Measurement and analysis of surface aerosol optical properties over urban Nanjing in the Chinese Yangtze River Delta.

Aerosol optical properties including aerosol scattering coefficient (σsp), absorption coefficient (σap), single scattering albedo (SSA), PM2.5 mass concentration and their relationship with meteorological factors were measured and analyzed from 1st March to 30th April 2011. The observations were conducted at an urban-industrial site in Nanjing located in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, China. The averaged σsp at 550 nm is found to be 329.3±321.6 Mm(-1) and occurred most frequently within the range of 100-200 Mm(-1). σap at 532 nm is measured to be 28.1±17.6 Mm(-1), which is remarkably smaller than most of the measurements made over megacities in China and nearly equivalent to the observations made at rural sites in the YRD. The mean SSA at 532 nm is 0.89±0.08 with the occurrence frequency of higher SSA (>0.9) accounting for about 60%, indicating that scattering-related aerosols are dominant over Nanjing during the study period. A bi-peak diurnal variation of σap and σsp is found with the maximum during late at night and early morning and the minimum in the afternoon, but the diurnal pattern of SSA is just the opposite to this. Significant correlation coefficients are noticed between different aerosol optical properties. σsp and σap showed a clear negative correlation with wind speed, temperature, and visibility. During the study period, the lower northwesterly and southeasterly winds are attributed to an increase in the aerosol optical properties. The σsp and σap increased significantly during severe haze and dust episodes caused by the accumulation of pollutants from both local and regional sources under favorable weather conditions.