title: Particulate matter mass and chemical component concentrations over four Chinese cities along the western Pacific coast.
abstract: China has witnessed rapid economic growth in the past three decades, especially in coastal areas. Particulate matter (PM) pollution is becoming increasingly serious in China's cities along the western Pacific coast with the rapid development of China's society and economy. This study analyzed PM (PM10 and PM2.5) in terms of their mass and chemical composition in four coastal Chinese cities. The goal was to study the spatial variation and characteristics of PM pollution in sites under different levels of economic development and in diverse natural environments. A distinct trend for concentrations of PM and related chemical species was observed and increased from south to north in Haikou, Ningbo, Qingdao, and Tianjin. Secondary inorganic aerosols, crustal materials, and organic matter dominated the composition of both PM10 and PM2.5. Crustal materials were the most abundant species in the northern coastal areas because these areas have less vegetation cover and lower humidity than southern coastal areas. The presence of high SO4 (2-)/nitrate (NO3 (-)) concentrations indicated that the burning of coals gives significant contributions to PM10 and PM2.5. The differences observed in the characteristics of PM pollution in these coastal cities are probably caused by different levels of industrial and urban development.
authors.affiliation: State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Urban Ambient Air Particulate Matter Pollution Prevention and Control, Joint Laboratory of Urban and Ambient Air Environment Study, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin, 300 071, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Xiao-Hui
authors.initials: XH
authors.lastname: Bi
authors.forename: Wei-Wei
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Jian-Hui
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yin-Chang
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Feng
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols / Q000032:analysis; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D002681:China; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter