Articles | Volume 23, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4149-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-4149-2023
Research article
 | Highlight paper
 | 
05 Apr 2023
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 05 Apr 2023

Foreign emissions exacerbate PM2.5 pollution in China through nitrate chemistry

Jun-Wei Xu, Jintai Lin, Gan Luo, Jamiu Adeniran, and Hao Kong

Related authors

The underappreciated role of transboundary pollution in future air quality and health improvements in China
Jun-Wei Xu, Jintai Lin, Dan Tong, and Lulu Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 10075–10089, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10075-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-10075-2023, 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)
Quantifying the impact of global nitrate aerosol on tropospheric composition fields and its production from lightning NOx
Ashok K. Luhar, Anthony C. Jones, and Jonathan M. Wilkinson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 14005–14028, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-14005-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-14005-2024, 2024
Short summary
Rapid oxidation of phenolic compounds by O3 and HO: effects of the air–water interface and mineral dust in tropospheric chemical processes
Yanru Huo, Mingxue Li, Xueyu Wang, Jianfei Sun, Yuxin Zhou, Yuhui Ma, and Maoxia He
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12409–12423, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12409-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12409-2024, 2024
Short summary
Modeling the contribution of leads to sea spray aerosol in the high Arctic
Rémy Lapere, Louis Marelle, Pierre Rampal, Laurent Brodeau, Christian Melsheimer, Gunnar Spreen, and Jennie L. Thomas
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 12107–12132, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12107-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-12107-2024, 2024
Short summary
Importance of aerosol composition and aerosol vertical profiles in global spatial variation in the relationship between PM2.5 and aerosol optical depth
Haihui Zhu, Randall V. Martin, Aaron van Donkelaar, Melanie S. Hammer, Chi Li, Jun Meng, Christopher R. Oxford, Xuan Liu, Yanshun Li, Dandan Zhang, Inderjeet Singh, and Alexei Lyapustin
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 11565–11584, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11565-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-11565-2024, 2024
Short summary
The co-benefits of a low-carbon future for PM2.5 and O3 air pollution in Europe
Connor J. Clayton, Daniel R. Marsh, Steven T. Turnock, Ailish M. Graham, Kirsty J. Pringle, Carly L. Reddington, Rajesh Kumar, and James B. McQuaid
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 24, 10717–10740, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10717-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-10717-2024, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

An, Z., Huang, R. J., Zhang, R., Tie, X., Li, G., Cao, J., Zhou, W., Shi, Z., Han, Y., Gu, Z., and Ji, Y.: Severe haze in northern China: A synergy of anthropogenic emissions and atmospheric processes, P. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 116, 8657–8666, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1900125116, 2019. 
Bai, Z., Winiwarter, W., Klimont, Z., Velthof, G., Misselbrook, T., Zhao, Z., Jin, X., Oenema, O., Hu, C., and Ma, L.: Further Improvement of Air Quality in China Needs Clear Ammonia Mitigation Target, Environ. Sci. Technol., 53, 10542–10544, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b04725, 2019. 
Breider, T. J., Mickley, L. J., Jacob, D. J., Ge, C., Wang, J., Payer Sulprizio, M., Croft, B., Ridley, D. A., McConnell, J. R., Sharma, S., Husain, L., Dutkiewicz, V. A., Eleftheriadis, K., Skov, H., and Hopke, P. K.: Multidecadal trends in aerosol radiative forcing over the Arctic: Contribution of changes in anthropogenic aerosol to Arctic warming since 1980, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 122, 3573–3594, https://doi.org/10.1002/2016JD025321, 2017. 
Download
Executive editor
This paper investigates the influence of internationally-transported pollution on China, with a specific highlight on the formation of secondary PM2.5 in the form of nitrate. While sources from within China have traditionally been of most interest for domestic air quality policy, these have diminished over recent years, so sources from outside China may become more significant. The topic of transboundary exchange of air pollution has long been studied in other parts of the world, in particular among CLRTAP signatory countries in North America and Europe, but East Asian transboundary pollution represents a different challenge, in part owing to differences in geography and emissions, but also compared to Europe in particular, the transportation scales are much larger. This work not only quantifies the impacts of long distance pollution on Chinese air quality, but also highlights the complex chemical interactions between the local and transboundary pollutants. Papers such as this will likely influence the debate regarding international controls of air pollutants.
Short summary
Research on the sources of Chinese PM2.5 pollution has focused on the contributions of China’s domestic emissions. However, the impact of foreign anthropogenic emissions has typically been simplified or neglected. Here we find that foreign anthropogenic emissions play an important role in Chinese PM2.5 pollution through chemical interactions between foreign-transported pollutants and China’s local emissions. Thus, foreign emission reductions are essential for improving Chinese air quality.
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint