IngentaConnect Urban and Background Ozone Trend in 1984-1999 at Subtropical Hong...

Authors: C. Y. Chan¹; L. Y. Chan¹; J. M. Harris²

Source: Ozone: Science and Engineering, Volume 25, Number 6, December 2003 , pp. 513-522(10)

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Abstract:

There has been a growing concern for the impact of increasing Asian pollutant emissions on climate, atmospheric chemistry and air quality of the downwind region. In this study, we examined the long-term records of surface ozone (O₃) and its precursors (NO and NO₂) measured in Hong Kong from the early 1980s to 2000. The urban O₃ concentration has shown more than two-fold increase since the early 1980s and the increase was especially apparent after the late 1980s. The O₃ increases led to frequent O₃ pollution episodes and caused deterioration of local air quality. Such increases were not accompanied by local NO and NO₂ concentration changes in Hong Kong but coincided with the increase of NO_x emissions from Asia. We derived the background O₃ concentration for the South China region using the early morning (1:00-5:00 a.m. local standard time) data and linked the transport of Asian emissions and background O₃ change using back air trajectory and local meteorology. The derived background O₃ concentration shows an increase rate of 1.5% per year over the 15-year period from 1984 to 1999, which is close to that in the midlatitudes of East Asia at Japan. The sharp O₃ increase is related to the regional O₃ built-up in South China and the East Asia region due to the increases in the pollutant emissions as a result of rapid urban and industrial development in the region.

Keywords: Ozone; Background Ozone Change; Asian Pollutant Emissions; Air Pollutant Transport; Hong Kong Urban Ozone; Tropospheric Ozone

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1080/01919510390481829

Affiliations: 1: Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, China 2: NOAA Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado, USA

Urban and Background Ozone Trend in 1984-1999 at Subtropical Hong Kong, South China