Chemical characteristics of fine particulate matters measured during severe winter haze events in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Abstract

In order to investigate the chemical characteristics of atmospheric aerosol measured during a severe winter haze event, 12-hr PM 2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter 2.5 m) samples were collected at an urban site in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from January 9 to February 17, 2008. On average, 12-hr PM 2.5 mass concentration was 105.1 AE 34.9 g/m 3 . Low PM 2.5 mass concentrations were measured when low pressure developed over central Mongolia. The 12-hr average organic mass by carbon (OMC) varied from 6.4 to 132.3 g/m 3 , with a mean of 54.9 AE 25.4 g/m 3 , whereas elemental carbon (EC) concentration ranged from 0.1 to 3.6 gC/m 3 , with a mean of 1.5 AE 0.8 gC/m 3 . Ammonium sulfate was found to be the most abundant water-soluble ionic component in Ulaanbaatar during the sampling period, with an average concentration of 11.3 AE 5.0 g/m 3 . In order to characterize the effect of air mass pathway on fine particulate matter characteristics, 5-day back-trajectory analysis was conducted, using the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model. The haze level was classified into three categories, based on the 5-day air mass back trajectories, as Stagnant (ST), Continental (CT), and Low Pressure (LP) cases. PM 2.5 mass concentration during the Stagnant condition was approximately 2.5 times higher than that during the Low Pressure condition, mainly due to increased pollutant concentration of OMC and secondary ammonium sulfate.Implications: Mongolia is experiencing rapid rates of urbanization similar to other Asian countries, resulting in air pollution problems by the growing number of automobiles and industrialization. Ulaanbaatar, capital of Mongolia, is inherently vulnerable to air pollution because of its emission sources, topography, and meteorological characteristics. Very limited measurements on chemical characteristics of particulate matter have been carried out in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Origin and Background Estimation of Sulfur Dioxide in Ulaanbaatar, 2017

“…We proved that the SO 2 level in Ulaanbaatar is high when wind was coming from the N and NNW [29]. Additionally, Batmunkh et al investigated the effects of air mass pathway on the characteristics of PM 2.5 and mentioned that stagnant air masses originated from Russia and Kazakhstan [2]. Our current results confirmed these previous results.…”

“…This implies that the SO 2 and the other pollutants were generated by the same source. SO 2 plays a key role in the formation of SO 4 2− , which is the main component of PM 2.5 [2].…”

“…The reason for this crowding is the migration from rural to urban areas that has occurred in recent years [1]. To provide electricity to Mongolia's citizens, there are three power plants in Ulaanbaatar, which consume about five million tons of coal per year [2]. About half of the total inhabitants of Ulaanbaatar live in "gers", traditional Mongolian dwellings, which use wood and coal for cooking and heating without any pollution control devices.…”

An optimized tracer-based approach for estimating organic carbon emissions from biomass burning in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

“…-above sea level) and large variations in temperature (−28 to +16 • C) and relative humidity (17.7 %-72.7 %; Table 1; Batmunkh et al, 2013;Jung et al, 2014). As the world's coldest capital city during winter, it requires additional fuel for space heating.…”

“…But there are very few estimates of OC emitted from biomass burning (OC BB ) in Ulaanbaatar. Few studies have investigated the chemical characteristics of aerosol in Ulaanbaatar (Jung et al, 2010;Davy et al, 2011;Batmunkh et al, 2013), with none examining the contribution of OC BB and the type of biomass. Therefore, this study estimated the appropriate Table 1.…”