Evidence for North-South Long Range Transport of Pollutants Across the South China Sea During the Winter Monsoon

Abstract:

A new atmospheric observing station has been established on the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia on the southern seaboard of the South China Sea. During a first intensive campaign in January-February 2014, evidence was observed for substantial elevations in a wide range of greenhouse gases and ozone depleting substances, including CO­₂ and CH₄ and industrially-derived halocarbons such as HCFCs, HFCs and chlorinated solvents, during “cold surge” conditions at the end of the winter monsoon. Carbon monoxide and ozone were also elevated at such times. Air mass footprints indicated that flow during these events was from eastern China and the Indochina Peninsular. Satellite fire counts indicated that substantial biomass burning was taking place, notably in Vietnam and Cambodia, at this time. As the air mass footprints moved east towards the Western Pacific, mixing ratios of all such gases declined to typical northern hemispheric background conditions. These findings are of note both as a clear indication of the long-range transport of a mixture of biomass burning products and industrial emissions over thousands of kilometres across the South China Sea, and also because such transported pollutants may be subject to rapid vertical transport to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere by tropical deep convection.