Quantifying the Source Contributions to Poor Atmospheric Visibility in Winter over the Central Plains Economic Region in China

Abstract

The Central Plains Economic Region (CPER) is one of the most polluted regions in China. Air pollution has caused visibility degradation due to the light extinction of fine particles (PM_2.5). However, the source of light extinction and visibility degradation is still unclear. In this study, the nested air quality prediction model system coupled with an online tracer-tagging module has been used to quantify the contribution of emission sectors and regions to visibility degradation. The light extinction coefficients were well reproduced over CPER. The results showed that resident-related emissions, traffic and industry were the main sectors of visibility degradation over CPER, contributing 55~62%, 10~28%, and 9~19%, respectively. The contribution of local emissions and regional transport was also investigated, and the results showed that regional transport dominated the light extinction (56~68%), among which transport within Henan province contributes significantly (12~45%). Sensitivity tests showed that the reduction in the resident-related sector was more effective than that of the industry sector. Emission control of 40% in resident-related, industry, and traffic sectors over the whole region can achieve the goal of good visibility. This study will provide scientific suggestions for the control strategies development to mitigate visibility degradation over CPER.