Study on the impact of three Asian industrial regions on PM_2.5 in Taiwan and the process analysis during transport

Abstract

The outflow of the East Asian haze (EAH) has attracted much attention in recent years. For downstream areas, it is meaningful to understand the impact of crucial upstream sources and the process analysis during transport. This study evaluated the impact of PM2.5 from the three largest industrial regions on the Asian continent, namely the Bohai Rim industrial region (BRIR), Yangtze River Delta industrial region (YRDIR), and Pearl River Delta industrial region (PRDIR), in Taiwan and discussed the processes during transport with the help of air quality modeling. The simulation results revealed that the contributions of monthly average PM2.5 from BRIR and YRDIR were 0.7–1.1 and 1.2–1.9 µg m−3 (∼ 5 % and 7.5 % of the total concentration) in Taiwan, respectively, in January 2017. When the Asian anticyclone moved from the Asian continent to the western Pacific, e.g., on 9 January 2017, the contributions from BRIR and YRDIR to northern Taiwan could reach daily averages of 8 and 11 µg m−3. The transport of EAH from BRIR and YRDIR to low-latitude regions was horizontal advection (HADV), vertical advection (ZADV), and vertical diffusion (VDIF) over the Bohai Sea and East China Sea. Over the Taiwan Strait and the northern South China Sea, cloud processes (CLDS) were the major contribution to PM2.5 due to a high relative humidity environment. Along the transport from high-latitude regions to low-latitude regions, aerosol chemistry (AERO) and dry deposition (DDEP) were the major removal processes. When the EAH intruded into northern Taiwan, the major processes for the gains of PM2.5 in northern Taiwan were HADV and AERO. The stronger the EAH, the more the EAH could influence central and southern Taiwan. Although PRDIR is located downstream of Taiwan under northeasterly wind, the PM2.5 from PRDIR could be lifted upward above the boundary layer, allowing it to move eastwards. When the PM2.5 plume moved over Taiwan and was blocked by mountains, PM2.5 could be transported downward, via boundary layer mixing (VDIF), as it was further enhanced by the passing cold surge. In contrast, for the simulation of July 2017, the influence from the three industrial regions was almost negligible unless there was a special weather system, such as thermal lows which may have carried pollutants from PRDIR to Taiwan, but this occurrence was rare.