheric O<sub>3</sub> and NO<sub>x</sub> mixing ratios over a typical city, Hangzhou, was presented to enrich the studies on air pollution in the YRD region. Our results revealed that the diurnal variation in NO<sub>x</sub> corresponded to traffic rush hours, while O<sub>3</sub> was mainly impacted by photochemical reactions in the daytime. The weekend effect was significant for NO<sub>x</sub>, but inapparent for O<sub>3</sub>. Two O<sub>3</sub> peaks in May and September were caused by seasonal atmospheric stability and climatic conditions. The lower NO<sub>x</sub> and higher O<sub>3</sub> levels observed suggested direct effects from traffic restrictions and large-scale industrial shutdowns during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 compared with those in the periods before and after lockdown. The model simulation results showed that O<sub>3</sub> mixing ratios were not only related to regional anthropogenic emissions but were impacted by air mass transportation from surrounding provinces and the China shelf seas. The NO<sub>x</sub> mixing ratios showed a decreasing trend, while the O<sub>3</sub> mixing ratios showed the opposite trend from 2015 to 2021, which is indicative of the implementation of the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Acton Plan issued by the Chinese government in 2013.