Black carbon measurement in a coastal area of South China

To better understand anthropogenic pollution originating in Asia and its transport into the global atmosphere, black carbon (BC) emissions were measured continuously from June 2004 to May 2005 at Hok Tsui (22.13°N, 114.15°E). Hok Tsui is a continental outflow, downwind monitoring site, located in a coastal area near Hong Kong. Using an Aethalometer, hourly BC concentrations ranged from 63.0 ng/m³ to 17.3 μg/m³, showing a clear seasonal pattern with high concentrations in winter, spring, and fall and low values in summer. During the winter, high BC concentrations occurred frequently as a result of southward long-range transport of polluted air masses in the boundary layer over the Asian continent. Anthropogenic emissions in coastal areas of southeastern China were the major potential sources for the observed pollutants. During the summer, high BC concentrations were measured occasionally when the air masses came from the northwest. These anthropogenic pollutants were found to be regional in nature, originating from sources in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, which included emissions from residential and agricultural combustion, industry, power plants, motor vehicles, and ships.