Uplifting of Asian Continental Pollution Plumes from the Boundary Layer to the Free Atmosphere over the Northwestern Pacific Rim in Spring

Jie Li; Zifa Wang; Kazuyo Yamaji; Masayuki Takigawa; Yugo Kanaya; Fumikazu Taketani; Nobuo Sugimoto; Xiaole Pan; Min Hu; Fan Meng; Yele Sun; Ting Yang

doi:10.2151/sola.2013-010

SOLA

Online ISSN : 1349-6476
ISSN-L : 1349-6476

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Uplifting of Asian Continental Pollution Plumes from the Boundary Layer to the Free Atmosphere over the Northwestern Pacific Rim in Spring

Jie Li, Zifa Wang, Kazuyo Yamaji, Masayuki Takigawa, Yugo Kanaya, Fumikazu Taketani, Nobuo Sugimoto, Xiaole Pan, Min Hu, Fan Meng, Yele Sun, Ting Yang

Author information

Jie Li
LAPC, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Zifa Wang
LAPC, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Kazuyo Yamaji
Research Institute of Global Change, JAMSTEC
Masayuki Takigawa
Research Institute of Global Change, JAMSTEC
Yugo Kanaya
Research Institute of Global Change, JAMSTEC
Fumikazu Taketani
Research Institute of Global Change, JAMSTEC
Nobuo Sugimoto
National Institute for Environmental Studies
Xiaole Pan
Research Institute of Global Change, JAMSTEC
Min Hu
College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University
Fan Meng
Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences
Yele Sun
LAPC, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Ting Yang
LAPC, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Corresponding author

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Supplementary material

2013 Volume 9 Pages 40-44

DOI https://doi.org/10.2151/sola.2013-010

Details

Published: 2013 Received: December 06, 2012 Released on J-STAGE: April 06, 2013 Accepted: February 22, 2013 Advance online publication: - Revised: -

Abstract

Understanding of the uplifting of Asian pollution plumes into the free atmosphere is key to evaluating the impact of trans-Pacific transport on hemisphere-scale chemical compositions. In this study, a regional chemical transport model combined with lidar and surface observations off the northwestern Pacific Rim was used to investigate the uplifting mechanisms of Asian pollutants in the spring of 2011. The potential source regions of anthropogenic fine particulates in the boundary layer and free atmosphere in western Japan were also indentified. The model reproduced accurately the observed surface anthropogenic PM_2.5 with correlation coefficient ranging from 0.5-0.65 and its vertical profiles in East Asia. Long-range transport from the Asian continent was responsible for the high anthropogenic PM_2.5 concentrations in the free atmosphere over northwestern Pacific Rim in spring, with a contribution of 55-70% in selected five cases. The rarely-reported local weak trough and the saddle field over northeastern Asia were found to be important uplifting mechanisms from the boundary layer to the free atmosphere in addition to the well-known warm conveyor belt mechanism (WCB). It is suggested that more studies on these two mechanisms are needed.

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