Articles | Volume 25, issue 22
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-16363-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-16363-2025
Research article
 | 
20 Nov 2025
Research article |  | 20 Nov 2025

Black carbon aerosols in China: spatial-temporal variations and lessons from long-term atmospheric observations

Huang Zheng, Shaofei Kong, Deping Ding, Marjan Savadkoohi, Congbo Song, Mingming Zheng, and Roy M. Harrison

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Cited articles

Abulimiti, A., Zhang, Y., Yu, M., Hong, Y., Lin, Y.-C., Gul, C., and Cao, F.: Sources and trends of black carbon aerosol in the megacity of Nanjing, eastern China, after the China Clean Action Plan and Three-Year Action Plan, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 6161–6178, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-6161-2025, 2025. a, b, c
Alvarado, M. J., Lonsdale, C. R., Macintyre, H. L., Bian, H., Chin, M., Ridley, D. A., Heald, C. L., Thornhill, K. L., Anderson, B. E., Cubison, M. J., Jimenez, J. L., Kondo, Y., Sahu, L. K., Dibb, J. E., and Wang, C.: Evaluating model parameterizations of submicron aerosol scattering and absorption with in situ data from ARCTAS 2008, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 16, 9435–9455, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-9435-2016, 2016. a
Becerril-Valle, M., Coz, E., Prévôt, A., Močnik, G., Pandis, S., de la Campa, A. S., Alastuey, A., Díaz, E., Pérez, R., and Artíñano, B.: Characterization of atmospheric black carbon and co-pollutants in urban and rural areas of Spain, Atmos. Environ., 169, 36–53, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2017.09.014, 2017. a
Birmili, W., Weinhold, K., Rasch, F., Sonntag, A., Sun, J., Merkel, M., Wiedensohler, A., Bastian, S., Schladitz, A., Löschau, G., Cyrys, J., Pitz, M., Gu, J., Kusch, T., Flentje, H., Quass, U., Kaminski, H., Kuhlbusch, T. A. J., Meinhardt, F., Schwerin, A., Bath, O., Ries, L., Gerwig, H., Wirtz, K., and Fiebig, M.: Long-term observations of tropospheric particle number size distributions and equivalent black carbon mass concentrations in the German Ultrafine Aerosol Network (GUAN), Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 8, 355–382, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-8-355-2016, 2016. a, b
Blanco-Alegre, C., Calvo, A., Alves, C., Fialho, P., Nunes, T., Gomes, J., Castro, A., Oduber, F., Coz, E., and Fraile, R.: Aethalometer Measurements in a Road Tunnel: A Step Forward in the Characterization of Black Carbon Emissions from Traffic, Sci. Total Environ., 703, 135483, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135483, 2020. a
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Short summary
This study analyzes 13 years of BC (black carbon) data in China, uncovering patterns in its concentration and sources. Spatial-temporal variations and trends of BC are reported. Our analysis revealed that the reduction rates of BC and its sources varied across different station types, with spatial differences in the drivers of reduction. These long-term observations provide valuable insights to enhance understanding of pollution trends and improve models for predicting air quality.
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