Particle number size distribution and new particle formation in Xiamen, the coastal city of Southeast China in wintertime

Jing Wang; Mengren Li; Lingjun Li; Ronghua Zheng; Xiaolong Fan; Youwei Hong; Lingling Xu; Jinsheng Chen; Baoye Hu

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154208

Particle number size distribution and new particle formation in Xiamen, the coastal city of Southeast China in wintertime

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Jun 20:826:154208. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154208. Epub 2022 Feb 28.

Authors

Jing Wang¹, Mengren Li², Lingjun Li³, Ronghua Zheng⁴, Xiaolong Fan³, Youwei Hong³, Lingling Xu³, Jinsheng Chen⁵, Baoye Hu⁶

Affiliations

¹ CAS Center for Excellence in Regional Atmospheric Environment, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; College of Resources and Environment, Fujian Agriculture and Forest University, Fuzhou 350002, China.
² CAS Center for Excellence in Regional Atmospheric Environment, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100086, China. Electronic address: mrli@iue.ac.cn.
³ CAS Center for Excellence in Regional Atmospheric Environment, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100086, China.
⁴ CAS Center for Excellence in Regional Atmospheric Environment, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China.
⁵ CAS Center for Excellence in Regional Atmospheric Environment, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100086, China. Electronic address: jschen@iue.ac.cn.
⁶ CAS Center for Excellence in Regional Atmospheric Environment, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Key Lab of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Pollution Monitoring and Control, Minnan Normal University, Zhangzhou 363000, China.

PMID: 35240183
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154208

Abstract

New particle formation (NPF) has a great impact on regional and global climate, air quality and human health. This study uses a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) for simultaneous measurement of particle number size distribution (PNSD) in wintertime to investigate NPF in the coastal city of Xiamen. The mean particle number concentration, surface area concentration and volume concentration were 7.25 × 10³ cm^-3, 152.54 μm² cm^-3, and 4.03 μm³ cm^-3, respectively. Particle number concentration was mainly influenced by the nucleation mode and the Aitken mode, whereas the main contributor to particle surface area concentration and volume concentration was accumulation mode particles. The frequency of NPF events occurred was around 41.4% in December 2019. The typical growth rates of new formed particles were 1.41-2.54 nm h^-1, and the observed formation rates were 0.49-1.43 cm^-3 s^-1. A comparative analysis of conditions between event and non-event days was performed. The results emphasized that air temperature, UV radiation and relative humidity were the most decisive meteorological factors, and NPF events usually occurred under clean atmospheric conditions with low PM concentrations. Although condensation sink was high when NPF event occurred, the level of SO₂ and O₃ concentration was also high.

Keywords: Formation rate; Growth rate; Meteorological conditions; New particle formation; Particle size distribution.

MeSH terms

Aerosols / analysis
Air Pollutants* / analysis
China
Environmental Monitoring
Humans
Particle Size
Particulate Matter* / analysis

Substances

Aerosols
Air Pollutants
Particulate Matter