Role of Sea Fog Over the Yellow Sea on Air Quality With the Direct Effect of Aerosols

Abstract

In this study, we investigate the impact of sea fog over the Yellow Sea on air quality with the direct effect of aerosols for the entire year of 2016. Using the WRF‐CMAQ two‐way coupled model, we perform four model simulations with the up‐to‐date emission inventory over East Asia and dynamic chemical boundary conditions provided by hemispheric model simulations. During the spring of 2016, prevailing west‐southwesterly winds and anticyclones caused the formation of a temperature inversion over the Yellow Sea, providing favorable conditions for the formation of fog. The inclusion of the direct effect of aerosols enhanced its strength. On foggy days, we find dominant changes of aerosols at an altitude of 150‐200 m over the Yellow Sea resulted by the production through aqueous chemistry (∼12.36% and ∼3.08% increases in sulfate and ammonium) and loss via the wet deposition process (∼‐2.94% decrease in nitrate); we also find stronger wet deposition of all species occurring in PBL. Stagnant conditions associated with reduced air temperature caused by the direct effect of aerosols enhanced aerosol chemistry, especially in coastal regions, and it exceeded the loss of nitrate. The transport of air pollutants affected by sea fog extended to a much broader region. Our findings show that the Yellow Sea acts as not only a path of long‐range transport but also as a sink and source of air pollutants. Further study should investigate changes in the impact of sea fog on air quality in conjunction with changes in the concentrations of aerosols and the climate.