The Contribution of Local Anthropogenic Emissions to Air Pollutants in Lhasa on the Tibetan Plateau. Issue 17 (29th August 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Chen, Shuqing; Wang, Weiwen; Li, Minglu; Mao, Jingying; Ma, Nan; Liu, Junwen; Bai, Zhixuan; Zhou, Luxi; Wang, Xuemei; Bian, Jianchun; Yu, Pengfei
• Is Part Of: Journal of geophysical research. Volume 127:Issue 17(2022)
• Page Start: n/a
• Page End: n/a
• Publication Date: 2022-08-29
• Subjects: Tibetan Plateau -- air quality -- emission inventory -- Lhasa; Atmospheric physics -- Periodicals; Geophysics -- Periodicals; 551.5
• DOI: 10.1029/2021JD036202
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2169-897X

Abstract

Abstract: The Tibetan Plateau (TP), a region with limited human activity, is sensitive to regional and global climate change. In recent decades, surface observations have shown that concentrations of air pollutants (CO, NO2, SO2, and PM2.5 ) in Lhasa, a city on the TP, are similar to those in regions with high anthropogenic emissions (e.g., Eastern China). This study utilized the WRF‐Chem model and observational datasets to evaluate the concentrations and sources of air pollutants in Lhasa during August 2016. Our results show that the WRF‐Chem model with the standard emission inventory underestimated the surface concentrations of CO, SO2, and PM2.5 in Lhasa from 3 August 2016, 0:00 to 15 August 2016, 23:00 (UTC +8) by 59%, 92%, and 79%, respectively. Sensitivity simulations show that the contribution of long‐range transport of air pollutants from Eastern China and India is less than 10% for Lhasa. Insufficient emissions are found to be the main reason for the model's underestimation of air pollutants in Lhasa. Our study suggests that the emissions of CO, SO2, and PM2.5 in Lhasa in August 2016 might be underestimated by 85%, 93%, and 88%, respectively. Local anthropogenic emissions have a significant impact on urban air quality on the TP and deserve further attention. Plain Language Summary: The Tibetan Plateau (TP), a region with limited human activity, is sensitive to regional and global climate change. In recent decades, surface observations show that concentrations of air pollutants (CO, NO2, SO2, and PM2.5 ) in Lhasa City on the TP are similar to those in heavily polluted regions (e.g., Eastern China). The regional chemistry transport model (WRF‐Chem) with the standard emission inventory underestimated the surface concentrations of CO, SO2, and PM2.5 in Lhasa in August of 2016 by 59%, 92%, and 79%, respectively. Our study found that the contribution of long‐range transport of air pollutants from Eastern China and India is less than 10% for Lhasa city. Our study suggests that the main reason for the model's underestimation of the air pollutants in Lhasa is insufficient emissions in the standard inventory and the emission of CO, SO2, and PM2.5 in Lhasa in August 2016 might be underestimated by 85%, 93%, and 88%, respectively. Local anthropogenic emissions have a significant impact on urban air quality on the TP and deserve further attention. Key Points: The default model underestimates the concentrations of CO, SO2, and PM2.5 in Lhasa by 59%, 92%, and 79% The current emission inventory may underestimate the emissions of CO, SO2, and PM2.5 in Lhasa by more than 80% Urban air quality on the Tibetan Plateau deserves further attention for air pollution control