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Zhang C, Liu Y, Kang S, Yan F, Hu Z, Chen P, Huang G, Li C, Stubbins A. Stable Carbon Isotope Signatures of Carbonaceous Aerosol Endmembers in the Tibetan Plateau. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2024; 58:9731-9740. [PMID: 38781307 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c09357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Carbonaceous aerosols play an important role in radiative forcing in the remote and climate-sensitive Tibetan Plateau (TP). However, the sources of carbonaceous aerosols to the TP remain poorly defined, in part due to the lack of regionally relevant data about the sources of carbonaceous aerosols. To address this knowledge gap, we present the first comprehensive analysis of the δ13C signatures of carbonaceous aerosol endmembers local to the TP, encompassing total carbon, water-insoluble particle carbon, and elemental carbon originating from fossil fuel combustion, biomass combustion, and topsoil. The δ13C signatures of these local carbonaceous endmembers differ from components collected in other regions of the world. For instance, fossil fuel-derived aerosols from the TP were 13C-depleted relative to fossil fuel-derived aerosols reported in other regions, while biomass fuel-derived aerosols from the TP were 13C-enriched relative to biomass fuel-derived aerosols reported in other regions. The δ13C values of fine-particle topsoil in the TP were related to regional variations in vegetation type. These findings enhance our understanding of the unique features of carbonaceous aerosols in the TP and aid in accurate source apportionment and environmental assessments of carbonaceous aerosols in this climate-sensitive region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
- Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and ResourcesUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 730000, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yixi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
- Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and ResourcesUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 730000, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shichang Kang
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
- Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and ResourcesUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 730000, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Fangping Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
- Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and ResourcesUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 730000, China
| | - Zhaofu Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
- Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and ResourcesUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 730000, China
| | - Pengfei Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
- Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and ResourcesUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 730000, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Guanhua Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
- Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and ResourcesUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 730000, China
- School of Environment and Municipal Engineering, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, Lanzhou 730070, China
| | - Chaoliu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
- Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and ResourcesUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 730000, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Aron Stubbins
- Departments of Marine and Environmental Science, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Northeastern University, Boston 02115, Massachusetts, United States
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Li C, Zhang C, Kang S, Xu Y, Yan F, Liu Y, Rai M, Zhang H, Chen P, Wang P, He C, Gao S, Wang S. Weak transport of atmospheric water-insoluble particulate carbon from South Asia to the inner Tibetan Plateau in the monsoon season. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 922:171321. [PMID: 38423306 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 02/25/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Carbonaceous particles play a crucial role in atmospheric radiative forcing. However, our understanding of the behavior and sources of carbonaceous particles in remote regions remains limited. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is a typical remote region that receives long-range transport of carbonaceous particles from severely polluted areas such as South Asia. Based on carbon isotopic compositions (Δ14C/δ13C) of water-insoluble particulate carbon (IPC) in total suspended particle (TSP), PM2.5, and precipitation samples collected during 2020-22 at the Nam Co Station, a remote site in the inner TP, the following results were achieved: First, fossil fuel contributions (ffossil) to IPC in TSP samples (28.60 ± 9.52 %) were higher than that of precipitation samples (23.11 ± 8.60 %), and it is estimated that the scavenging ratio of IPC from non-fossil fuel sources was around 2 times that from fossil fuel combustion during the monsoon season. The ffossil of IPC in both TSP and PM2.5 samples peaked during the monsoon season. Because heavy precipitation during the monsoon season scavenges large amounts of long-range transported carbonaceous particles, the contribution of local emissions from the TP largely outweighs that from South Asia during this season. The results of the IPC source apportionment based on Δ14C and δ13C in PM2.5 samples showed that the highest contribution of liquid fossil fuel combustion also occurred in the monsoon season, reflecting increased human activities (e.g., tourism) on the TP during this period. The results of this study highlight the longer lifetime of fossil fuel-sourced IPC in the atmosphere than that of non-fossil fuel sources in the inner TP and the importance of local emissions from the TP during the monsoon season. The findings provide new knowledge for model improvement and mitigation of carbonaceous particles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaoliu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Chao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Shichang Kang
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yinbo Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Fangping Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Yixi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | | | - Hongbo Zhang
- College of Water Resources & Civil Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
| | - Pengfei Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Pengling Wang
- National Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Cenlin He
- Research Applications Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO 80301, USA
| | - Shaopeng Gao
- Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Shuxiao Wang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, 100084 Beijing, China
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Li C, Zhang C, Yan F, Kang S, Xu Y, Liu Y, Gao Y, Chen P, He C. Importance of local non-fossil sources to carbonaceous aerosols at the eastern fringe of the Tibetan Plateau, China: Δ 14C and δ 13C evidences. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2022; 311:119858. [PMID: 35964790 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119858] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Carbonaceous particles are an important radiative forcing agent in the atmosphere, with large temporal and spatial variations in their concentrations and compositions, especially in remote regions. This study reported the Δ14C and δ13C of total carbon (TC) and water-insoluble particulate carbon (IPC) of the total suspended particles (TSP) and PM2.5 at a remote site of the eastern Tibetan Plateau (TP), a region that is influenced by heavy air pollution from Southwest China. The average organic carbon and elemental carbon concentrations of TSP samples in this study were 3.20 ± 2.38 μg m-3 and 0.68 ± 0.67 μg m-3, respectively, with low and high values in summer and winter, respectively. The fossil fuel contributions of TC in TSP and PM2.5 samples were 18.91 ± 7.22% and 23.13 ± 12.52%, respectively, both of which were far lower than that in Southwest China, indicating the importance of non-fossil contributions from local sources. The δ13C of TC in TSP samples of the study site was -27.06 ± 0.96‰, which is between the values of long-range transported sources (e.g., Southwest China) and local biomass combustion emissions. Therefore, despite the contribution from the long-range transport of particles, aerosols emitted from local biomass combustion also have an important influence on carbonaceous particles at the study site. The findings of this work can be applied to other remote sites on the eastern TP and should be considered in related research in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chaoliu Li
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China; State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China.
| | - Chao Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Resources and Environment, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China
| | - Fangping Yan
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Shichang Kang
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China
| | - Yinbo Xu
- School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400045, China
| | - Yixi Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100039, China
| | - Yongheng Gao
- Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Pengfei Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China
| | - Cenlin He
- Research Applications Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, 80301, USA
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