Evaluation of an Air Pollution Forecasting System Based on Micro-Pulse Lidar Cruising Measurements in the South China Sea

In this study, we evaluated the performance of an air pollution forecasting system during a scientific cruise in the South China Sea (SCS) from 9 August to 7 September 2016. The air pollution forecasting system consisted of a Lagrangian transport and dispersion model, the flexible particle dispersion model (FLEXPART), coupled with a high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF). The model system generally reproduced the meteorological variability and reasonably simulated the distribution of aerosols both vertically and horizontally along the cruise path. The forecasting system was further used to study the regional transport of non-local aerosols over the SCS and track its sources during the cruise. The model results showed that Southeast Asia contributed to more than 90% of the non-local aerosols over the northern region of the SCS due to the southwesterly prevailing winds. Specifically, the largest mean contribution was from Vietnam (39.6%), followed by Thailand (25.1%). This study indicates that the model system can be applied to study regional aerosols transport and provide air pollution forecasts in the SCS.