Identification of ozone sensitivity for NO2 and secondary HCHO based on MAX-DOAS measurements in northeast China

Hyperspectral remote sensing for air pollutants: Stereoscopic monitoring, source localization & warning, and a dynamic emission inventory concept

With the continuous improvement of air quality in China, the characteristics of emission sources of pollutants have changed significantly, from their distribution to emitted atmospheric species and the corresponding emission concentrations and source localization has become increasingly challenging. The localization uncertainties of in situ observations are further amplified when combined with model simulations, which seriously restricts the realization of China's strategic goal of "reducing pollution and carbon." In this study, we established a localization and emission warning scheme for emission sources based on various hyperspectral remote sensing techniques with different observation spatial resolutions. These include satellite remote sensing, horizontal remote sensing, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) remote sensing, and imaging. Based on this study, we aimed to locate high-concentration emission sources of NO2 (coal-fired power plants), HCHO (chemical and coking industries), and CH2CCH3CHO (metallurgical and material synthesis industries) and provide excess emission warnings for these species. Moreover, hyperspectral imaging remote sensing technology provides a possible method to obtain a dynamic emission inventory of pollutants, and the emission concentrations of NO2, SO2, HCHO, CHOCHO, and CH2CCH3CHO emitted from the coking industry at different timescales were obtained. The localization and emission warning scheme of pollutants established based on stereoscopic remote sensing, as well as the dynamic emission inventory established based on hyperspectral imaging remote sensing, provides technical and data support for air pollution control efforts.

Ambient formaldehyde combined with high temperature exposure and respiratory disease admissions among children: a time-series study across multiple cities

INTRODUCTION

Ambient formaldehyde (HCHO) is globally distributed, posing significant exposure to vast populations, particularly vulnerable demographics such as children. Investigations into the correlation between ambient HCHO exposure and children's respiratory ailments are deficient.

METHODS

Ambient HCHO exposure was retrieved from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument. A two-stage time-series analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between HCHO exposure and hospital admission of respiratory diseases among 198 704 children in Jiangsu Province, China, from 2019 to 2021. Additionally, 12 exposure patterns were defined to further discern potential synergistic effects of HCHO and high temperature combined exposure.

RESULTS

After controlling for relevant covariates, our findings revealed HCHO exposure was associated with respiratory-related hospital admissions. Specifically, we identified a pronounced effect at lag 3 day, demonstrating a 1.14% increase (95% CI: 0.60%, 1.69%). Subgroup analyses further identified that warm season, 3-7 years old group and disadvantaged economic areas showed higher admission risk. Moreover, we found HCHO combined with high temperature exposure would trigger the elevated risk of hospital admission. Notably, in specific exposure scenarios, the cumulative relative risk reached up to 1.051 (95% CI: 1.025, 1.078), highlighting the synergistic effect of combined exposure on the respiratory health of children.

CONCLUSIONS

Ambient HCHO exposure increased hospital admission risks for respiratory diseases in children, and high temperature could trigger the elevated risk. To have an in-depth understanding of ambient HCHO health impact is critical for intervention strategies aimed at mitigating ambient HCHO pollution and regarding adverse impacts on children under a changing climate.

Investigating vertical distributions and photochemical indications of formaldehyde, glyoxal, and NO2 from MAX-DOAS observations in four typical cities of China

Formaldehyde (HCHO), glyoxal (CHOCHO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) are crucial in atmospheric photochemical processes at both surface and elevated altitudes. This study presents synchronous multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) measurements of the vertical distributions of summertime HCHO, CHOCHO and NO2 in four representative megacities within the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), Yangtze River Delta (YRD), Sichuan Basin (SB), and Pearl River Delta (PRD) regions of China. The vertical distributions of HCHO and CHOCHO tended to occur at higher altitudes compared to NO2, influenced by both primary emissions near the ground and photochemical oxidation processes at elevated altitudes. Source separation regression analysis using the CO-CHOCHO trace pair identified secondary formation as the predominant source of ambient HCHO. In urban areas, the ratio of CHOCHO to secondary HCHO (RGFsec) serves as a more reliable metric at ground level for diagnosing VOC precursor sources, excluding the interference of primary and background HCHO. The increase in RGF values at higher altitudes highlights the relative contribution of VOCs favoring CHOCHO production. Moreover, four indicators (e.g. FNR, FNRsec, GNR, and MNR) were utilized to characterize O3 formation sensitivity at different altitudes. The range of FNR, FNRsec, GNR, and MNR marking the O3 formation sensitivity regime varies regionally, highlighting the need for localized assessments. The VOC-limited regime dominated at the ground level, whereas the contribution of the NOx-limited regime increased with altitude. Therefore, a comprehensive control strategy addressing both VOC and NOx emissions across different altitudes is essential for effectively mitigating photochemical pollution in urban areas of China.

Investigation of formaldehyde sources and its relative emission intensity in shipping channel environment

Formaldehyde (HCHO) is considered one of the most abundant gas-phase carbonyl compounds in the atmosphere, which can be directly emitted through transportation sources. Long-Path Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (LP-DOAS) was used to observe HCHO in the river channel of Wusong Wharf in Shanghai, China for the whole year of 2019. Due to the impact of ship activity, the annual average HCHO level in the channel is about 2.5 times higher than that in the nearby campus environment. To explain the sources of HCHO under different meteorological conditions, the tracer-pair of CO and Ox (NO2+O3) was used on the clustered air masses. The results of the source appointment show that primary, secondary and background account for 24.14% (3.34 ± 1.19 ppbv), 44.78% (6.20 ± 2.04 ppbv) and 31.09% (4.31 ± 2.33 ppbv) of the HCHO in the channel when the air masses were from the mixed direction of the city and channel, respectively. By performing background station subtraction at times of high primary HCHO values and resolving the plume peaks, directly emitted HCHO/NO2 in the channel environment and plume were determined to be mainly distributed between 0.2 and 0.3. General cargo ships with higher sailing speeds or main engine powers tend to have higher HCHO/NO2 levels. With the knowledge of NO2 (or NOx) emission levels from ships, this study may provide data support for the establishment of HCHO emission factors.

Long-term variations in surface ozone at the Longfengshan Regional Atmosphere Background Station in Northeast China and related influencing factors

Surface ozone (O3) is a crucial air pollutant that affects air quality, human health, agricultural production, and climate change. Studies on long-term O3 variations and their influencing factors are essential for understanding O3 pollution and its impact. Here, we conducted an analysis of long-term variations in O3 during 2006-2022 at the Longfengshan Regional Atmosphere Background Station (LFS; 44.44°N, 127.36°E, 330.5 m a.s.l.) situated on the northeastern edge of the Northeast China Plains. The maximum daily 8-h average (MDA8) O3 fluctuated substantially, with the annual MDA8 decreasing significantly during 2006-2015 (-0.62 ppb yr-1, p < 0.05), jumping during 2015-2016 and increasing clearly during 2020-2022. Step multiple linear regression models for MDA8 were obtained using meteorological variables, to decompose anthropogenic and meteorological contributions to O3 variations. Anthropogenic activities acted as the primary drivers of the long-term trends of MDA8 O3, contributing 73% of annual MDA8 O3 variability, whereas meteorology played less important roles (27%). Elevated O3 at LFS were primarily associated with airflows originating from the North China Plain, Northeast China Plain, and coastal areas of North China, primarily occurring during the warm months (May-October). Based on satellite products of NO2 and HCHO columns, the O3 photochemical regimes over LFS revealed NOx-limited throughout the period. NO2 increased first, reaching peak in 2011, followed by substantial decrease; while HCHO exhibited significant increase, contributing to decreasing trend in MDA8 O3 during 2006-2015. The plateauing NO2 and decreasing HCHO may contribute to the increase in MDA8 O3 in 2016. Subsequently, both NO2 and HCHO exhibited notable fluctuations, leading to significant changes in O3. The study results fill the gap in the understanding of long-term O3 trends in high-latitude areas in the Northeast China Plain and offer valuable insights for assessing the impact of O3 on crop yields, forest productivity, and climate change.

Pollution characteristics, source appointment and environmental effect of oxygenated volatile organic compounds in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area: Implication for air quality management

Same as other bay areas, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is also suffering atmospheric composite pollution. Even a series of atmospheric environment management policies have been conducted to win the "blue sky defense battle", the atmospheric secondary pollutants (e.g., O3) originated from oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) still threaten the air quality in GBA. However, there lacks a systematic summary on the emission, formation, pollution and environmental effects of OVOCs in this region for further air quality management. This review focused on the researches related to OVOCs in GBA, including their pollution characteristics, detection methods, source distributions, secondary formations, and impacts on the atmosphere. Pollution profile of OVOCs in GBA revealed that the concentration percentage among total VOCs from Guangzhou and Dongguan cities exceeded 50 %, while methanol, formaldehyde, acetone, and acetaldehyde were the top four highest concentrated OVOCs. The detection technique on regional atmospheric OVOCs (e.g., oxygenated organic molecules (OOMs)) underwent an evolution of off-line derivatization method, on-line spectroscopic method and on-line mass spectrometry method. The OVOCs in GBA were mainly from primary emissions (up to 80 %), including vehicle emissions and biomass combustion. The anthropogenic alkenes and aromatics in urban area, and natural isoprene in rural area also made a significant contribution to the secondary emission (e.g., photochemical formation) of OVOCs. About 20 % in average of ROx radicals was produced from photolysis of formaldehyde in comparison with O3, nitrous acid and rest OVOCs, while the reaction between OVOCs and free radical accelerated the NOx-O3 cycle, contributing to 15 %-60 % cumulative formation of O3 in GBA. Besides, the heterogeneous reactions of dicarbonyls generated 21 %-53 % of SOA. This review also provided suggestions for future research on OVOCs in terms of regional observation, analytical method and mechanistic study to support the development of a control and management strategy on OVOCs in GBA and China.

MAX-DOAS and in-situ measurements of aerosols and trace gases over Dongying, China: Insight into ozone formation sensitivity based on secondary HCHO

This study presents a comprehensive overview of the atmospheric pollutants including Sulfur dioxide (SO2), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Formaldehyde (HCHO), Particulate Matter PM; PM10: diameter ≤ 10 µm, and PM2.5: diameter ≤ 2.5 µm), and Ozone (O3), over Dongying (Shandong Province) from March-April 2018 and September-October 2019 by employing ground-based Multiple Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) observations along with the in-situ measurements attained by the national air quality monitoring platform. The concentrations of SO2 and NO2 were under the acceptable level, while both PM2.5, and PM10 were higher than the safe levels as prescribed by national and international air quality standards. The results depict that 21% of the total observation days were found to be complex polluted days (PM2.5 > 35 µg/m3 and O3 > 160 µg/m3). The secondary HCHO was used for accurate analysis of O3 sensitivity. A difference of 11.40% and 10% during March-April 2018 and September-October 2019 respectively in O3 sensitivity was found between HCHOtotal/NO2 and HCHOsec/NO2. The results indicate that primary HCHO have significant contribution in HCHO. O3 formation predominantly remained to be in VOC-limited and transitional regime during March-April 2018 and September-October 2019 in Dongying. These results imply that concurrent control of both NOx and VOCs would benefit in ozone reductions. Additionally, the criteria pollutants (PM, SO2, and NO2) depicted strong correlations with each other except for O3 for which weak correlation coefficient was obtained with all the species. This study will prove to be baseline for designing of air pollution control strategies.

Spatial characterization of HCHO and reapportionment of its secondary sources considering photochemical loss in Taiyuan, China

Formaldehyde (HCHO) plays an important role in atmospheric ozone (O₃) formation. To accurately identify the sources of HCHO, carbonyls and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured at three urban sites (Taoyuan, TY-U; Jinyuan, JY-U; Xiaodian, XD-U) and a suburban site (Shanglan, SL-B) in Taiyuan during a high O₃ period (from July 20 to August 3, 2020). The average mixing ratio of HCHO at XD-U (8.1 ± 2.8 ppbv) was comparable to those at TY-U (7.4 ± 2.1 ppbv) and JY-U (7.0 ± 2.3 ppbv) but higher (p < 0.01) than that at SL-B (4.9 ± 2.3 ppbv). HCHO contributed to 54.3-59.9 % of the total ozone formation potentials (OFPs) of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) at four sites. The diurnal variation of HCHO concentrations reached a peak value at 12:00-15:00, which may be attributed to the strong photochemical reaction. To obtain more accurate source results of HCHO under the condition of photochemical loss, the initial concentrations of NMHCs were estimated based on photochemical age parameterization and incorporated into the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model (termed IC-PMF). According to the IC-PMF results, secondary formation (SF) contributed the most to HCHO at XD-U (35.6 %) and SL-B (25.1 %), whereas solvent usage (SU) (40.9 %) and coking sources (CS) (36.0 %) were the major sources at TY-U and JY-U, respectively. Compared to the IC-PMF, the conventional PMF analysis based on the observed data underestimated the contributions of SU (100.5-154.2 %) and biogenic sources (BS) (28.5-324.7 %). Further reapportionment of secondary HCHO by multiple linear regression indicated that SU dominated the sources of HCHO at SL-B (28.3 %) and TY-U (41.7 %), while industrial emissions (IE) and CS contributed the most to XD-U (26.6 %) and JY-U (43.0 %) in Taiyuan from north to south, respectively.

MAX-DOAS Measurements of Tropospheric NO2 and HCHO Vertical Profiles at the Longfengshan Regional Background Station in Northeastern China

The vertical profiles of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and formaldehyde (HCHO) in the troposphere at the Longfengshan (LFS) regional atmospheric background station (127°36' E, 44°44' N, 330.5 m above sea level) from 24 October 2020 to 13 October 2021 were retrieved from solar scattering spectra by multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS). We analyzed the temporal variations of NO₂ and HCHO as well as the sensitivity of ozone (O₃) production to the concentration ratio of HCHO to NO₂. The largest NO₂ volume mixing ratios (VMRs) occur in the near-surface layer for each month, with high values concentrated in the morning and evening. HCHO has an elevated layer around the altitude of 1.4 km consistently. The means ± standard deviations of vertical column densities (VCDs) and near-surface VMRs were 4.69 ± 3.72 ×10¹⁵ molecule·cm^-2 and 1.22 ± 1.09 ppb for NO₂, and they were 1.19 ± 8.35 × 10¹⁶ molecule·cm^-2 and 2.41 ± 3.26 ppb for HCHO. The VCDs and near-surface VMRs for NO₂ were high in the cold months and low in the warm months, while HCHO presented the opposite. The larger near-surface NO₂ VMRs appeared in the condition associated with lower temperature and higher humidity, but this relationship was not found between HCHO and temperature. We also found the O₃ production at the Longfengshan station was mainly in the NO_x-limited regime. This is the first study presenting the vertical distributions of NO₂ and HCHO in the regional background atmosphere of northeastern China, which are significant to enhancing the understanding of background atmospheric chemistry and regional ozone pollution processes.

Accurate identification of key VOCs sources contributing to O3 formation along the Liaodong Bay based on emission inventories and ambient observations

In order to achieve the precise control of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) species with high ozone (O₃) formation contribution from key sources in Panjin and Yingkou, two coastal industrial cities with severe O₃ pollution along the Liaodong Bay, northeast China, the ambient concentrations of 99 VOCs species were measured online at urban-petrochemical (XLT), suburban-industrial (PP), and rural (XRD) sites in July 2019, contemporary monthly anthropogenic VOCs emission inventories were developed. The source contribution of ambient VOCs resolved by positive matrix factorization (PMF) model was comparable with emission inventories, and the location of VOCs sources were speculated by potential source contribution function (PSCF). 17.5 Gg anthropogenic VOCs was emitted in Panjin and Yingkou in July 2019 with potential to form 54.7 Gg-O₃ estimated by emission inventories. The average VOC mixing ratios of 47.1, 26.7, and 16.5 ppbv was observed at XLT, PP, and XRD sites, respectively. Petroleum industry (22 %), organic chemical industry (21 %), and mobile vehicle emission (19 %) were identified to be the main sources contributing to O₃ formation at XLT site by PMF, while it is organic chemical industry (33 %) and solvent utilization (28 %) contributed the most at PP site. Taking the subdivided source contributions of emission inventories and source locations speculated by PSCF into full consideration, organic raw chemicals manufacturing, structural steel coating, petroleum refining process, petroleum products storage and transport, off-shore vessels, and passenger cars were identified as the key anthropogenic sources. High O₃-formation contribution sources, organic chemical industry and solvent utilization were located in the industrial parks at the junction of the two cities and the southeast of Panjin, and petroleum industry distributed in the whole Panjin and offshore areas. These results identify the key VOCs species and sources and speculate the potential geographical location of sources for precisely controlling ground-level O₃ along the Liaodong Bay.

Seasonal Investigation of MAX-DOAS and In Situ Measurements of Aerosols and Trace Gases over Suburban Site of Megacity Shanghai, China

Shanghai has gained much attention in terms of air quality research owing to its importance to economic capital and its huge population. This study utilizes ground-based remote sensing instrument observations, namely by Multiple AXis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS), and in situ measurements from the national air quality monitoring platform for various atmospheric trace gases including Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Sulfur dioxide (SO2), Ozone (O3), Formaldehyde (HCHO), and Particulate Matter (PM; PM10: diameter ≤ 10 µm, and PM2.5: diameter ≤ 2.5 µm) over Shanghai from June 2020 to May 2021. The results depict definite diurnal patterns and strong seasonality in HCHO, NO2, and SO2 concentrations with maximum concentrations during winter for NO2 and SO2 and in summer for HCHO. The impact of meteorology and biogenic emissions on pollutant concentrations was also studied. HCHO emissions are positively correlated with temperature, relative humidity, and the enhanced vegetation index (EVI), while both NO2 and SO2 depicted a negative correlation to all these parameters. The results from diurnal to seasonal cycles consistently suggest the mainly anthropogenic origin of NO2 and SO2, while the secondary formation from the photo-oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and substantial contribution of biogenic emissions for HCHO. Further, the sensitivity of O3 formation to its precursor species (NOx and VOCs) was also determined by employing HCHO and NO2 as tracers. The sensitivity analysis depicted that O3 formation in Shanghai is predominantly VOC-limited except for summer, where a significant percentage of O3 formation lies in the transition regime. It is worth mentioning that seasonal variation of O3 is also categorized by maxima in summer. The interdependence of criteria pollutants (O3, SO2, NO2, and PM) was studied by employing the Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and the results suggested complex interdependence among the pollutant species in different seasons. Lastly, potential source contribution function (PSCF) analysis was performed to have an understanding of the contribution of different source areas towards atmospheric pollution. PSCF analysis indicated a strong contribution of local sources on Shanghai’s air quality compared to regional sources. This study will help policymakers and stakeholders understand the complex interactions among the atmospheric pollutants and provide a baseline for designing effective control strategies to combat air pollution in Shanghai.

Temporal Variation of NO2 and HCHO Vertical Profiles Derived from MAX-DOAS Observation in Summer at a Rural Site of the North China Plain and Ozone Production in Relation to HCHO/NO2 Ratio

We performed a comprehensive and intensive field experiment including ground-based multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) measurement at Raoyang (115°44′ E, 38°14′ N; 20 m altitude) in summer (13 June–20 August) 2014. The NO2 and HCHO profiles retrieved by MAX-DOAS take on different vertical distribution shapes, with the former declining with the increasing altitude and the latter having an elevated layer. The average levels of vertical column densities (VCDs) and near-surface volume mixing ratios (VMRs) were 1.02 ± 0.51 × 1016 molec·cm−2 and 3.23 ± 2.70 ppb for NO2 and 2.32 ± 0.56 × 1016 molec·cm−2 and 5.62 ± 2.11 ppb for HCHO, respectively. The NO2 and HCHO levels are closely connected with meteorological conditions, with the larger NO2 VCDs being associated with lower temperature, higher relative humidity (RH) and lower planetary boundary layer height (PBLH). With respect to the diurnal variations of vertical distribution, the NO2 in the residual layer gradually disappeared from 1.2 km height to the surface during the period of 7:00–11:00 Beijing time (BJ), and the near-surface NO2 had larger VMRs in the early morning and evening than in the later morning and afternoon. An elevated HCHO layer was observed to occur persistently with the lifted layer height rising from ~0.5 km to ~1.0 km before 10:00 BJ; the near-surface HCHO VMRs gradually increased and peaked around 10:00 BJ. The ratios of HCHO to NO2 (RHCHO-NO2) were generally larger than two in the boundary layer from 11:00 BJ until 19:00 BJ, the time period when ozone photochemistry was most active. Thus, ozone (O3) production was mainly in the NOx-limited regime during the observation campaign, which was closely related to relatively high temperatures and low RH. The O3 production regimes also changed with the wind’s direction. These results are significant to reveal the formation mechanism of O3 pollution and develop strategies for controlling the O3 photochemical pollution over the North China Plain.