title: Atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in rural and urban areas of northern China.
abstract: Air pollution in rural China has often been ignored, especially for the less developed west China. Atmospheric polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured monthly at 11 rural sites (5 rural villages and 6 rural fields) together with 7 urban stations in northern China between April 2010 and March 2011. PAH concentrations at rural village sites were similar to those in urban areas and significantly higher than those in rural fields, indicating severe contamination in rural villages. PAH concentrations in the west were similar to those in the more developed North China Plain, and higher than those along the coast. Such a geographical distribution is mainly caused by the differences in residential energy consumption and meteorological conditions, which can explain approximately 48% of the total variation in PAH concentrations. With heavy dependence on biofuel combustion for heating, seasonality in rural areas is more profound than that in urban areas.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Hongqijie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Jiwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Huizhong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Guofeng
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Rong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Yanyan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Yuanchen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, CAS, Yantai, Shandong 264003, PR China.
authors.forename: Jianhui
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, PR China.
authors.forename: Qingbo
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Xilong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China.
authors.forename: Junfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, PR China. Electronic address: taos@pku.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Shu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tao
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001272:Atmosphere / Q000737:chemistry; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
keywords: Northern China; PAHs; Rural village; Spatial distribution; Temporal variation