The magnitude and partitioning of carbon dioxide emission from the urban area in Beijing, China was estimated based on a statistical approach. Results showed that the urban surface is a net source of CO2 to atmosphere. The main sources of CO2 are vehicles, which accounted for 75.5% and 38.9% of CO2 emission in summer and winter, respectively. At midday in summer, the CO2 uptake of-0.034 mg/(m^2.sec) indicated that vegetation is an important sink of CO2 in summer. Comparison between the annual emission rates of CO2 from the statistical approach and that directly measured by the eddy covariance technique implies that a bottom-up emission approach is a viable means to estimate CO2 emission in an urban area.
To further understand the variations of water-soluble ions in PM2.5 in Beijing,the authors observed their concentrations continuously and in high temporal resolution by the system for rapid collection of fine particles and ion chromatography(RCFP-IC) during 12–18 July 2010.These results combined with those of earlier backward trajectory research are used analyzed to determine the causes of concentration changes in water-soluble ions under the influences of two kinds of air masses in summer.The results indicate that concentrations of NO3-,SO42-,and NH4+ were influenced strongly by the continental air mass than by the marine air mass.Cl- and Na+ were not changed significantly.Because the sources of K+,Mg2+,and Ca2+ are mainly concentrated on land,their concentration levels were slightly higher under the control of continental air mass than that of the marine air mass.Variations of NO2- during the observation differed from those of other ions;its concentration was significantly higher under the influence of marine air mass.Moreover,the authors obtain the diurnal variations of eight water-soluble inorganic ions including NH4+,K+,Mg2+,Ca2+,Cl-,NO2-,NO3-,and SO42-.Diurnal variations of NH4+,NO3-,and Cl- showed single peak,which appeared before noon,while SO42- showed two peaks that appeared during rush hours.Those of Mg2+,Ca2+,and K+ showed single peak that appeared in the afternoon.That of NO2- showed with a peak appearing at sunrise and a valley appearing at sunset.
Ground observation data from 8 meteorological stations in Xi'an, air mass concentration data from 13 environmental quality monitoring sites in Xi'an, as well as radiosonde observation and wind profile radar data, were used in this study. Thereby, the process,causes and boundary layer meteorological characteristics of a heavy haze episode occurring from 16 to 25 December 2013 in Xi'an were analyzed. Principal component analysis showed that this haze pollution was mainly caused by the high-intensity emission and formation of gaseous pollutants(NO_2, CO and SO_2) and atmospheric particles(PM_(2.5)(fine particles) and PM10(respirable suspended particle). The second cause was the relative humidity and continuous low temperature. The third cause was the allocation of the surface pressure field. The presence of a near-surface temperature inversion at the boundary layer formed favorable stratification conditions for the formation and maintenance of heavy haze pollution. The persistent thick haze layer weakened the solar radiation. Meanwhile, a warming effect in the urban canopy layer and in the transition zone from the urban friction sublayer to the urban canopy was indicated. All these conditions facilitated the maintenance and reinforcement of temperature inversion. The stable atmospheric stratification finally acted on the wind field in the boundary layer, and further weakened the exchange capacity of vertical turbulence. The superposition of a wind field with the horizontal gentle wind induced the typical air stagnation and finally caused the deterioration of air quality during this haze event.