Wei Zhou

Jilin Weather Modification Office

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i-10 index

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Delong Zhao

Jilin Weather Modification Office

Ping Tian

Jilin Weather Modification Office

Deping Ding

Jilin Weather Modification Office

Jingkun Jiang

Tsinghua University

Mengyu Huang

Jilin Weather Modification Office

Fei Wang

University of Manitoba

Jiujiang Sheng

Jilin Weather Modification Office

Dantong Liu

Zhejiang University

Daniel S. Cohan

Rice University

Jiming Hao

Tsinghua University

Cooperative Institutions

China Meteorological Administration

Chinese Academy of Sciences

State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control

Jilin Weather Modification Office

Tsinghua University

Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology

University of Chinese Academy of Sciences

Beijing Institute of Water

Peking University

Zhejiang University

Author Statistics

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Impacts of coal burning on ambient PM<sub>2.5</sub> pollution in China

Atmospheric chemistry and physics (2017)

Qiao Ma Siyi Cai Shuxiao Wang Bin Zhao Randall V. Martin

Abstract. High concentration of fine particles (PM2.5), the primary concern about air quality in China, is believed to closely relate to China's large consumption of coal. In order to quantitatively identify the contributions of coal combustion in different sectors to ambient PM2. 5, we developed an emission inventory for the year 2013 using up-to-date information on energy consumption and emission controls, and we conducted standard and sensitivity simulations using the chemical transport model GEOS-Chem. According to the simulation, coal combustion contributes 22 µg m−3 (40 %) to the total PM2. 5 concentration at national level (averaged in 74 major cities) and up to 37 µg m−3 (50 %) in the Sichuan Basin. Among major coal-burning sectors, industrial coal burning is the dominant contributor, with a national average contribution of 10 µg m−3 (17 %), followed by coal combustion in power plants and the domestic sector. The national average contribution due to coal combustion is estimated to be 18 µg m−3 (46 %) in summer and 28 µg m−3 (35 %) in winter. While the contribution of domestic coal burning shows an obvious reduction from winter to summer, contributions of coal combustion in power plants and the industrial sector remain at relatively constant levels throughout the year.

10.5194/acp-17-4477-2017

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Citations (143)

Estimating radiative impacts of black carbon associated with mixing state in the lower atmosphere over the northern North China Plain

Chemosphere (2020)

Kang Hu Delong Zhao Dantong Liu Shuo Ding Ping Tian

AERONET

10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126455

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Citations (41)

Impact of aerosol–meteorology interactions on fine particle pollution during China’s severe haze episode in January 2013

Environmental Research Letters (2014)

Jiandong Wang Shuxiao Wang Jingkun Jiang Aijun Ding Mei Zheng

In January 2013, a severe regional haze occurred over the North China Plain. An online-coupled meteorology-chemistry model was employed to simulate the impacts of aerosol–meteorology interactions on fine particles (PM2.5) pollution during this haze episode. The response of PM2.5 to meteorology change constituted a feedback loop whereby planetary boundary layer (PBL) dynamics amplified the initial perturbation of PM2.5. High PM2.5 concentrations caused a decrease of surface solar radiation. The maximal decrease in daily average solar radiation reached 53% in Beijing, thereby leading to a more stable PBL. The peak PBL height in Beijing decreased from 690 m to 590 m when the aerosol extinction was considered. Enhanced PBL stability suppressed the dispersion of air pollutants, and resulted in higher PM2.5 concentrations. The maximal increase of PM2.5 concentrations reached 140 μg m−3 in Beijing. During most PM2.5 episodes, primary and secondary particles increased simultaneously. These results imply that the aerosol–radiation interactions played an important role in the haze episode in January 2013.

Haze

Atmospheric instability

10.1088/1748-9326/9/9/094002

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Citations (235)

Slower ozone production in Houston, Texas following emission reductions: evidence from Texas Air Quality Studies in 2000 and 2006

Wei Zhou Daniel S. Cohan Barron H. Henderson

Abstract. Airborne measurements from two Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS) field campaigns have been used to investigate changes of ozone production in Houston, Texas, from 2000 to 2006, a period of major emission reduction measures at petrochemical and other sources. Simultaneous declines in nitrogen oxides (NOx=NO+NO2) and highly reactive volatile organic compounds (HRVOCs) were observed between the two periods. We simulated HOx (OH and HO2) and organic radicals with a box model, the Dynamically Simple Model of Atmospheric Chemical Complexity, constrained by available airborne observations. Parameters such as total radical production, total OH reactivity of VOCs and ozone production rate (P(O3) are computed to characterize the change of ozone production between 2000 and 2006 in the Houston area. The reduction in HRVOCs led to a decline in total radical production by 20–50%. Ozone production rates in the Houston area declined by 40–50% from 2000 to 2006, to which the reduction in NOx and HRVOCs had large contributions. Despite the significant decline in P(O3), ozone production efficiency held steady, and VOC-sensitive conditions dominated during times of most rapid ozone formation. Our results highlight the importance of ongoing HRVOC controls to further reduce O3 levels in the Houston area.

Atmospheric chemistry

Box model

10.5194/acpd-13-19085-2013

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Citations (1)

Responses of gaseous sulfuric acid and particulate sulfate to reduced SO2 concentration: A perspective from long-term measurements in Beijing

The Science of The Total Environment (2020)

Xiaoxiao Li Bin Zhao Wei Zhou Hongrong Shi Rujing Yin

CMAQ

10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137700

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Citations (52)

Process analysis and sensitivity study of regional ozone formation over the Pearl River Delta, China, during the PRIDE-PRD2004 campaign using the Community Multiscale Air Quality modeling system

Atmospheric chemistry and physics (2010)

Xiaoning Wang Y. Zhang Yongtao Hu Wei Zhou Keding Lu

Abstract. In this study, the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system is used to simulate the ozone (O3) episodes during the Program of Regional Integrated Experiments of Air Quality over the Pearl River Delta, China, in October 2004 (PRIDE-PRD2004). The simulation suggests that O3 pollution is a regional phenomenon in the Pearl River Delta (PRD). Elevated O3 levels often occurred in the southwestern inland PRD, Pearl River estuary (PRE), and southern coastal areas during the 1-month field campaign. Three evolution patterns of simulated surface O3 are summarized based on different near-ground flow conditions. More than 75% of days featured interactions between weak synoptic forcing and local sea-land circulation. Integrated process rate (IPR) analysis shows that photochemical production is a dominant contributor to O3 enhancement from 09:00 to 15:00 local standard time in the atmospheric boundary layer over most areas with elevated O3 occurrence in the mid-afternoon. The simulated ozone production efficiency is 2–8 O3 molecules per NOx molecule oxidized in areas with high O3 chemical production. Precursors of O3 originating from different source regions in the central PRD are mixed during the course of transport to downwind rural areas during nighttime and early morning, where they then contribute to the daytime O3 photochemical production. The sea-land circulation plays an important role on the regional O3 formation and distribution over PRD. Sensitivity studies suggest that O3 formation is volatile-organic-compound-limited in the central inland PRD, PRE, and surrounding coastal areas with less chemical aging (NOx/NOy>0.6), but is NOx-limited in the rural southwestern PRD with aged air (NOx/NOy<0.3).

CMAQ

Forcing (mathematics)

Chemical Transport Model

10.5194/acp-10-4423-2010

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Citations (116)

Cleansing Beijing Air Pollution by Extensive Precipitation Leads to Marine‐Like Clouds With Warm Rain

Journal of Geophysical Research Atmospheres (2025)

Delong Zhao Minghuai Wang Daniel Rosenfeld Baojun Chen Yannian Zhu

Abstract Warm rain prevails in clean marine clouds and is one of the most abundant types of precipitation in the world. However, warm rain is rarely observed in urban polluted atmospheric environments due to high number concentrations of aerosols generally suppress the occurrence of warm rain. Three aircraft observation of clouds were used during summer in Beijing area. Here, we documented warm rain processes similar to shallow marine clouds in the urban (Beijing) atmospheric environment after cleansing air pollution by extensive precipitation observed on 11 September 2019. Our results showed that, compared with aircraft observations of similar cumulus clouds under polluted conditions, large‐scale precipitation can efficiently scavenge air pollution in Beijing and lead to marine‐like clouds with warm rain. The average aerosol concentration (Na) near the cloud base in these clean cases was only 225 cm −3 with cloud droplet number concentration ( N d ) of 36 cm −3 , (maximum of 142 cm −3 ) which led to enhanced coalescence. The warm rain was initiated at 600 m above the cloud base. Our results highlight the significance of pollution scavenging by precipitation in warm rain production in urban environment.

10.1029/2024jd042403

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Citations (0)

Environmental Science & Technology (2019)

Shuo Ding Dantong Liu Delong Zhao Kang Hu Ping Tian

The size-resolved properties of atmospheric black carbon (BC) importantly determine its absorption capacity and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) ability. This study reports comprehensive vertical profiles of BC size-related properties over the Beijing area (BJ) and Continental Europe (CE). BC mass loadings over CE were in the range of clean background over BJ. For both planetary boundary layer (PBL) and lower free troposphere, the BC mass median core diameter over BJ during the cold season was 0.21 ± 0.02 μm, larger than the warm season over BJ and CE (0.18 ± 0.01 μm), which may reflect seasonal differences in emissions. The BC coatings were positively correlated with the pollution level, with background BC having a smaller coated count median diameter (0.19 ± 0.01 μm). The modeled absorption enhancement (Eabs) due to coatings was 1.23 ± 0.14 for the background but in the PBL following a linear expression (Eabs = 0.13 × MassBC,surface + 1.26). The CCN ability of BC was significantly enhanced in the polluted PBL, due to both enlarged size and increased hygroscopicity. In polluted BJ at predicted supersaturations, ∼0.08% half of the BC number could be activated, whereas the cleaner environment needs ∼0.14%. The results here suggest that the highly coated and absorbing BC can be efficiently incorporated into clouds and can exert important indirect radiative impacts over the polluted East Asia region.

Cloud condensation nuclei

10.1021/acs.est.9b03722

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Citations (87)

Observation and modeling of the evolution of Texas power plant plumes

Wei Zhou Daniel S. Cohan R. W. Pinder J. A. Neuman J. S. Holloway

Abstract. During the second Texas Air Quality Study 2006 (TexAQS II), a full range of pollutants was measured by aircraft in eastern Texas during successive transects of power plant plumes (PPPs). A regional photochemical model is applied to simulate the physical and chemical evolution of the plumes. The observations reveal that SO2 and NOy were rapidly removed from PPPs on a cloudy day but not on the cloud-free days, indicating efficient aqueous processing of these compounds in clouds. The model reasonably represents observed NOx oxidation and PAN formation in the plumes, but fails to capture the rapid loss of SO2 (0.37 h−1) and NOy (0.24 h−1) in some plumes on the cloudy day. Adjustments to the cloud liquid water content (QC) and the default metal concentrations in the cloud module could explain some of the SO2 loss. However, NOy in the model was insensitive to QC. These findings highlight cloud processing as a major challenge to atmospheric models. Model-based estimates of ozone production efficiency (OPE) in PPPs are 20–50 % lower than observation-based estimates. Possible explanations for this discrepancy include the observed rapid NOy loss which biases high some observation-based OPE estimates, and the model's under-prediction of isoprene emissions.

Isoprene

10.5194/acpd-11-19953-2011

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Citations (1)

Enhanced heating rate of black carbon above the planetary boundary layer over megacities in summertime

Environmental Research Letters (2019)

Dantong Liu Delong Zhao Xie ZhenZhen Chenjie Yu Ying Chen

Abstract The fast development of a secondary aerosol layer was observed over megacities in eastern Asia during summertime. Within three hours, from midday to early afternoon, the contribution of secondary aerosols above the planetary boundary layer (PBL) increased by a factor of three to five, and the coatings on black carbon (BC) also increased and enhanced its absorption efficiency by 50%. This tended to result from the intensive actinic flux received above the PBL which promoted photochemical reactions. The absorption of BC could be further amplified by the strong reflection of solar radiation over the cloud top across the PBL. This enhanced heating effect of BC introduced by combined processes (intensive solar radiation, secondary formation and cloud reflection) may considerably increase the temperature inversion above the PBL. This mechanism should be considered when evaluating the radiative impact of BC, especially for polluted regions receiving strong solar radiation.

Reflection

10.1088/1748-9326/ab4872

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Citations (26)