Differences in the Vertical Distribution of Aerosols, Nitrogen Dioxide, and Formaldehyde between Islands and Inland Areas: A Case Study in the Yangtze River Delta of China

Abstract

Due to the difference of industrialization degree and meteorological conditions, there are obvious differences in the composition of air pollution between islands and inland areas. With Zhoushan (ZS) and Nanjing (NJ) representing islands and inland cities in the Yangtze River Delta, the differences in vertical distribution of atmospheric components were investigated. A combination of multi-axial differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS), weather research and forecasting (WRF), and potential source contribution function (PSCF) models were used to obtain vertical distribution data for aerosols, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and formaldehyde (HCHO), meteorological factors, and pollution sources in summer 2019. The findings indicate that, except for the aerosol extinction coefficient (AE), the atmospheric composition at the ZS site was not significantly stratified. However, the AE, NO2, and HCHO at NJ all displayed a decreasing trend with altitude. Here is the interesting finding that the ZS site has a higher AE value than the NJ site, while NJ displays higher NO2 and HCHO columns than the ZS site. This discrepancy was primarily attributable to Zhoushan City’s extremely low traffic emissions when compared to inland cities. In addition, HCHO in the YRD region was significantly affected by human activities. Analysis of potential pollution sources found that regional transport contributed to differences in atmospheric composition at different altitudes in different regions. Aerosols, NO2, and HCHO in Nanjing were significantly affected by transport in inland areas. Aerosols in Zhoushan were easily affected by transport in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, and NO2 and HCHO were significantly affected by transport contributions from surrounding areas in inland areas. The study strongly suggests that land and sea breezes play an important role in the vertical distribution of aerosols over island regions.