The Effects of Weather Patterns on the Spatio-Temporal Distribution of SO2 over East Asia as Seen from Satellite Measurements

Abstract:

Weather systems, particularly mid-latitude wave cyclones, have been known to play an important role in the short-term variation of near-surface air pollution. Ground measurements and model simulations have demonstrated that stagnant air and minimal precipitation associated with high pressure systems are conducive to pollutant accumulation. With the passage of a cold front, built up pollution is transported downwind of the emission sources or washed out by precipitation. This concept is important to note when studying long-term changes in spatio-temporal pollution distribution, but has not been studied in detail from space. In this study, we focus on East Asia (especially the industrialized eastern China), where numerous large power plants and other point sources as well as area sources emit large amounts of SO2, an important gaseous pollutant and a precursor of aerosols. Using data from the Aura Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) we show that such weather driven distribution can indeed be discerned from satellite data by utilizing probability distribution functions (PDFs) of SO₂ column content. These PDFs are multimodal and give insight into the background pollution level at a given location and contribution from local and upwind emission sources. From these PDFs it is possible to determine the frequency for a given region to have SO2 loading that exceeds the background amount. By comparing OMI-observed long-term change in the frequency with meteorological data, we can gain insights into the effects of climate change (e.g., the weakening of Asian monsoon) on regional air quality. Such insight allows for better interpretation of satellite measurements as well as better prediction of future pollution distribution as a changing climate gives way to changing weather patterns.