Spatiotemporal Variations and Influent Factors of Tropospheric Ozone Concentration over China Based on OMI Data

Abstract

Spatiotemporal distribution of atmospheric pollutants has been a hot topic in the field of environmental science in recent years. Rapid economic development, urbanization, and industrialization have resulted in a significant increase in ozone emissions, and China is facing the issue of air pollution with high ozone concentrations in the ambient air. The Aura ozone monitoring instrument (OMI), can provide long-term and large-scale dynamic monitoring of tropospheric column ozone (TCO). The TCO concentrations over China were extracted and analyzed from 2005 to 2019. The results showed that the spatiotemporal distribution of ozone concentration decreased from northeast to southeast in China. The seasonal variations of ozone concentration were spring’s concentration is greater than winter’s concentration, winter’s concentration is greater than summer’s concentration, summer’s concentration is greater than autumn’s concentration. The monthly variation showed a cyclical trend, with low values observed from June to November and high values from December to May. In addition, the spatiotemporal distribution of ozone concentration was affected by natural factors and anthropogenic factors. Regarding natural factors, TCO concentration was positively correlated with temperature, wind field, and vegetation coverage, but negatively with precipitation in southwest China. Regarding anthropogenic factors, TCO concentration showed a significant positive correlation with regional GDP, oxides of nitrogen (NOx), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in most areas of China. Clustering of backward air trajectories revealed that northwest and southeast airflows led to a higher TCO concentration in northeast China. These further indicate that the variation of TCO concentration was affected by many factors, but temperature, wind field, and the emissions of NOx and VOCs were the key factors.