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High wintertime particulate matter pollution over an offshore island (Kinmen) off southeastern China: an overview

Hsu, S. C.; Liu, S. C.; Tsai, F.; Engling, G.; Lin, I. I.; Chou, C. K. C.; Kao, S. J.; Lung, S. C. C.; Chan, C. Y.; Lin, S. C.; Huang, J. C.; Chi, K. H.; Chen, W. N.; Lin, F. J.; Huang, C. H.; Kuo, C. L.; Wu, T. C.; Huang, Y. T.

High wintertime particulate matter pollution over an offshore island (Kinmen) off southeastern China: an overview Thumbnail


Authors

S. C. Hsu

S. C. Liu

F. Tsai

G. Engling

I. I. Lin

C. K. C. Chou

S. J. Kao

S. C. C. Lung

C. Y. Chan

S. C. Lin

J. C. Huang

K. H. Chi

W. N. Chen

F. J. Lin

C. H. Huang

C. L. Kuo

T. C. Wu

Y. T. Huang



Abstract

Both the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and the Pearl River Delta (PRD), the two most rapidly developing areas in eastern China, have suffered from serious air pollution, and thus, numerous investigations were devoted to studying these problems. Other areas in eastern China have received less attention despite similar rapid development in
their industries and economy. In this study, we analyzed air‐quality data from Kinmen Island (24°27′26′′N, 118°19′36′′E) located off Fujian Province and between the two above‐mentioned deltas. Our results clearly show that the study area is experiencing serious air quality deterioration. Particularly, high levels of suspended particulate matter (PM) were observed during winter, when the northeasterly monsoon prevails. For example, concentrations of wintertime PM10 (particles ≤ 10 mm in diameter) frequently exceeded 100 mg/m3 in the last three years. In addition to the air‐quality data analysis, aerosol samples were collected between 22 November 2007 and 6 March 2008 and subjected to chemical analyses of various species. Our findings show that the three principal PM components include organic, mineral, and sulfate species with moderate to minor fractions of nitrate, sea salt, elemental carbon, and trace metal oxides. The high PM levels observed over the island may be partly attributed to the transport from a mixed‐type industrial area located ∼40 km northeast of Kinmen. Our study could partially fill the air quality data gap between the YRD and PRD regions, and highlight the alarming fact that air pollution has gradually expanded along eastern China’s coastal zone.

Citation

Hsu, S. C., Liu, S. C., Tsai, F., Engling, G., Lin, I. I., Chou, C. K. C., …Huang, Y. T. (2010). High wintertime particulate matter pollution over an offshore island (Kinmen) off southeastern China: an overview. Journal of Geophysical Research, 115(D17), https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD013641

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date May 26, 2010
Online Publication Date Sep 15, 2010
Publication Date Sep 16, 2010
Deposit Date Nov 28, 2017
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Journal of Geophysical Research
Print ISSN 0148-0227
Electronic ISSN 0148-0227
Publisher American Geophysical Union
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 115
Issue D17
DOI https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD013641
Keywords Air pollution; Particulate matter
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/706676
Publisher URL https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD013641
Additional Information Copyright(2010) American Geophysical Union.

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