title: Using stable isotopes to trace sources and formation processes of sulfate aerosols from Beijing, China.
abstract: Particulate pollution from anthropogenic and natural sources is a severe problem in China. Sulfur and oxygen isotopes of aerosol sulfate (δ(34)Ssulfate and δ(18)Osulfate) and water-soluble ions in aerosols collected from 2012 to 2014 in Beijing are being utilized to identify their sources and assess seasonal trends. The mean δ(34)S value of aerosol sulfate is similar to that of coal from North China, indicating that coal combustion is a significant contributor to atmospheric sulfate. The δ(34)Ssulfate and δ(18)Osulfate values are positively correlated and display an obvious seasonality (high in winter and low in summer). Although an influence of meteorological conditions to this seasonality in isotopic composition cannot be ruled out, the isotopic evidence suggests that the observed seasonality reflects temporal variations in the two main contributions to Beijing aerosol sulfate, notably biogenic sulfur emissions in the summer and the increasing coal consumption in winter. Our results clearly reveal that a reduction in the use of fossil fuels and the application of desulfurization technology will be important for effectively reducing sulfur emissions to the Beijing atmosphere.
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Xiaokun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Han
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Qingjun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang Guizhou 550002, PR China.
authors.forename: Congqiang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Pingqing
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Institut für Geologie und Paläontologie, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Corrensstrasse 24, 48149 Münster, Germany.
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Strauss
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Junxing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang Guizhou 550002, PR China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Lianfang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
authors.forename: Rongfei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Remediation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Liyan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tian