Effects of Grazing on Ecosystem CO2 Exchange in a MeadowGrassland on the Tibetan Plateau During the Growing Season

Effects of human activity on ecosystem carbon fluxes (e.g., net ecosystem exchange (NEE), ecosystem respiration (R eco), and gross ecosystem exchange (GEE)) are crucial for projecting future uptake of CO2 in terrestrial ecosystems. However, how ecosystem that carbon fluxes respond to grazing exclusion is still under debate. In this study, a field experiment was conducted to study the effects of grazing exclusion on R eco, NEE, and GEE with three treatments (free-range grazing (FG) and grazing exclusion for 3 and 5&nbsp;years (GE3 and GE5, respectively)) in a meadow grassland on the Tibetan Plateau. Our results show that grazing exclusion significantly increased NEE by 47.37 and 15.84&nbsp;%, and R eco by 33.14 and 4.29&nbsp;% under GE3 and GE5 plots, respectively, although carbon sinks occurred in all plots during the growing season, with values of 192.11, 283.12, and 222.54&nbsp;g&nbsp;C&nbsp;m&minus;2 for FG, GE3, and GE5, respectively. Interestingly, grazing exclusion increased temperature sensitivity (Q 10) of R eco with larger increases at the beginning and end of growing season (i.e., May and October, respectively). Soil temperature and soil moisture were key factors on controlling the diurnal and seasonal variations of R eco, NEE, and GEE, with soil temperature having a stronger influence. Therefore, the combined effects of grazing and temperature suggest that grazing should be taken into consideration in assessing global warming effects on grassland ecosystem CO2 exchange.</p

Size-resolved airborne particulate oxalic and related secondary organicaerosol species in the urban atmosphere of Chengdu, China

Size-segregated (9-stages) airborne particles during winter in Chengdu city of China were collected on a day/night basis and determined for dicarboxylic acids (diacids), ketocarboxylic acids (ketoacids), α-dicarbonyls, inorganic ions, and water-soluble organic carbon and nitrogen (WSOC and WSON). Diacid concentration was higher in nighttime (1831 ± 607 ng m− 3) than in daytime (1532 ± 196 ng m− 3), whereas ketoacids and dicarbonyls showed little diurnal difference. Most of the organic compounds were enriched in the fine mode (< 2.1 μm) with a peak at the size range of 0.7–2.1 μm. In contrast, phthalic acid (Ph) and glyoxal (Gly) presented two equivalent peaks in the fine and coarse modes, which is at least in part due to the gas-phase oxidation of precursors and a subsequent partitioning into pre-existing particles. Liquid water content (LWC) of the fine mode particles was three times higher in nighttime than in daytime. The calculated in-situ pH (pHis) indicated that all the fine mode aerosols were acidic during the sampling period and more acidic in daytime than in nighttime. Robust correlations of the ratios of glyoxal/oxalic acid (Gly/C2) and glyoxylic acid/oxalic acid (ωC2/C2) with LWC in the samples suggest that the enhancement of LWC is favorable for oxidation of Gly and ωC2 to produce C2. Abundant K+ and Cl− in the fine mode particles and the strong correlations of K+ with WSOC, WSON and C2 indicate that secondary organic aerosols in the city are significantly affected by biomass burning emission

Evolution of PM2.5 Measurements and Standards in the US and Future Perspectives for China

National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) were first established in the United States to protect public health and welfare, and the concept has been adopted in China and many other countries. For particulate matter (PM), the NAAQS indicator evolved from total particle mass concentration, to PM10 and PM2.5 mass concentrations as defined by the PM size-selective properties of the monitoring instrument and human inhalation characteristics. Particle measurements started with optical microscopy in the early 18th century, and scientific research over the past 300 years has related particles to adverse environmental and health effects. Several options for PM2.5 measurement and assessment are available to China and other developing countries as they implement new PM2.5 ambient air quality standards. Although much can be learned from the experience of North America and Europe, China can leapfrog ahead in terms of PM2.5 monitoring and emission reduction technology. China-specific guidance documents should be created for network design, equipment selection and operation, quality control and quality assurance, database management, and interpretation. Future air quality management and standards will need to consider multiple pollutants and their effects on visibility, climate, materials, and ecosystems in addition to the primary concerns about public health.</p

Chemical composition of rainwater at Lijiangon the Southeast Tibetan Plateau: influences from variousair mass sources

Daily rainwater samples collected at Lijiang in 2009 were analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity, major ion (SO42&minus;, Cl&minus;, NO3&minus;, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, and NH4+) concentrations, and &delta;18O. The rainwater was alkaline with the volume-weighted mean pH of 6.34 (range: 5.71 to 7.11). Ion concentrations and &delta;18O during the pre-monsoon period were higher than in the monsoon. Air mass trajectories indicated that water vapor from South Asia was polluted with biomass burning emissions during the pre-monsoon. Precipitation during the monsoon was mainly transported by flow from the Bay of Bengal, and it showed high sea salt ion concentrations. Some precipitation brought by southwest monsoon originated from Burma; it was characterized by low &delta;18O and low sea salt, indicating that the water vapor from the region was mainly recycled monsoon precipitation. Water vapor from South China contained large quantities of SO42&minus;, NO3&minus;, and NH4+. Throughout the study, Ca2+ was the main neutralizing agent. Positive matrix factorization analysis indicated that crustal dust sources contributed the following percentages of the ions Ca2+ 85 %, Mg2+ 75 %, K+ 61 %, NO3&minus; 32 % and SO42&minus; 21 %. Anthropogenic sources accounted for 79 %, 68 %, and 76 % of the SO42&minus;, NO3&minus; and NH4+, respectively; and approximately 93 %, 99 %, and 37 % of the Cl&minus;, Na+, and K+ were from a sea salt source.</p

Atmospheric oxalic acid and related secondary organic aerosols inQinghai Lake, a continental background site in Tibet Plateau

Summertime PM2.5 aerosols collected from Qinghai Lake (3200ma.s.l.), a remote continental site in the northeastern part of Tibetan Plateau, were analyzed for dicarboxylic acids (C2-C11), ketocarboxylic acids and &alpha;-dicarbonyals. Oxalic acid (C2) is the dominant dicarboxylic acid in the samples, followed by malonic, succinic and azelaic acids. Total dicarboxylic acids (231&plusmn;119ngm-3), ketocarboxylic acids (8.4&plusmn;4.3ngm-3), and &alpha;-dicarbonyls (2.7&plusmn;2.1ngm-3) at the Tibetan background site are 2-5 times less than those detected in lowland areas such as 14 Chinese megacities. Compared to those in other urban and marine areas enhancements in relative abundances of C2/total diacids and diacids-C/WSOC of the PM2.5 samples suggest that organic aerosols in the region are more oxidized due to strong solar radiation. Molecular compositions and air mass trajectories demonstrate that the above secondary organic aerosols in the Qinghai Lake atmosphere are largely derived from long-range transport. Ratios of oxalic acid, glyoxal and methylglyoxal to levoglucosan in PM2.5 aerosols emitted from household burning of yak dung, a major energy source for Tibetan in the region, are 30-400 times lower than those in the ambient air, which further indicates that primary emission from biomass burning is a negligible source of atmospheric oxalic acid and &alpha;-dicarbonyls at this background site.</p

Chemical characterization of aerosol collected at Mt. Yulong in wintertime on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau

In order to evaluate the chemical composition of aerosol on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, aerosol samples were acquired at Mt. Yulong during January to February, 2010. Eighteen elements (Al, Si, P, S, Ca, Ti, K, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Zn, As, Br, Ba, Pb, Sb and Cu) and major water-soluble ions (SO42-, NO3-, Cl-, Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+) were detected. The results show that Ca, Fe, Al, Si, S, K and Ti are major elements which mainly originate from crustal material, while SO42- and Ca2+ are the dominant anion and cation in the samples, respectively. Results of ion analysis indicate that our samples are alkaline and that the main compounds present are CaCO3, (NH4)(2)SO4, and CaSO4. The enrichment factors (EFs) determined for As, Br, Ca, Cu, S. Pb and Zn are greater than 10; in particular, EFs for As and Br are above 100. However, the high EF for As could be caused by crustal sources because the high level of As enrichment can be found commonly on the Tibetan Plateau. Analyses including Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) observations, EF determinations, backward trajectories and correlation coefficients reveal that Al, Fe, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, K and Mg2+ mainly originate from crustal sources: Pb, Br, Cu, Ni, Zn and Sb come mainly from traffic-related emissions: and biomass burning influences Cl-, Br, S and P.</p

Seasonal characteristics of oxalic acid and related SOA in the free troposphere of Mt. Hua, central China: Implications for sources and formation mechanisms

PM10 aerosols from the summit of Mt. Hua (2060 m a.s.l) in central China during the winter and summer of 2009 were analyzed for dicarboxylic acids, ketocarboxylic acids and alpha-dicarbonyls. Molecular composition of dicarboxylic acids (C-2-C-11) in the free tropospheric aerosols reveals that oxalic acid (C-2, 399 +/- 261 ng m(-3) in winter and 522 +/- 261 ng m(-3) in summer) is the most abundant species in both seasons, followed by malonic (C-3) and succinic (C-4) acids, being consistent with that on ground levels. Most of the diacids are more abundant in summer than in winter, but adipic (C-6) and phthalic (Ph) acids are twice lower in summer, suggesting more significant impact of anthropogenic pollution on the wintertime alpine atmosphere. Moreover, glyoxal (Gly) and methylglyoxal (mGly) are also lower in summer (12 +/- 6.1 ng m(-3)) than in winter (22 +/- 13 ng m(-3)). As both dicarbonyls are a major precursor of C-2, their seasonal variation patterns, which are opposite to those of the diacids, indicate that the mountain troposphere is more oxidative in summer. C-2 showed strong linear correlations with levoglucosan in winter and oxidation products of isoprene and monoterpane in summer. PCA analysis further suggested that the wintertime C-2 and related SOA in the Mt Hua troposphere mostly originate from photochemical oxidations of anthropogenic pollutants emitted from biofuel and coal combustion in lowland regions. On contrast, the summertime C-2 and related SOA mostly originate from further oxidation of the mountainous isoprene and monoterpene oxidation products. The AIM model calculation results showed that oxalic acid concentration well correlated with particle acidity (R-2 = 0.60) but not correlated with particle liquid water content, indicating that particle acidity favors the organic acid formation because aqueous-phase C-2 production is the primary mechanism of C-2 formation in ambient aerosols and is driven by acid-catalyzed oxidation.</p

Elemental compositions of PM2.5 and TSP in Lijiang, southeastern edge of Tibetan Plateau during pre-monsoon period

PM2.5 and total suspended particulate (TSP) samples were collected at Lijiang, southeastern Tibetan Plateau, China. Sixteen elements (Al, Si, S, K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Ti, Fe, Ni, Zn, As, Br, Sb, Pb and Cu) were analyzed to investigate their elemental compositions during the pre-monsoon period. The results showed that Ca was the most abundant element in both PM2.5 and TSP samples. The enrichment factors (EFs) of Si, Ti, Ca, Fe, K and Mn were all below 10 for both PM2.5 and TSP, and these elements also had lower PM2.5/TSP ratios (0.32-0.34), suggesting that they were mainly derived from crustal sources. Elements Cu, Zn, S, Br and Sb showed strong enrichment in PM2.5 and TSP samples, with their PM2.5/TSP ratios ranging from 0.66 to 0.97, indicating that they were enriched in the fine fractions and influenced by anthropogenic sources. Analysis of the wind field at 500 hPa and calculations of back trajectories indicated that Al, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn and Fe can be influenced by transport from northwestern China during the dust-storm season, and that S, K, Ni, Br and Pb reached high concentrations during westerly transport from south Asia. Combined with the principle component analysis and correlation analysis, elements of PM2.5 samples were mainly from crustal sources, biomass burning emissions and regional traffic-related sources.</p

Size-Differentiated Chemical Characteristics of Asian Paleo Dust: Records from Aeolian Deposition on Chinese Loess Plateau

The Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) receives and potentially contributes to Asian dust storms that affect particulate matter (PM) concentrations, visibility, and climate. Loess on the CLP has experienced little weathering effect and is regarded as an ideal record to represent geochemical characteristics of Asian paleo dust. Samples were taken from 2-, 9-, and 15-m depths (representing deposition periods from similar to 12,000 to similar to 200,000 yr ago) in the Xi Feng loess profile on the CLP. The samples were resuspended and then sampled through total suspended particulates (TSP), PM(10), PM(2.5), and PM(1) (PM with aerodynamic diameters &lt; similar to 30, 10, 2.5, and 1 mu m, respectively) inlets onto filters for mass, elemental, ionic, and carbon analyses using a Desert Research Institute resuspension chamber. The elements Si, Ca, Al, Fe, K, Mg, water-soluble Ca (Ca(2+)), organic carbon, and carbonate carbon are the major constituents (&gt;1%) in loess among the four PM fractions (i.e., TSP, PM(10), PM(2.5), and PM(1)). Much of Ca is water soluble and corresponds with measures of carbonate, indicating that most of the calcium is in the form of calcium carbonate rather than other calcium minerals. Most of the K is insoluble, indicating that loess can be separated from biomass burning contributions when K(+) is measured. The loess has elemental abundances similar to those of the upper continental crust (UCC) for Mg, Fe, Ti, Mn, V, Cr, and Ni, but substantially different ratios for other elements such as Ca, Co, Cu, As, and Pb. These suggest that the use of UCC as a reference to represent pure or paleo Asian dust needs to be further evaluated. The aerosol samples from the source regions have similar ratios to loess for crustal elements, but substantially different ratios for species from anthropogenic sources (e.g., K, P, V, Cr, Cu, Zn, Ni, and Pb), indicating that the aerosol samples from the geological-source-dominated environment are not a &quot;pure&quot; soil product as compared with loess.</p

Numerical Simulation of the Micro Environment in the Han Yang Mausoleum Museum

As a first underground museum in the world, whole sealed glass system is adopted in the Han Yang Mausoleum Museum to protect relics from the destruction by microbe and pollution in the atmosphere and to provide visitors a wonderful environment for enjoying the fantastic artwork closely from different angles. This study shows that, this method cannot completely stop relics from the destruction. The main reason is that, in the museum, the microbe growth and pollution spread are fairly significant to affect the protection of relics. This study numerically simulates the micro environment in the museum, including air movement, temperature and relative humidity by using the CFD software Fluent. The major findings are summaried as the followes: there are four air cyclones; temperature is getting lower from one side to another; and relative humidity profile is reversed, especially at the surface. This numerical result provides useful information for the protection of relics.</p