Articles | Volume 21, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15135-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-15135-2021
Research article
 | 
12 Oct 2021
Research article |  | 12 Oct 2021

Nonlinear responses of particulate nitrate to NOx emission controls in the megalopolises of China

Mengmeng Li, Zihan Zhang, Quan Yao, Tijian Wang, Min Xie, Shu Li, Bingliang Zhuang, and Yong Han

Related authors

Numerical simulation of nitrous oxide over Asia using regional climate-chemistry-ecology coupling model RegCM-Chem-YIBs
Xin Zeng, Tijian Wang, Congwu Huang, Bingliang Zhuang, Shu Li, Mengmeng Li, Min Xie, Qian Zhang, and Nanhong Xie
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-608,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-608, 2025
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for Geoscientific Model Development (GMD).
Short summary
Impacts of atmospheric circulation patterns and cloud inhibition on aerosol radiative effect and boundary layer structure during winter air pollution in Sichuan Basin, China
Hua Lu, Min Xie, Bingliang Zhuang, Danyang Ma, Bojun Liu, Yangzhihao Zhan, Tijian Wang, Shu Li, Mengmeng Li, and Kuanguang Zhu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 8963–8982, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8963-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-8963-2024, 2024
Short summary
The regional climate–chemistry–ecology coupling model RegCM-Chem (v4.6)–YIBs (v1.0): development and application
Nanhong Xie, Tijian Wang, Xiaodong Xie, Xu Yue, Filippo Giorgi, Qian Zhang, Danyang Ma, Rong Song, Beiyao Xu, Shu Li, Bingliang Zhuang, Mengmeng Li, Min Xie, Natalya Andreeva Kilifarska, Georgi Gadzhev, and Reneta Dimitrova
Geosci. Model Dev., 17, 3259–3277, https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-3259-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-17-3259-2024, 2024
Short summary
New particle formation induced by anthropogenic–biogenic interactions on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau
Shiyi Lai, Ximeng Qi, Xin Huang, Sijia Lou, Xuguang Chi, Liangduo Chen, Chong Liu, Yuliang Liu, Chao Yan, Mengmeng Li, Tengyu Liu, Wei Nie, Veli-Matti Kerminen, Tuukka Petäjä, Markku Kulmala, and Aijun Ding
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 2535–2553, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2535-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-2535-2024, 2024
Short summary
Quantifying the seasonal variations in and regional transport of PM2.5 in the Yangtze River Delta region, China: characteristics, sources, and health risks
Yangzhihao Zhan, Min Xie, Wei Zhao, Tijian Wang, Da Gao, Pulong Chen, Jun Tian, Kuanguang Zhu, Shu Li, Bingliang Zhuang, Mengmeng Li, Yi Luo, and Runqi Zhao
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 9837–9852, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9837-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-9837-2023, 2023
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Atmospheric Modelling and Data Analysis | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
Impacts of sea ice leads on sea salt aerosols and atmospheric chemistry in the Arctic
Erin J. Emme and Hannah M. Horowitz
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4531–4545, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4531-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4531-2025, 2025
Short summary
Dimethyl sulfide chemistry over the industrial era: comparison of key oxidation mechanisms and long-term observations
Ursula A. Jongebloed, Jacob I. Chalif, Linia Tashmim, William C. Porter, Kelvin H. Bates, Qianjie Chen, Erich C. Osterberg, Bess G. Koffman, Jihong Cole-Dai, Dominic A. Winski, David G. Ferris, Karl J. Kreutz, Cameron P. Wake, and Becky Alexander
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 4083–4106, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4083-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-4083-2025, 2025
Short summary
Driving factors of aerosol acidity: a new hierarchical quantitative analysis framework and its application in Changzhou, China
Xiaolin Duan, Guangjie Zheng, Chuchu Chen, Qiang Zhang, and Kebin He
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3919–3928, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3919-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3919-2025, 2025
Short summary
Understanding the long-term trend of organic aerosol and the influences from anthropogenic emission and regional climate change in China
Wenxin Zhang, Yaman Liu, Man Yue, Xinyi Dong, Kan Huang, and Minghuai Wang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3857–3872, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3857-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3857-2025, 2025
Short summary
Population exposure to outdoor NO2, black carbon, and ultrafine and fine particles over Paris with multi-scale modelling down to the street scale
Soo-Jin Park, Lya Lugon, Oscar Jacquot, Youngseob Kim, Alexia Baudic, Barbara D'Anna, Ludovico Di Antonio, Claudia Di Biagio, Fabrice Dugay, Olivier Favez, Véronique Ghersi, Aline Gratien, Julien Kammer, Jean-Eudes Petit, Olivier Sanchez, Myrto Valari, Jérémy Vigneron, and Karine Sartelet
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 3363–3387, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3363-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-3363-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Alexander, B., Hastings, M. G., Allman, D. J., Dachs, J., Thornton, J. A., and Kunasek, S. A.: Quantifying atmospheric nitrate formation pathways based on a global model of the oxygen isotopic composition (Δ17O) of atmospheric nitrate, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 9, 5043–5056, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-9-5043-2009, 2009. 
Alexander, B., Sherwen, T., Holmes, C. D., Fisher, J. A., Chen, Q., Evans, M. J., and Kasibhatla, P.: Global inorganic nitrate production mechanisms: comparison of a global model with nitrate isotope observations, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 3859–3877, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-3859-2020, 2020. 
Bhati, S. and Mohan, M.: WRF-urban canopy model evaluation for the assessment of heat island and thermal comfort over an urban airshed in India under varying land use/land cover conditions, Geoscience Letters, 5, 27, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40562-018-0126-7, 2018. 
Cheng, Y. F., Zheng, G. J., Wei, C., Mu, Q., Zheng, B., Wang, Z. B., Gao, M., Zhang, Q., He, K. B., Carmichael, G., Poschl, U., and Su, H.: Reactive nitrogen chemistry in aerosol water as a source of sulfate during haze events in China, Science Advances, 2, e1601530, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1601530, 2016. 
Dong, X. Y., Li, J., Fu, J. S., Gao, Y., Huang, K., and Zhuang, G. S.: Inorganic aerosols responses to emission changes in Yangtze River Delta, China, Sci. Total Environ., 481, 522–532, 2014. 
Download
Short summary
We establish the nonlinear responses between nitrate and NOx in China. Reduction of NOx results in linearly lower nitrate in summer–autumn whereas an increase of winter nitrate until an inflexion point at 40–50 % reduction due to the excess oxidants. NH3 and VOCs are effective in controlling nitrate pollution, whereas decreasing the SO2 and NOx emissions may have counterintuitive effects on nitrate aerosols. This paper helps understand the nonlinear aerosol and photochemistry feedback.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint