Visibility Variations in the Pearl River Delta of China During the Period of 1954—2004

Huang Jian; Wu Dui; Huang Minhui; Li Fei; Bi Xueyan; Tan Haobo; Deng Xuejiao

Vol.19, NO.1, 2008

Article Contents

Article Navigation > Journal of Applied Meteorological Science > 2008 > 19(1): 61-70

Huang Jian, Wu Dui, Huang Minhui, et al. Visibility variations in the Pearl River Delta of china during the period of 1954—2004. J Appl Meteor Sci, 2008, 19(1): 61-70.

Citation:

Huang Jian, Wu Dui, Huang Minhui, et al. Visibility variations in the Pearl River Delta of china during the period of 1954—2004. J Appl Meteor Sci, 2008, 19(1): 61-70.

Huang Jian, Wu Dui, Huang Minhui, et al. Visibility variations in the Pearl River Delta of china during the period of 1954—2004. J Appl Meteor Sci, 2008, 19(1): 61-70.

Citation:

Huang Jian, Wu Dui, Huang Minhui, et al. Visibility variations in the Pearl River Delta of china during the period of 1954—2004. J Appl Meteor Sci, 2008, 19(1): 61-70.

PDF( 1928 KB)

Visibility Variations in the Pearl River Delta of China During the Period of 1954—2004

1.
College of Marine Environment, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266003
2.
Guangzhou Institute of Tropical and Marine Meteorology, CMA, Guangzhou 510080
3.
Guangdong Meteorological Bureau, Guangzhou 510080

Received Date: 2006-09-13
Rev Recd Date: 2007-08-03
Publish Date: 2008-02-29

Abstract

Abstract

Atmospheric visibility is one of the good indicators of atmospheric fine particle pollution.To well understand the evolvement course of atmospheric environment of the Pearl River Delta (PRD), the temporal variation of visibility is examined by using three statistical methods, namely, cumulative percentiles, Ridit analysis and frequency of smoke/haze days, based on the historical visibility data of five geographically dispersed cities (Shenzhen, Gaoyao, Guangzhou, Taishan and Huiyang) from 1954 to 2004. The characteristics of visibility variation and its possible cause are investigated preliminarily.The temporal variation shows that there is a remarkable decline in visibility for all cities of PRD in the 51 years studied. At the end of 1950s visibility in some cities, e.g., Guangzhou and Gaoyao, evolves from low to high. The increasing consumption of coal and decreasing usage of trees seems to be responsible for this trend. In 1960s, visibility is generally high and experienced very good air quality in PRD.The visibility degradation for PRD is at early 1970s, which is prior to that of some other areas in China. Between the early 1980s and early 1990s, a stage of high-speed economic growth, the visibility gets worse. After the middle of 1990s the decline trends of visibility eventually become moderate. In the course of visibility variation of PRD, it should be pointed out that the visibility trend for PRD in the 51 years studied actually descends all the same even though the visibility declining rate slows down after the middle of 1990s. From 1960s to the period of 2001—2004, the declines of the average visibility are about 62.1%, 55.7%, 50.4%, 50.3% and 47.2%, in Shenzhen, Gaoyao, Guangzhou, Taishan and Huiyang, respectively, and the average extinction coefficient of atmosphere for the period of 2001—2004 is about 2.6, 2.3, 2.0, 2.0 and 1.9 times of that of 1960s. In recent years, Shenzhen has the lowest visibility in PRD, followed in turn by Gaoyao, Guangzhou, Taishan and Huiyang. The trend of visibility in PRD is mostly in accordance with local economic development and population growth in this period. It is also found that Gaoyao, a city located at the western part of PRD, has a lower visibility in comparison with the eastern city of PRD. It shows that the regional transport of atmospheric pollutants has a significant effect on the visibility over the down wind area. Furthermore, the relationship of visibility trends with atmospheric pollutant emissions in recent years is also discussed. It is found that visibility in PRD has not been improved substantively while the direct emission of particles has markedly decreased in the past few years since a series of prevention and control projects of atmospheric pollutants are implemented. The likely cause is that gas-phase aerosol precursor species, especially SO₂ and NO_x, have not been under control.
- the Pearl River Delta;
- visibility variation;
- cumulative percentage;
- Ridit analysis;
- frequency of smoke/haze days

FullText(HTML)

References(35)

Figures and Tables

图 1 珠江三角洲能见度观测站分布示意图

Fig. 1 Location of 5 meteorological observing stations in the Pearl River Delta

DownLoad: Full-Size Img PowerPoint

图 2 珠江三角洲各城市1954-2004年平均Ridit值和烟幕/霾日频率的变化趋势

(图中实线为平均Ridit值线，点线为烟幕/霾日频率)

Fig. 2 The trends of mean Ridit value and frequency of smoke/haze/days for 5 cities in Pearl River Delta from 1954 to 2004

(solid curve denotes mean Ridit value, dashed curve denotes the frequency of smoke/haze days)

DownLoad: Full-Size Img PowerPoint

图 3 珠江三角洲各城市1954-2004年能见度中值与能见度低值的变化趋势

(实线为能见度中值曲线, 虚线为能见度低值曲线)

Fig. 3 The trerds of median and poor visibility for 5 cities in the Pearl River Delta from 1954 to 2004

(soild curve denotes the median visibility, the dashed curve denotes the poor one)

DownLoad: Full-Size Img PowerPoint

表 1 珠江三角洲各能见度观测站点及所在城市的基本信息

Table 1 Information for 5 meteorological observing stations in the Pearl River Delta

表 2 1952—1970年广州市木柴与燃煤销售量统计表 (单位:10⁴t)

Table 2 The consumption of firewood and coal for domestic at Guangzhou (unit:10⁴t)

表 3 珠江三角洲的5城市不同阶段能见度中值和低值分布

Table 3 Median and poor visibility distributions for five cities in the Pearl River Delta of different decades

表 4 珠江三角洲的5城市能见度下降幅度与烟幕/霾日频率

Table 4 Decrease of visibility and frequency of smoke/haze days for five cities in the Pearl River Delta of different decades

表 5 广东省1995—2004年大气污染排放量统计 (单位:10⁴t)

Table 5 The emission of atmospheric pollutants in Guangdong Province during 1995—2004 (unit:10⁴t)

References

[1]	Houghton J T, Ding Y, Griggs D J, et al. Climate Change 2001 : The Scientific Basis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
[2]	Dickerson R R, Kondragunta S, Stenchikov G, et al. The impact of aerosols on solar ultraviolet radiation and photochemical smog. Science, 1997, 278: 827-830. doi: 10.1126/science.278.5339.827
[3]	Chen L, Doddridge W A, Dickerson B G, et al. Origins of fine aerosol mass in the Baltimore-Washington corridor: Implications from observation, factor analysis, and ensemble air parcel back trajectories. Atmos Environ, 2002, 36 : 4541-4554. doi: 10.1016/S1352-2310(02)00399-0
[4]	Malm W C. Characteristics and origins of haze in the continental United-States. Earth-Sci Rev, 1992, 33: 1-36. doi: 10.1016/0012-8252(92)90064-Z
[5]	Samet J M, Dominici F, Curriero F C, et al. Fine particulate air pollution and mortality in 20 US cities, 1987-1994. N Engl J Med, 2000, 343: 1742-1749. doi: 10.1056/NEJM200012143432401
[6]	广东省人民政府. 广东省蓝天工程计划. http://www.gd.gov.cn/gov-files/wj_title.asp?id=637.
[7]	李晓文, 李维亮, 周秀骥.中国近30年太阳辐射状况研究.应用气象学报, 1998, 9(1):24-31. http://qikan.camscma.cn/jams/ch/reader/view_abstract.aspx?file_no=19980104&flag=1
[8]	Ozakaynak H A, Schatz D, Thurston G D, et al. Relationships between aerosol extinction coefficients derived from airport visual range observations and alternative measure of airborne particle mass. Journal of Air Pollution Control Association, 1985, 35 : 1176-1185. doi: 10.1080/00022470.1985.10466020
[9]	NAPAP. Acid deposition: State of Science and Technology// Irving PM. Visibility: Existing and Historical Conditions-Causes and Effects. Report 24, National Acid deposition Assessment Program, Washington DC, 1990.
[10]	Maim W C, Sisler J F, Huffman D, et al. Spatial and seasonal trends in particle concentrations and optical extinction in the United States. J Geophys Res, 1994, 99: 1347-1370. doi: 10.1029/93JD02916
[11]	Gomez B, Smith C G. Visibility at Oxford 1926-1985. Weather, 1987, 42: 98-106. doi: 10.1002/wea.1987.42.issue-4
[12]	Lee D O. The choice of visibility statistics in the analysis of long-term visibility trends in summer in southern England. Weather, 1988, 43: 332-338. doi: 10.1002/wea.1988.43.issue-9
[13]	Lee D O. Regional variations in long term visibility trends in UK, 1962-1990. Geography, 1994, 17: 151-159.
[14]	Doyle M, Dorling S. Visibility trends in the UK 1950-1997. Atmos Environ, 2002, 36: 3161-3172. doi: 10.1016/S1352-2310(02)00248-0
[15]	Trijonis J C, Yuan K. Visibility in the Northeast: Long-term Visibility Trends and Visibility/Pollutant Relationships. EPA Report ^#600/3-78-075. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC, 1978.
[16]	Craig C, Faulkenbery G D. The application of Ridit analysis to detect trends in visibility. Atmos Environ, 1979, 13: 1617-1622. doi: 10.1016/0004-6981(79)90319-6
[17]	Solane C S. Visibility trends Ⅰ : Methods of analysis. Atmos Environ, 1982, 16: 41-51. doi: 10.1016/0004-6981(82)90312-2
[18]	Solane C S. Visibility trends Ⅱ: Mideastem United States 1948-1978. Atmos Environ, 1982, 12: 945-950.
[19]	Naegele P S, Sellers W D. A study of visibility in eighteen cities in the western and southern United States. Mon Wea Rev, 1981, 100: 67-71. doi: 10.1175/1520-0493%281981%29109%3C2394%3AASOVIE%3E2.0.CO%3B2
[20]	Schichtel B A, Husar R B, Falke S R. Haze trends over the United States, 1980-1995. Atmos Environ, 2001, 35: 5205-5210. doi: 10.1016/S1352-2310(01)00317-X
[21]	Zhang Y, Zhu X, Slanina S, et al. Aerosol pollution in, some Chinese cities (IUPAC technical report). Pure Appl Chem, 2004, 76: 1227-1239. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/244742405_Aerosol_pollution_in_some_Chinese_cities_IUPAC_Technical_Report
[22]	Wang X, Carmichael G, Chen D. Impacts of different emission sources on air quality during March 2001 in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. Atmos Environ, 2005, 39: 5227-5241. doi: 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2005.04.035
[23]	Lee Y L, Sequeira R. Visibility degradation across Hong Kong:Its components and their relative contributions. Atmos Environ, 2001, 34: 5861-5872. http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2001AtmEn..35.5861L
[24]	Wang T, Ding A J, Blake D R, et al. Chemical characterization of the boundary layer outflow of air pollution to Hong Kong during February-April 2001. J Geophys Res, 2003, 108: 8787-8801. doi: 10.1029/2002JD003272
[25]	李成才, 刘启汉, 毛节泰, 等.利用MODIS卫星和激光雷达遥感资料研究香港地区的一次大气气溶胶污染.应用气象学报, 2004, 15(6):641-650. http://qikan.camscma.cn/jams/ch/reader/view_abstract.aspx?file_no=20040695&flag=1
[26]	广东省统计局.广东省统计公报.北京:中国统计出版社, 2004.
[27]	中央气象局.气象观测暂行规范 (地面部分).北京:中央气象局, 1951.
[28]	中央气象局.地面气象观测规范.北京:气象出版社, 1979.
[29]	范引琪, 李二杰, 范增禄.河北省1960-2002年城市大气能见度的变化趋势.大气科学, 2005, 29(4):526-535. http://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFDTOTAL-DQXK200504003.htm
[30]	Vinzani P, Lamb P. Temporal visibility variations in the Illinois vicinity during 1949-1980. J Climate Appl Meteor, 1985, 24: 435-451. doi: 10.1175/1520-0450(1985)024<0435:TASVVI>2.0.CO;2
[31]	WMO. Manual on Codes, International Codes, Vol. Ⅰ.1 (Annex Ⅱ to WMO Technical Regulations), Part A-Alphanumeric Codes, WMO-No. 306, Geneva, Switzerland, 1995.
[32]	广州市地方志编辑委员会.广州地方志.广州:广州出版社, 2000.
[33]	广东省气象局气候资料室.广东省气候.广州:广东省科学技术出版社, 1975.
[34]	广东省环保局. 广东省环境公报, 1995-2004. http://www.gdepb.gov.cn/zwxx/hbzkgb/gongbao/index.htm.
[35]	吴兑, 毕雪岩, 邓雪娇, 等.珠江三角洲大气灰霾导致能见度下降问题研究.气象学报, 2006, 64(4):510-517. http://www.cnki.com.cn/Article/CJFDTOTAL-QXXB200604010.htm