Size-Dependent Characterization of Atmospheric Particles during Winter in Beijing

摘要

Two real-time instruments, NCSA (Nanoparticle Chemical Speciation Analyzer) and ACSA (Aerosol Chemical Speciation Analyzer), were both deployed in Beijing, China to explore the sized-dependent characterization of atmospheric particles. The mass concentrations of PM 1 , PM 2.5 , PM 10 , and sulfate and nitrate in the three size fractions were hourly measured in situ from 13 December 2013 to 7 January 2014. Generally, “sawtooth cycles” are common during winter in Beijing, with the PM concentrations increasing slowly over a few days, then falling to a low level abruptly in only a few hours. The secondary species, sulfate and nitrate, play important roles in haze formation and account for 10.5% and 11.1% of total PM 1 mass on average. Based on the variation of PM 1 mass concentrations, we classify the study periods into three categories, clean, slightly polluted, and polluted. The oxidation ratios of sulfur and nitrogen both increase from clean to polluted periods, indicating the significant contribution of secondary transformation to haze evolution. While the PM 2.5 /PM 10 ratio shows high dependence on PM pollution level, the ratio of PM 1 /PM 2.5 remains almost stable during the entire study, with an average of 0.90. With respect to the mass-size distribution of chemical components, both sulfate and nitrate show dominant contributions in PM 1 size fraction, accounting for 80.7% and 60.3% of total sulfate and nitrate, respectively. Our results also reveal that the elevated sulfate in PM 1 , and the enhanced nitrate in PM 1 and PM 2.5–1 size fraction, prompt the formation of haze pollution.