Has China been exporting less particulate air pollution over the past decade?
Abstract
Particulate matter (PM) pollution from China is transported eastward to Korea and Japan and has been suggested to influence surface air quality on the West Coast of the United States. However, remote sensing studies have been inconclusive as to recent trends in Chinese emissions and transport. We reconciled different passive remote sensing points of view and found that while aerosol optical thickness (AOT) as an indicator of particulate pollution has increased from the start of the observation period (2000) to 2006–2007 from the main Chinese coastal outflow regions, since then there has been a 10–20% decrease in AOT (with respect to 2007). Reductions were observed in spring, summer, and fall seasons. No improvement in exported PM pollution is found for the winter season.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Mar 28, 2017
- Source ID
- 10.1002/2017gl072617
Entities
People
- Jeffrey S. Reid
- Jianglong Zhang
- Peng Xian
- Ricardo Alfaro‐contreras
Organizations
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- National Science Foundation
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Naval Research Laboratory
- University of North Dakota