The Long-Term Trends and Interannual Variability in Surface Ozone Levels in Beijing from 1995 to 2020

Abstract

Tropospheric ozone is an important atmospheric pollutant as well as an efficient greenhouse gas. Beijing is one of the cities with the most serious ozone pollution. However, long-term date of observed ozone in Beijing are limited. In this paper, we combine the measurements of the In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System (IAGOS), ozonesonde observations as well as the recently available ozone monitoring network observations to produce a unique data record of surface ozone (at 14:00 Beijing time) in Beijing from 1995 to 2020. Using this merged dataset, we investigate the variability in surface ozone in Beijing on multiple timescales. The long-term change is primarily characterized by a sudden drop in 2011–2012 with an insignificant linear trend during the full period. Based on CAM-chem model simulations, meteorological factors played important roles in the 2011–2012 ozone drop. Before and after this sudden drop, ozone levels in Beijing increased significantly by 0.42 ± 0.27 ppbv year−1 before 2011 and 0.43 ± 0.41 ppbv year−1 after 2013. We also found a substantial increase in the amplitude of the ozone annual cycle in Beijing, which has not been documented in previous studies. This is consistent with ozone increases in summer and ozone decreases in winter. In addition, the results by the Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) analysis indicate significant interannual variations in ozone levels in Beijing with different time oscillation periods, which may be associated with natural variabilities and subsequent changes in meteorological conditions.