Lei Zhang1,2, Tianliang Zhao1,2*, Sunling Gong3, Shaofei Kong1,2,4*, Lili Tang5, Duanyang Liu6, Yongwei Wang2, Lianji Jin2, Yunpeng Shan7, Chenghao Tan1,2, Yingjie Zhang1,2, Xiaomei Guo8
1Climate and Weather Disasters Collaborative Innovation Center, Nanjing University of Information Science &Technology, Nanjing, 210044 China
2Key Laboratory for Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation of China Meteorological Administration, Nanjing, 210044 China
3Key Laboratory for Atmospheric Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, 100081 China
4Department of Atmospheric Sciences, School of Environmental Sciences, Wuhan, 430074, China
5Jiangsu Environmental Monitoring Center, Nanjing, 210036 China
6Observatory of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing, 210008 China
7Division of Atmospheric Science, Desert Research Institute,Reno, Nevada, 89512, USA
8Weather Modification Office of Sichuan Province, Chengdu, 610072, China
Correspondence to: Tianliang Zhao(josef_zhao@126.com) or Shaofei Kong (kongshaofei@cug.edu.cn)
Abstract.Air pollutant emissions play a determinant role in deteriorating air quality. However,anuncertainty in emission inventoriesis still the key problem for modeling air pollution. In this study, anupdatedemissioninventoryof coal-firedpower plants(UEIPP) based ononline monitoringdatain Jiangsu Province of East China fortheyearof2012 was implemented in thewidely usedMulti-resolution Emission Inventory for China (MEIC). By employingtheWeather Research and Forecasting Model with Chemistry(WRF-Chem), two simulation experiments were executed to assess theatmospheric environmentchange by using the original MEIC emission inventory and the MEIC inventory with theUEIPP. A synthetic analysis showsthat power plant emissions of PM2.5, PM10, SO2and NOxwere lower, and CO, black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC) and NMVOCs (Non-methane volatile organic compounds) werehigher inUEIPP relatively to those in MEIC, reflecting a large discrepancy in the power plant emissions over East China.In accordance withthechanges ofUEIPP, the modeled concentrations were reduced for SO2and NO2, andincreasedfor most areas of primary OC, BC and CO. Interestingly, when theUEIPPwas used, the atmospheric oxidizing capacity significantlyreinforced, reflecting by increased oxidizing agents, e.g. O3and OH, thus directly strengthened the chemical production from SO2andNOxto sulfateandnitrate,which offset thereductionofprimary PM2.5emissions especially in the haze days.This study indicated the importance of updating air pollutant emission inventories in simulating thecomplex atmospheric environment changeswith the implications on air quality andenvironmentalchanges.
Published in Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2017-127, 2018, 18, 2065-2079, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-2065-2018.