Analysis of the Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Ground-Level Ozone Concentrations in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area and the Contribution of Influencing Factors.

Ozone (O₃) pollution has negative impacts on human health and property. The Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is facing severe O₃ pollution problems due to rapid economic development. In this paper, we used sensitivity experiments and GeoDetector to analyze the effects of meteorological factors, anthropogenic emissions, and landscape patterns on O₃ concentrations as well as the contributions of NO_x and NMVOC (non-methane volatile organic compounds) to the variation of O₃ concentrations and the causes of sectoral emissions in the GBA in 2017. The results revealed that, in GBA, the contribution of meteorology to the variation of O₃ concentration was dominant both in terms of region and extent, and the contribution of emissions was relatively weak. The contribution of meteorology and emissions to O₃ production was mainly contributory. Meteorology contributed significantly to O₃, and its non-linear interaction with anthropogenic emissions and surface landscape affected O₃ concentration changes. The degree of contribution of NO_x and NMVOC varied widely among seasons, and the variation of their relative contribution areas was related to residential sector emissions and agricultural sector emissions. This article enriches the exploration of the O₃ formation mechanism in the GBA and provides theoretical support for the implementation of differentiated regional and seasonal mitigation strategies for O₃ concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]