Search

PM2.5 pollution over Hangzhou Bay area, China has received continuous attention. In this study, PM2.5 samples were collected simultaneously in six typical cities in Zhejiang Province from 15 October 2019 to 15 January 2020 (autumn and winter) and from 1 June to 31 August 2020 (summer), and major water-soluble ions were analyzed. Average concentrations of NO3− and SO42− in the six cities were 3.93–15.64 μg/m3 and 4.61–7.58 μg/m3 in autumn and winter, with mass fractions of NO3− and SO42− in PM2.5 up to 19.6–34.2% and 13.6–26.3%, respectively, while in summer, they were 1.23–2.64 μg/m3 and 2.22–4.14 μg/m3, with mass fractions of 7.0–15.0% and 14.7~25.1%. Both NO3− and SO42− were mostly from gas-to-particle transformation of precursors. High relative humidity in the six cities was suggested to significantly promote the formation of NO3− and SO42−, particularly in autumn and winter, while enhanced atmospheric oxidation favored the formation of SO42− in summer. However, the formation of NO3− was inhibited under a high temperature of >15 °C. The concentrations of SO42− and NO3 were mostly correlated with each other among the six cities. Potential source contribution function analysis indicated that both SO42− and NO3− were mostly from local pollution of Hangzhou Bay area in Zhejiang Province and also transported from Shanghai and the southern region of Jiangsu Province. This study contributed to the understanding of regional characteristics of SO42− and NO3− in Hangzhou Bay area and suggested that joint prevention and control efforts should be strengthened to reduce regional PM2.5 pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By analyzing the mass concentrations and compositions of atmospheric PM2.5 in Shaoxing from December 2019 to February 2020, the characteristics of carbon-containing components, water-soluble ions and metal elements were obtained. NO3−, OC, SO42− and NH4+ were the main components of PM2.5 in winter. The OC/EC ratio was 3.27, which proved the existence of SOC. The proportion of SOC in OC was 47.3%, which showed that secondary sources made a significant contribution. The values of OC/EC and NO3−/SO42− indicated that vehicle exhaust emissions also made a significant contribution to PM2.5. Trace elements of Na, Ca, K and Cd had higher enrichment factor values and were enriched due to human activities. Finally, PM2.5 sources analysis was performed by the positive matrix factorization model. The results showed that secondary inorganic salts (49.3%), motor vehicles and industrial sources (21.3%) and dust sources (17.0%) were the important sources of PM2.5 pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]