Article
 

Transpacific transport of benzo[a]pyrene emitted from Asia

Public Deposited

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/articles/2r36tz23z

Descriptions

Attribute NameValues
Creator
Abstract
  • A global-scale three dimensional atmospheric transport and chemistry model was applied to simulate transpacific transport of Benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) emitted from Asia. The model results were compared with observations at six monitoring sites. The annual mean and seasonal variation of transport patterns and the contributions of different Asian source regions to transpacific transport flux were investigated. The episodic nature of transpacific transport was also systematically explored. Interannual variability of transpacific transport of BaP was also assessed during the period of 1948-2007. Results showed that strong enhancements of modeled BaP occurred in an area bounded by 70-80[degrees] E and 100-120[degrees] E. Air containing these elevated BaP concentrations was then delivered eastward by westerly winds. When approaching the West Coast of North America, the descending atmospheric motion carried BaP-laden air into the lower atmosphere. The transpacific transport flux was 1.6 times higher in the winter than in the summer. East Asian emission dominates the transpacific transport flux with a contribution of about 97 %. Near ground concentration of BaP induced by Asian sources in North America varied between 1-20 pg m(⁻³). A case study for observation at Cheeka Peak Observatory during March 2002-May 2002 reveals the importance of warm conveyor belt for transpacific transport. The number of days with transpacific transport flux with a factor of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 larger than the running mean were 9.4 %, 0.72 %, 0.06% and 0.01 %, respectively, implying a mild contribution of episodic transport to the long-term mean transport flux. Significant interannual fluctuation of transpacific transport of BaP was found, including a general decreasing trend during 1948-2007, and especially after the 1970s. The transpacific transport was found to be positively correlated with the Southern Oscillation Index.
  • Keywords: Semivolatile organic-compounds, Long-range transport, Lung-cancer risk, Polycyclic aromatic-hydrocarbons, Atmospheric transport, Global distribution, Part 2, Season-variations, Emission inventory, Winter monsoon
Resource Type
DOI
Date Available
Date Issued
Citation
  • Zhang, Y., Tao, S., Ma, J., & Simonich, S. (2011). Transpacific transport of benzo[a]pyrene emitted from asia. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 11(23), 11993-12006. doi: 10.5194/acp-11-11993-2011
Journal Title
Journal Volume
  • 11
Journal Issue/Number
  • 23
Academic Affiliation
Rights Statement
Funding Statement (additional comments about funding)
  • The funding for this study was provided by the National Scientific Foundation of China (40710019001, 40730737), The Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2007CB407301) and the National Institute of Health of the US (grant P42 ES016465).
Publisher
Language
Replaces

Relationships

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details SimonichSChemistryTranspacificTransportBenzo_a_pyrene.pdf 2017-07-10 Public Download