November: New paper from our group

Congrats Dr. Na Zhao for the new paper published on Frontiers of Environmental Science & Engineering.

恭喜赵娜博士在FESE发表论文“Nonlinear relationship between air pollution and precursor emissions in Qingdao, eastern China”。文章主要利用三维大气化学模型的手段探讨了青岛地区不同部门以及NOx和NMVOCs不同比例减排带来的主要大气污染物浓度的变化（包括细颗粒物以及臭氧）。

Zhao, N., Zhang, Y., & Xue, L. (2025). Nonlinear relationship between air pollution and precursor emissions in Qingdao, eastern China. Frontiers of Environmental Science and Engineering, 19(1), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-025-1929-3

Abstract: 

Exploring the nonlinear relationship between air pollution and precursor emissions in Qingdao, eastern China is crucial for improving air quality. We simulated 32 emission reduction scenarios based on different volatile organic compound (VOC) and nitrogen oxide (NOx) emission reduction ratios using the Weather Research and Forecasting-Comprehensive Air Quality Model Extensions model. The emission reduction of VOCs was beneficial for reducing fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) concentration in January and ozone (O₃) concentration in June. However, NOx must be reduced by at least 48% and 70% to decrease PM_2.5 and O₃ concentrations, respectively, when VOCs are not reduced. The responses of PM_2.5 and O₃ concentrations to emission reductions from different sources were also evaluated. The reduction in VOC emissions from different sources decreased the PM_2.5 concentration in January, and O₃ concertation in June, while NOx reduction resulted in an increase. Controlling VOC emissions from industry has a positive effect on improving local PM_2.5 and O₃, while the emission reductions of NOx from transportation and industry are not conducive to reducing PM_2.5 and O₃ concentrations. The synergistic emission reduction pathways for NOx and VOCs during PM_2.5 and O₃ combined pollution were also analyzed. The VOC and NOx emission reductions were beneficial for reducing the comprehensive Air Quality Index (sAQI) values. When the NOx emission reduction was large, the sAQI improvement gradually exceeded that of VOCs. A collaborative optimization path should be adopted that focuses on controlling VOCs first, and further control of combined pollution should depend on the deep reduction of NOx.