Existence of hydroxymethanesulfonate (HMS) during spring haze and sandstorm events in Beijing: Implications for a heterogeneous formation pathway on mineral aerosols
Yunzhi Xu, Tao Ma, Fengkui Duan, Shuxiao Wang, Jingkun Jiang, Yafang Cheng, Hang Su, Taicheng An, Yongliang Ma, Takashi Kimoto, Tao Huang, Kebin He
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Hydroxymethylsulfonate (HMS) is an abundant secondary organic aerosol from aqueous or heterogeneous processes and may be misidentified as sulfate in conventional measurements. High concentrations of HMS have been observed in humid winter and autumn haze in northern China, while its prevalence in other seasons is unclear and the production medium is controversial. In this study, our field measurements in Beijing during the 2021 spring first showed the presence of HMS in PM2.5 during both haze and sandstorm events despite the different atmospheric conditions. HMS accounted for 0.44% of PM2.5 during haze periods, higher than the proportion (0.097%) during sandstorms. The sum of HMS and sulfate was also higher during the haze (6.5 μg m−3) than during the sandstorm (2.6 μg m−3), while the HMS/sulfate molar ratio during the haze (0.021) was similar to the value during the sandstorm (0.019). HMS concentration showed a good positive correlation with aerosol water content (AWC), indicating multiphase production. During haze periods, relatively high AWC favored the formation of HMS. In contrast, relative humidity and AWC decreased significantly during sandstorm events, while high pH favored HMS formation. In addition, higher concentrations and proportions of HMS were observed in PM2.5−10 than in PM2.5. The presence of HMS in dust particles indicated a heterogeneous formation mechanism of HMS on mineral aerosols. Our findings broaden the prevalence of HMS in aerosols and indicate a new HMS formation mechanism from the perspective of observation.
期刊介绍:
Environmental Pollution is an international peer-reviewed journal that publishes high-quality research papers and review articles covering all aspects of environmental pollution and its impacts on ecosystems and human health.
Subject areas include, but are not limited to:
• Sources and occurrences of pollutants that are clearly defined and measured in environmental compartments, food and food-related items, and human bodies;
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• Contaminants of emerging concerns (including but not limited to antibiotic resistant microorganisms or genes, microplastics/nanoplastics, electronic wastes, light, and noise) and/or their biological, ecological, or human health effects;
• Laboratory and field studies on the remediation/mitigation of environmental pollution via new techniques and with clear links to biological, ecological, or human health effects;
• Modeling of pollution processes, patterns, or trends that is of clear environmental and/or human health interest;
• New techniques that measure and examine environmental occurrences, transport, behavior, and effects of pollutants within the environment or the laboratory, provided that they can be clearly used to address problems within regional or global environmental compartments.