CHANGES OF ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND OPTICAL PROPERTIES OVER BEIJING—2008 Olympic Monitoring Campaign

Abstract

Before and during the 2008 Beijing Olympics from June to September, ground-based and satellite monitoring were carried out over Beijing and its vicinity (BIV) in a campaign to quantify the outcomes of various emission control measures. These include hourly surface PM10 and PM2.5 and their fraction of black carbon (BC), organics, nitrate, sulfate, ammonium, and daily aerosol optical depth (AOD), together with hourly reactive gases, surface ozone, and daily columnar NO2 from satellite. The analyses, excluding the estimates from weather contributions, demonstrate that after the control measures, including banning ~300,000 ?yellow-tag? vehicles from roads, the even?odd turn of motor vehicles on the roads, and emission reduction aiming at coal combustion, were implemented, air quality in Beijing improved substantially. The levels of NO, NO2, NOx, CO, SO2, BC, organics, and nitrate dropped by about 30%?60% and the ozone moderately increased by ~40% while the sulfate and ammonium exhibited different patterns during various control stages. Weather conditions have a great impact on the summertime secondary aerosol (~80% of total PM) and O3 formations over BIV. During the Olympic Game period, various atmospheric components decreased dramatically at Beijing compared to the same period in the previous years. This decrease was related not only to the implementation of rigorous control measures, but also to the favorable weather processes. The subtropical high was located to the south so that Beijing's weather was dominated by the interaction between a frequently eastward shifting trough in the westerlies and a cold continental high with clear to cloudy days or showery weather.