The aerosol number spectrum and gas pollutants were measured and the new particle formation(NPF) events were discussed in Nanjing. The results showed that the size distributions of aerosol number concentrations exhibited distinct seasonal variations, implying the relations of particle sizes and their sources and sinks. The number concentrations of particles in the nuclei mode(10–30 nm), Aitken mode(30–100 nm), accumulation mode(100–1000 nm) and coarse mode(>1 μm) varied in the order of summer > spring > autumn, summer > autumn > spring, autumn > summer > spring, and spring > autumn >summer, respectively. The diurnal variation of total aerosol number concentrations showed three peaks in all observed periods, which corresponded to two rush hours and the photochemistry period at noon. In general, the NPF in summer occurred under the conditions of east winds and dominant air masses originating from marine areas with high relative humidity(50%–70%) and strong solar radiations(400–700 W m-2). In spring, the NPF were generally accompanied by low relative humidity(14%–30%) and strong solar radiations(400–600 W m-2). The new particle growth rates(GR) were higher in the summertime in the range of 10–16 nm h-1. In spring, the GR were 6.8–8.3 nm h-1. Under polluted air conditions, NPF events were seldom captured in autumn in Nanjing. During NPF periods, positive correlations between 10–30 nm particles and O3 were detected, particularly in spring, indicating that NPF can be attributed to photochemical reactions.
In order to understand the seasonal variation of aerosol optical properties in the Yangtze River Delta,5 years of measurements were conducted during September 2005 to December 2009 at Taihu,China.The monthly averages of aerosol optical depth were commonly >0.6;the maximum seasonal average(0.93) occurred in summer.The magnitude of the Angstr¨om exponent was found to be high throughout the year;the highest values occurred in autumn(1.33) and were the lowest in spring(1.08).The fine modes of volume size distribution showed the maxima(peaks) at a radius of ～0.15 μm in spring,autumn,and winter;at a radius of ～0.22 μm in summer.The coarse modes showed the maxima(peaks) at a radius of 2.9 μm in spring,summer,and autumn and at a radius of 3.8 μm in winter.The averages of single-scattering albedo were 0.92(spring),0.92(summer),0.91(autumn),and 0.88(winter).The averages of asymmetry factor were found to be larger in summer than during other seasons;they were taken as 0.66 at 440-1020 nm over Taihu.The real part of the refractive index showed a weak seasonal variation,with averages of 1.48(spring),1.43(summer),1.45(autumn),and 1.48(winter).The imaginary parts of the refractive index were higher in winter(0.013) than in spring(0.0076),summer(0.0092),and autumn(0.0091),indicating that the atmosphere in the winter had higher absorbtivity.
