Characteristics of surface ozone pollution and its correlations with meteorological factors: the case of Xiangtan

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment Vol. 196; no. 7; p. 658
• Main Authors: Lizhi, He, Zhenghui, Xiao, Cheng, Xie, Yongquan, Long
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.07.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Air Pollutants - analysis; Air Pollution - statistics & numerical data; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; China; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental Monitoring; Humidity; Maximum temperatures; Meteorological Concepts; Meteorological effects; Meteorological observations; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Ozone; Ozone - analysis; Pollution; Polynomials; Relative humidity; Seasonal variation; Seasonal variations; Seasons; Temperature; Temperature changes; Temperature rise; Wind; Wind speed; China; Ozone; Pollution characteristics; Xiangtan; Meteorological factors
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-024-12830-9

Based on ozone (O 3 ) monitoring data for Xiangtan and meteorological observation data for 2020–2022, we examined ozone pollution characteristics and the effects of meteorological factors on daily maximum 8-h average ozone (O 3-8h ) concentrations in Xiangtan. Thus, we observed significant increases as well as notable seasonal variations in O 3-8h concentrations in Xiangtan during the period considered. The ozone and temperature change response slope ( K O3-T ) indicated that local emissions had no significant effect on O 3-8h generation. Further, average O 3-8h concentration and maximum temperature ( T max ) values showed a polynomial distribution. Specifically, at T max < 27 °C, it increased almost linearly with increasing temperature, and at T max between 27 and 37 °C, it showed an upward curvilinear trend as temperature increased, but at a much lower rate. Then, at T max > 37 °C, it decreased with increasing temperature. With respect to relative humidity (RH), the average O 3-8h concentration primarily exceeded the standard value when RH varied in the range of 45–65%, which is the key humidity range for O 3 pollution, and the inflection point for the correlation curve between O 3-8h concentration and RH appeared at ~55%. Furthermore, at wind speeds (WSs) below 1.5 m∙s −1 , O 3-8h concentration increased rapidly, and at WSs in the 1.5–2 m∙s −1 range, it increased at a much faster rate. However, at WSs > 2 m∙s −1 , it decreased slowly with increasing WS. O 3-8h concentration also showed the tendency to exceed the standard value when the dominant wind directions in Xiangtan were easterly or southeasterly.