The enhancement of PM2.5 mass and water-soluble ions of biosmoke transported from Southeast Asia over the Mountain Lulin site in Taiwan

Chung Te Lee; Ming Tung Chuang; Neng Huei Lin; Jia Lin Wang; Guey Rong Sheu; Shuenn Chin Chang; Sheng Hsiang Wang; Hill Huang; Horng Wen Chen; Yuan Liang Liu; Guo Hau Weng; Hsin Yo Lai; Shao Peng Hsu

doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.07.020

The enhancement of PM2.5 mass and water-soluble ions of biosmoke transported from Southeast Asia over the Mountain Lulin site in Taiwan

Chung Te Lee, Ming Tung Chuang, Neng Huei Lin, Jia Lin Wang, Guey Rong Sheu, Shuenn Chin Chang, Sheng Hsiang Wang, Hill Huang, Horng Wen Chen, Yuan Liang Liu, Guo Hau Weng, Hsin Yo Lai, Shao Peng Hsu

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82 Scopus citations

Abstract

Biomass burning (BB) in Southeast Asia (Indochina and southern China) occurs frequently in March and April every year. The burning plume is ordinarily transported eastward by the prevailing westerly, further affecting downstream air quality in East Asia. In this study, atmospheric aerosols were collected at the downstream Lulin Atmospheric Background Station (LABS, 2862 m a.s.l., central Taiwan) from April 2003 to April 2009. Results show that monthly means of PM_2.5 were highest during the BB period, especially in March. The PM_2.5 mean for BB activity was 17.5 μg m^-3, while the daily PM_2.5 mean can sometimes be above 40 μg m^-3. The background PM_2.5 level in free troposphere of the West Pacific was at 3.7 ± 1.8 μg m^-3. This mean is roughly the same regardless of the air masses moving from China, Pacific Ocean, and South China Sea toward LABS. In addition, the highest PM_2.5 level occurred in 2004, making it the most active year of BB for the whole observation period. Greater amounts of nitrate and potassium ions were observed in the PM_2.5 collected during the BB period compared to the non-BB (NBB) period. Linear regression analysis on PM_2.5 water-soluble ions shows a moderate correlation (R² = 0.59) between non-sea-salt potassium and nitrate ions during the BB period. Furthermore, for all trajectory source origins, ammonium ion had the best correlation (R² = 0.84) with non-sea-salt sulfate when the air masses were influenced by anthropogenic sources during the NBB period. The enhancement ratios of nitrate ion during the BB period could reach 6.7 and 9.7 relative to air masses from the BB source region and from the pristine area during the NBB period, respectively. During the study period, ammonia gas was found to be insufficient to neutralize sulfuric and nitric gases. Therefore, most aerosols were more acidic than basic. Our long-term observation of atmospheric aerosols with inter-annual variability is valuable in providing data for verifying BB source inventory and model performance in East Asia.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	5784-5794
Number of pages	11
Journal	Atmospheric Environment
Volume	45
Issue number	32
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.07.020
State	Published - Oct 2011

Keywords

Biomass burning
High-elevation site
Long-range transport
PM2.5
Water-soluble ions

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10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.07.020

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Lee, C. T., Chuang, M. T., Lin, N. H., Wang, J. L., Sheu, G. R., Chang, S. C., Wang, S. H., Huang, H., Chen, H. W., Liu, Y. L., Weng, G. H., Lai, H. Y., & Hsu, S. P. (2011). The enhancement of PM2.5 mass and water-soluble ions of biosmoke transported from Southeast Asia over the Mountain Lulin site in Taiwan. Atmospheric Environment, 45(32), 5784-5794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.07.020

@article{2159c8b1ab014852b35077b9452fb94a,

title = "The enhancement of PM2.5 mass and water-soluble ions of biosmoke transported from Southeast Asia over the Mountain Lulin site in Taiwan",

abstract = "Biomass burning (BB) in Southeast Asia (Indochina and southern China) occurs frequently in March and April every year. The burning plume is ordinarily transported eastward by the prevailing westerly, further affecting downstream air quality in East Asia. In this study, atmospheric aerosols were collected at the downstream Lulin Atmospheric Background Station (LABS, 2862 m a.s.l., central Taiwan) from April 2003 to April 2009. Results show that monthly means of PM2.5 were highest during the BB period, especially in March. The PM2.5 mean for BB activity was 17.5 μg m-3, while the daily PM2.5 mean can sometimes be above 40 μg m-3. The background PM2.5 level in free troposphere of the West Pacific was at 3.7 ± 1.8 μg m-3. This mean is roughly the same regardless of the air masses moving from China, Pacific Ocean, and South China Sea toward LABS. In addition, the highest PM2.5 level occurred in 2004, making it the most active year of BB for the whole observation period. Greater amounts of nitrate and potassium ions were observed in the PM2.5 collected during the BB period compared to the non-BB (NBB) period. Linear regression analysis on PM2.5 water-soluble ions shows a moderate correlation (R2 = 0.59) between non-sea-salt potassium and nitrate ions during the BB period. Furthermore, for all trajectory source origins, ammonium ion had the best correlation (R2 = 0.84) with non-sea-salt sulfate when the air masses were influenced by anthropogenic sources during the NBB period. The enhancement ratios of nitrate ion during the BB period could reach 6.7 and 9.7 relative to air masses from the BB source region and from the pristine area during the NBB period, respectively. During the study period, ammonia gas was found to be insufficient to neutralize sulfuric and nitric gases. Therefore, most aerosols were more acidic than basic. Our long-term observation of atmospheric aerosols with inter-annual variability is valuable in providing data for verifying BB source inventory and model performance in East Asia.",

keywords = "Biomass burning, High-elevation site, Long-range transport, PM2.5, Water-soluble ions",

author = "Lee, {Chung Te} and Chuang, {Ming Tung} and Lin, {Neng Huei} and Wang, {Jia Lin} and Sheu, {Guey Rong} and Chang, {Shuenn Chin} and Wang, {Sheng Hsiang} and Hill Huang and Chen, {Horng Wen} and Liu, {Yuan Liang} and Weng, {Guo Hau} and Lai, {Hsin Yo} and Hsu, {Shao Peng}",

note = "Funding Information: We express our deep gratitude for the support from the Taiwan National Science Council under grants NSC 92-2111-M-008-019-AGC , NSC 93-2111-M-008-018-AGC , NSC 94-2111-M-008-021-AGC , NSC 95-2111-M-008 -010-MY3 , and NSC 98-2111-M-008 -023-MY3 . We thank the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration for the data retrieval at LABS. We would also like to acknowledge the US NOAA for providing us with published satellite images and the Data Bank of Atmospheric Research (DBAR) managed by the National Taiwan University for providing us with meteorological maps. ",

year = "2011",

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doi = "10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.07.020",

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volume = "45",

pages = "5784--5794",

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issn = "1352-2310",

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Lee, CT, Chuang, MT, Lin, NH , Wang, JL , Sheu, GR, Chang, SC, Wang, SH, Huang, H, Chen, HW, Liu, YL, Weng, GH, Lai, HY & Hsu, SP 2011, 'The enhancement of PM2.5 mass and water-soluble ions of biosmoke transported from Southeast Asia over the Mountain Lulin site in Taiwan', Atmospheric Environment, vol. 45, no. 32, pp. 5784-5794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.07.020

TY - JOUR

T1 - The enhancement of PM2.5 mass and water-soluble ions of biosmoke transported from Southeast Asia over the Mountain Lulin site in Taiwan

AU - Lee, Chung Te

AU - Chuang, Ming Tung

AU - Lin, Neng Huei

AU - Wang, Jia Lin

AU - Sheu, Guey Rong

AU - Chang, Shuenn Chin

AU - Wang, Sheng Hsiang

AU - Huang, Hill

AU - Chen, Horng Wen

AU - Liu, Yuan Liang

AU - Weng, Guo Hau

AU - Lai, Hsin Yo

AU - Hsu, Shao Peng

N1 - Funding Information: We express our deep gratitude for the support from the Taiwan National Science Council under grants NSC 92-2111-M-008-019-AGC , NSC 93-2111-M-008-018-AGC , NSC 94-2111-M-008-021-AGC , NSC 95-2111-M-008 -010-MY3 , and NSC 98-2111-M-008 -023-MY3 . We thank the Taiwan Environmental Protection Administration for the data retrieval at LABS. We would also like to acknowledge the US NOAA for providing us with published satellite images and the Data Bank of Atmospheric Research (DBAR) managed by the National Taiwan University for providing us with meteorological maps.

PY - 2011/10

Y1 - 2011/10

N2 - Biomass burning (BB) in Southeast Asia (Indochina and southern China) occurs frequently in March and April every year. The burning plume is ordinarily transported eastward by the prevailing westerly, further affecting downstream air quality in East Asia. In this study, atmospheric aerosols were collected at the downstream Lulin Atmospheric Background Station (LABS, 2862 m a.s.l., central Taiwan) from April 2003 to April 2009. Results show that monthly means of PM2.5 were highest during the BB period, especially in March. The PM2.5 mean for BB activity was 17.5 μg m-3, while the daily PM2.5 mean can sometimes be above 40 μg m-3. The background PM2.5 level in free troposphere of the West Pacific was at 3.7 ± 1.8 μg m-3. This mean is roughly the same regardless of the air masses moving from China, Pacific Ocean, and South China Sea toward LABS. In addition, the highest PM2.5 level occurred in 2004, making it the most active year of BB for the whole observation period. Greater amounts of nitrate and potassium ions were observed in the PM2.5 collected during the BB period compared to the non-BB (NBB) period. Linear regression analysis on PM2.5 water-soluble ions shows a moderate correlation (R2 = 0.59) between non-sea-salt potassium and nitrate ions during the BB period. Furthermore, for all trajectory source origins, ammonium ion had the best correlation (R2 = 0.84) with non-sea-salt sulfate when the air masses were influenced by anthropogenic sources during the NBB period. The enhancement ratios of nitrate ion during the BB period could reach 6.7 and 9.7 relative to air masses from the BB source region and from the pristine area during the NBB period, respectively. During the study period, ammonia gas was found to be insufficient to neutralize sulfuric and nitric gases. Therefore, most aerosols were more acidic than basic. Our long-term observation of atmospheric aerosols with inter-annual variability is valuable in providing data for verifying BB source inventory and model performance in East Asia.

AB - Biomass burning (BB) in Southeast Asia (Indochina and southern China) occurs frequently in March and April every year. The burning plume is ordinarily transported eastward by the prevailing westerly, further affecting downstream air quality in East Asia. In this study, atmospheric aerosols were collected at the downstream Lulin Atmospheric Background Station (LABS, 2862 m a.s.l., central Taiwan) from April 2003 to April 2009. Results show that monthly means of PM2.5 were highest during the BB period, especially in March. The PM2.5 mean for BB activity was 17.5 μg m-3, while the daily PM2.5 mean can sometimes be above 40 μg m-3. The background PM2.5 level in free troposphere of the West Pacific was at 3.7 ± 1.8 μg m-3. This mean is roughly the same regardless of the air masses moving from China, Pacific Ocean, and South China Sea toward LABS. In addition, the highest PM2.5 level occurred in 2004, making it the most active year of BB for the whole observation period. Greater amounts of nitrate and potassium ions were observed in the PM2.5 collected during the BB period compared to the non-BB (NBB) period. Linear regression analysis on PM2.5 water-soluble ions shows a moderate correlation (R2 = 0.59) between non-sea-salt potassium and nitrate ions during the BB period. Furthermore, for all trajectory source origins, ammonium ion had the best correlation (R2 = 0.84) with non-sea-salt sulfate when the air masses were influenced by anthropogenic sources during the NBB period. The enhancement ratios of nitrate ion during the BB period could reach 6.7 and 9.7 relative to air masses from the BB source region and from the pristine area during the NBB period, respectively. During the study period, ammonia gas was found to be insufficient to neutralize sulfuric and nitric gases. Therefore, most aerosols were more acidic than basic. Our long-term observation of atmospheric aerosols with inter-annual variability is valuable in providing data for verifying BB source inventory and model performance in East Asia.

KW - Biomass burning

KW - High-elevation site

KW - Long-range transport

KW - PM2.5

KW - Water-soluble ions

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U2 - 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.07.020

DO - 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.07.020

M3 - 期刊論文

AN - SCOPUS:80052330620

SN - 1352-2310

VL - 45

SP - 5784

EP - 5794

JO - Atmospheric Environment

JF - Atmospheric Environment

IS - 32

ER -

The enhancement of PM2.5 mass and water-soluble ions of biosmoke transported from Southeast Asia over the Mountain Lulin site in Taiwan

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Keywords

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