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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-521
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-521
24 Mar 2023
 | 24 Mar 2023

Assessment of the impacts of cloud chemistry on surface SO2 and sulfate levels in typical regions of China

Jianyan Lu, Sunling Gong, Jian Zhang, Jianmin Chen, Lei Zhang, and Chunhong Zhou

Abstract. A regional online chemical weather model WRF/ CUACE (China Meteorological Administration Unified Atmospheric Chemistry Environment) is used to assess the contributions of cloud chemistry to the SO2 and sulfate levels in typical regions in China. By comparing with several time series of in-situ cloud chemical observations on Mountain Tai in Shandong Province of China, the CUACE cloud chemistry scheme is found to well reproduce the cloud processing the consumption of H2O2, O3, SO2 and sulfate, and consequently is used in the regional assessment for a heavy pollution episode and monthly average in December 2016. During cloud availability in heavy pollution episode, the sulfate production increases 60–95 % and SO2 reduces over 80 %. And the cloud chemistry mainly affects the middle and lower troposphere below 5 km as well as within the boundary layer, and contributes significantly to SO2 reduction and sulfate increase in east-central China. Among the four typical contaminated regions in China, the Sichuan Basin (SCB) is mostly affected by the cloud chemistry, with the average SO2 abatement about 1–15 ppb and sulfate increase about 10–70 μg/m3, followed by Yangtze River Delta (YRD) where SO2 abatement is about 1–3 ppb and sulfate increase is about 10–30 μg/m3. However, the cloud chemistry contribution to Pearl River Delta (PRD) and North China Plain (NCP) are not significant and weaker than other two regions due to lighter pollution and less water vapor, respectively. In addition, the average contribution of cloud chemistry during the pollution period is distinctly greater than that for all December. This study provides a way to analyze the over-estimate phenomenon of SO2 in many chemical transport models.

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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

19 Jul 2023
Assessment of the impacts of cloud chemistry on surface SO2 and sulfate levels in typical regions of China
Jianyan Lu, Sunling Gong, Jian Zhang, Jianmin Chen, Lei Zhang, and Chunhong Zhou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 8021–8037, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8021-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-8021-2023, 2023
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The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.

Short summary
WRF/ CUACE was used to assess the cloud chemistry contribution in China. Firstly, the CUACE...
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