Spatio-temporal variability of particulate matter in the key part of Gansu Province, Western China

Qingyu Guan; Ao Cai; Feifei Wang; Liqin Yang; Chuanqi Xu; Zeyu Liu

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2017.06.045

Spatio-temporal variability of particulate matter in the key part of Gansu Province, Western China

Environ Pollut. 2017 Nov:230:189-198. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.06.045. Epub 2017 Jun 23.

Authors

Qingyu Guan¹, Ao Cai², Feifei Wang³, Liqin Yang³, Chuanqi Xu³, Zeyu Liu³

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), Gansu Key Laboratory for Environmental Pollution Prediction and Control, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China. Electronic address: guanqy@lzu.edu.cn.
² Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), Gansu Key Laboratory for Environmental Pollution Prediction and Control, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China; Gansu Building Research Institute, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), Gansu Key Laboratory for Environmental Pollution Prediction and Control, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.

PMID: 28651090
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.06.045

Abstract

To investigate the spatial and temporal behaviors of particulate matter in Lanzhou, Jinchang and Jiayuguan during 2014, the hourly concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were collected from the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) in this study. The analysis indicated that the mean annual PM10 (PM2.5) concentrations during 2014 were 115 ± 52 μg/m³ (57 ± 28 μg/m³), 104 ± 75 μg/m³ (38 ± 22 μg/m³) and 114 ± 72 μg/m³ (32 ± 17 μg/m³) in Lanzhou, Jinchang and Jiayuguan, respectively, all of which exceeded the Chinese national ambient air quality II standards for PM. Higher values for both PM fractions were generally observed in spring and winter, and lower concentrations were found in summer and autumn. Besides, the trend of seasonal variation of particulate matter (PM) in each city monitoring site is consistent with the average of the corresponding cities. Anthropogenic activities along with the boundary layer height and wind scale contributed to diurnal variations in PM that varied bimodally (Lanzhou and Jinchang) or unimodally (Jiayuguan). With the arrival of dust events, the PM10 concentrations changed dramatically, and the PM10 concentrations during dust storm events were, respectively, 19, 43 and 17 times higher than the levels before dust events in Lanzhou, Jinchang and Jiayuguan. The ratios (PM2.5/PM10) were lowest, while the correlations were highest, indicating that dust events contributed more coarse than fine particles, and the sources of PM are similar during dust storms. The relationships between local meteorological parameters and PM concentrations suggest a clear association between the highest PM concentrations, with T ≤ 7 °C, and strong winds (3-4 scale). However, the effect of relative humidity is complicated, with more PM10 and PM2.5 exceedances being registered with a relative humidity of less than 40% and 40-60% in Lanzhou, while higher exceedances in Jinchang appeared at a relative humidity of 80-100%.

Keywords: China; Dust storm; PM10; PM2.5; Spatio-temporal variation; The Silk Road Economic Belt.

MeSH terms

Air Pollutants / analysis*
Air Pollution / statistics & numerical data*
China
Cities
Dust / analysis
Environmental Monitoring*
Meteorology
Particulate Matter / analysis*
Seasons
Wind

Substances

Air Pollutants
Dust
Particulate Matter