Meteorological and air quality analyses of a long-lasting haze episode observed in South Korea during winter season
Abstract
A long-lasting haze episode observed around Seoul, South Korea during 12 through 17 January 2013 was investigated with regard to its impact on the concentrations of particulate matters (PM) and the related meteorological conditions, using a the WRF-CMAQ modeling system. To obtain more accurate meteorological fields in the WRF simulation, we used both grid nudging technique for meteorological variables (e.g., temperature and wind components (u and v)) within the planetary boundary layer and the sea surface temperature data of 5 km resolution from the Operational Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Ice Analysis (OSTIA) database. The dominant meteorological conditions affecting this haze episode around the target area were found to be associated with two main features: (1) behavior of the weak northwesterly/westerly winds induced by a weak pressure gradient from the strong emission source regions in China and (2) a blocking pattern observed over the north part of Korea and Japan. During this haze episode, the high concentrations of PM10 (up to approximately 150 mg m-3) and PM2.5 (90 mg m-3) were predicted in the downwind regions (e.g., Seoul) of the strong emission sources in China. This might be due to the combined effects of both the regional transport of pollutants along the northwesterly/westerly winds and the accumulation of PM (with local emission sources) as a result of the blocking effect. This study confirms that the long-lasting haze can alter the concentration levels of pollutants (PM10 or PM2.5) to a large extent depending on the meteorological conditions.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFM.A21G2736H
- Keywords:
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- 0317 Chemical kinetic and photochemical properties;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0322 Constituent sources and sinks;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0345 Pollution: urban and regional;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 3311 Clouds and aerosols;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES