Yin Fang

Identification and quantification of shipping emissions in Bohai Rim, China

Rapid development of port and shipbuilding industry in China has badly affected the ambient air quality of coastal zone due to shipping emissions. A total of 60 ambient air samples were collected from background site of Tuoji Island in Bohai Sea strait. The air samples were analyzed for PM2.5, organic carbon (OC), element carbon (EC), inorganic elements, and water-soluble ions. The maximum concentration of PM2.5 was observed during spring (73.6 μg·m(-3)) compared to winter (39.0 μg·m(-3)) with mean of 54.6 μg·m(-3). Back trajectory air mass analysis together with temporal distribution of vanadium (V) showed that V could be the typical tracer of shipping emissions at Tuoji Island. Furthermore, the ratios of vanadium to nickel (V/Ni), vanadium to lead (V/Pb) and vanadium to zinc (V/Zn) also suggest shipping emissions at Tuoji Island. The annual average primary PM2.5 estimate of shipping emissions was 0.65 μg·m(-3) at Tuoji Island, accounting for 2.94% of the total primary PM2.5, with a maximum of 3.16% in summer and a minimum of 2.39% in autumn.

Impact of agricultural waste burning in the Shandong Peninsula on carbonaceous aerosols in the Bohai Rim, China.

A total of 11 5PM2.5 samples were collected for analyzing organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) at Tuoji Island (TI), China from November 2011 to December 2012. The results showed that annual arithmetical means of OC and EC concentrations were 3.8 ± 2.7 and 2.2 ± 2.2 μg m(-3), which contributed 8% and 4% of PM2.5 mass concentrations, respectively. High EC concentrations occurred in winter, contributed mainly by EC outflow from the northwest source region, while high OC concentrations were found during spring, attributed largely to biofuel burning in the Shandong Peninsula, and short distance and favorable transport from the peninsula to the TI. Agricultural waste open burning in the peninsula caused the largest variability of OC concentration in summer. Eliminating agricultural field burning in the peninsula can reduce at least one-third of concentration levels and half of northward transport fluxes of OC and EC in Bohai Rim in summer.

Radiocarbon-based impact assessment of open biomass burning on regional carbonaceous aerosols in North China

Samples of total suspended particulates (TSPs) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were collected from 29th May to 1st July, 2013 at a regional background site in Bohai Rim, North China. Mass concentrations of particulate matter and carbonaceous species showed a total of 50% and 97% of the measured TSP and PM2.5 levels exceeded the first grade national standard of China, respectively. Daily concentrations of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) were detected 7.3 and 2.5 μg m(-3) in TSP and 5.2 and 2.0 μg m(-3) in PM2.5, which accounted 5.8% and 2.0% of TSP while 5.6% and 2.2% for PM2.5, respectively. The concentrations of OC, EC, TSP and PM2.5 were observed higher in the day time than those in the night time. The observations were associated with the emission variations from anthropogenic activities. Two merged samples representing from south and north source areas were selected for radiocarbon analysis. The radiocarbon measurements showed 74% of water-insoluble OC (WINSOC) and 59% of EC in PM2.5 derived from biomass burning and biogenic sources when the air masses were from south region, and 63% and 48% for the air masses from north, respectively. Combined with backward trajectories and daily burned area, open burning of agricultural wastes was found to be predominating, which was confirmed by the potential source contribution function (PSCF).

Flux and budget of BC in the continental shelf seas adjacent to Chinese high BC emission source regions

This study conducted the first comprehensive investigation of sedimentary black carbon (BC) concentration, flux, and budget in the continental shelves of Bohai Sea (BS) and Yellow Sea (YS), based on measurements of BC in 191 surface sediments, 36 riverine water, and 2 seawater samples, as well as the reported data set of the atmospheric samples from seven coastal cities in the Bohai Rim. BC concentrations in these matrices were measured using the method of thermal/optical reflectance. The spatial distribution of the BC concentration in surface sediments was largely influenced by the regional hydrodynamic conditions, with high values mainly occurring in the central mud areas where fine-grained particles (median diameters>6 (i.e., <0.0156mm)) were deposited. The BC burial flux in the BS and YS ranged from 4 to 1100 mu g/cm(2)yr, and averaged 166200 mu g/cm(2)yr, which was within the range of burial fluxes reported in other continental shelf regimes. The area-integrated sedimentary BC sink flux in the entire BS and YS was 325Gg/yr, and the BS alone contributed 50% (157Gg/yr). The BC budget calculated in the BS showed that atmospheric deposition, riverine discharge, and import from the Northern Yellow Sea (NYS) each contributed 51%, 47%, and 2%. Therefore, atmospheric deposition and riverine discharge dominated the total BC influx (98%). Sequestration to bottom sediments was the major BC output pattern, accounting for 88% of the input BC. Water exchange between the BS and the NYS was also an important BC transport route, with net BC transport from the BS to the NYS.

Application of PMF receptor model merging with PAHs signatures for source apportionment of black carbon in the continental shelf surface sediments of the Bohai and Yellow Seas, China

Black carbon (BC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are byproducts generated from the incomplete combustion of organic materials, including fossil fuels and biomass. The similar production processes shared by BC and PAHs provide the possibility to infer the BC sources using the PAHs signatures. This study successfully utilized data sets of BC and PAHs analyzed from the continental shelf surface sediments of the Bohai and Yellow Seas to a standard receptor model of positive matrix factorization (PMF) to apportion the sources of BC in the sediment matrix. Results showed that combustion of fossil fuels (i.e., coal and oil/petroleum) accounted for an average level of 83 ± 5% of the total BC preserved, which was significantly higher than that from the biomass burning (17 ± 5%). The spatial distributions of the fossil BC concentrations and percentages differed significantly from those of the biomass BC, implying their different geochemical behaviors in the continental shelf regimes and further emphasizing the importance to effectively differentiate between fossil BC and biomass BC. In addition to the relative proportions of the BC subtypes (char-BC/soot-BC), the regional-specific hydrodynamic conditions, including the cold cyclonic eddy, resuspension and coastal current, also exerted a significant influence on these spatial variations.

Large-river dominated black carbon flux and budget: A case study of the estuarine-inner shelf of East China Sea, China

Mobilization of terrestrial-derived and recalcitrant black carbon (BC), including char and soot, from land to ocean exerts a significant influence on the global carbon cycle. This study elaborated the occurrence and spatial distributions of BC, char, and soot concentrations, as well as their burial fluxes, in the estuarine-inner shelf surface sediments of the East China Sea (ECS), an epicontinental sea adjacent to Chinese high-intensity BC emission source regions. Using a combination of BC measurements in the Yangtze River water and coastal ECS aerosol samples, a preliminary BC budget was concurrently constrained. The spatial distribution of char concentrations resembled largely that of BC, but differed significantly from that of soot, indicating that char and soot exhibited different geochemical behaviors. In contrast to concentrations, BC, char, and soot burial fluxes exhibited highly consistent spatial patterns, and all declined as the distance from the coastline increased. For the coastal ECS, riverine discharge dominated (~92%) the total BC input, with the Yangtze River alone accounting for as high as ~72%. The area-integrated sedimentary BC sink flux (630 ± 728 Gg/yr) in the coastal ECS was equivalent to the total BC influx (670 ± 153 Gg/yr), which coincided well with the regional sediment budget. This suggested that the terrestrial-derived and recalcitrant BC could be regarded as an alternative geochemical proxy for tracing the sediment source-to-sink processes in this region. Comparisons between BC and co-generated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) budgets in the coastal ECS revealed similarities in their input pathways, but dramatic differences in their ultimate fates. Despite these, the ECS estuarine-inner shelf could serve as a major sink of these terrestrial-based materials in the global ocean.

Spatiotemporal Trends of Elemental Carbon and Char/Soot Ratios in Five Sediment Cores from Eastern China Marginal Seas: Indicators of Anthropogenic Activities and Transport Patterns

Elemental carbon (EC), the highly recalcitrant carbonaceous material released exclusively from fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning, is a preferred geochemical agent for evaluating anthropogenic activities. We investigated the spatiotemporal trends of EC and char/soot ratios (char and soot, the two subtypes of EC, differ in formation mechanisms and physicochemical characteristics) in five sediment cores from eastern China marginal seas, spatially spanning from inshore coastal mud areas to offshore remote mud areas. The temporal profiles of EC depositional fluxes closely tracked socioeconomic development in China over the past ∼150 years, with the most pronounced increasing trend beginning in the early 1980s, commensurate with the implementation of national policy of Reform and Open in 1978. The temporal EC profiles in China differed significantly from those in European/American countries, reflecting their different socioeconomic development stages. The spatiotemporal trends of char/soot ratios were also highly informative. Temporally, they decreased from bottom to subsurface layers, indicating the switch of China from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy during the 20th century. Spatially, they decreased from inshore to offshore areas, suggesting the differential transport patterns of EC among these sampling regimes.