A New Index Developed for Fast Diagnosis of Meteorological Roles in Ground-Level Ozone Variations

• Published in: Advances in atmospheric sciences Vol. 39; no. 3; pp. 403 - 414
• Main Authors: Chen, Weihua, Wang, Weiwen, Jia, Shiguo, Mao, Jingying, Yan, Fenghua, Zheng, Lianming, Wu, Yongkang, Zhang, Xingteng, Dong, Yutong, Kong, Lingbin, Zhong, Buqing, Chang, Ming, Shao, Min, Wang, Xuemei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Heidelberg Science Press 2022; Springer Nature B.V; Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Joint Laboratory of Collaborative Innovation for Environmental Quality,Institute for Environmental and Climate Research,Jinan University,Guangzhou 510632,China%School of Atmospheric Sciences,Guangdong Province Key Laboratory for Climate Change and Natural Disaster Studies,Sun Yat-sen University,Guangzhou 510275,China%Key Laboratory of Vegetation Restoration and Management of Degraded Ecosystems,South China Botanical Garden,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Guangzhou 510650,China
• Subjects: Atmospheric Oxidation Capacity; Atmospheric Sciences; Control; Diagnosis; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Emissions; Emissions control; Formation Mechanisms; Geophysics/Geodesy; Latitudinal variations; Meteorological parameters; Meteorology; Original Paper; Ozone; Ozone variations; Photochemical reactions; Photochemicals; Photochemistry; PM2.5 Pollution: Quantification Methods; Pollution; Simulation; Solar radiation; Surface temperature; Wind speed; China; Meteorology synthetic index; 近地面臭氧; 物理扩散能力; 气象综合指数; Physical dispersion capacity; Photochemical reaction condition; Ground-level ozone; 光化学反应条件; ground-level ozone; physical dispersion capacity; meteorology synthetic index; photochemical reaction condition
• ISSN: 0256-1530; 1861-9533
• DOI: 10.1007/s00376-021-1257-x

China experienced worsening ground-level ozone (O 3 ) pollution from 2013 to 2019. In this study, meteorological parameters, including surface temperature ( T 2 ), solar radiation (SW), and wind speed (WS), were classified into two aspects, (1) Photochemical Reaction Condition (PRC = T 2 × SW) and (2) Physical Dispersion Capacity (PDC = WS). In this way, a Meteorology Synthetic Index (MSI = PRC/PDC) was developed for the quantification of meteorology-induced ground-level O 3 pollution. The positive linear relationship between the 90th percentile of MDA8 (maximum daily 8-h average) O 3 concentration and MSI determined that the contribution of meteorological changes to ground-level O −3 varied on a latitudinal gradient, decreasing from ∼40% in southern China to 10%–20% in northern China. Favorable photochemical reaction conditions were more important for ground-level O 3 pollution. This study proposes a universally applicable index for fast diagnosis of meteorological roles in ground-level O 3 variability, which enables the assessment of the observed effects of precursor emissions reductions that can be used for designing future control policies.