Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology

About: Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology is a education organization based out in Nanjing, China. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Precipitation & Aerosol. The organization has 14129 authors who have published 17985 publications receiving 267578 citations. The organization is also known as: Nan Xin Da.

Aerosol and boundary-layer interactions and impact on air quality

Abstract: Air quality is concerned with pollutants in both the gas phase and solid or liquid phases. The latter are referred to as aerosols, which are multifaceted agents affecting air quality, weather and climate through many mechanisms. Unlike gas pollutants, aerosols interact strongly with meteorological variables with the strongest interactions taking place in the planetary boundary layer (PBL). The PBL hosting the bulk of aerosols in the lower atmosphere is affected by aerosol radiative effects. Both aerosol scattering and absorption reduce the amount of solar radiation reaching the ground and thus reduce the sensible heat fluxes that drive the diurnal evolution of the PBL. Moreover, aerosols can increase atmospheric stability by inducing a temperature inversion as a result of both scattering and absorption of solar radiation, which suppresses dispersion of pollutants and leads to further increases in aerosol concentration in the lower PBL. Such positive feedback is especially strong during severe pollution events. Knowledge of the PBL is thus crucial for understanding the interactions between air pollution and meteorology. A key question is how the diurnal evolution of the PBL interacts with aerosols, especially in vertical directions, and affects air quality. We review the major advances in aerosol measurements, PBL processes and their interactions with each other through complex feedback mechanisms, and highlight the priorities for future studies.

Long-term impacts of aerosols on the vertical development of clouds and precipitation

Abstract: Aerosols alter cloud density and the radiative balance of the atmosphere. This leads to changes in cloud microphysics and atmospheric stability, which can either suppress or foster the development of clouds and precipitation. The net effect is largely unknown, but depends on meteorological conditions and aerosol properties. Here, we examine the long-term impact of aerosols on the vertical development of clouds and rainfall frequencies, using a 10-year dataset of aerosol, cloud and meteorological variables collected in the Southern Great Plains in the United States. We show that cloud-top height and thickness increase with aerosol concentration measured near the ground in mixed-phase clouds—which contain both liquid water and ice—that have a warm, low base. We attribute the effect, which is most significant in summer, to an aerosol-induced invigoration of upward winds. In contrast, we find no change in cloud-top height and precipitation with aerosol concentration in clouds with no ice or cool bases. We further show that precipitation frequency and rain rate are altered by aerosols. Rain increases with aerosol concentration in deep clouds that have a high liquid-water content, but declines in clouds that have a low liquid-water content. Simulations using a cloud-resolving model confirm these observations. Our findings provide unprecedented insights of the long-term net impacts of aerosols on clouds and precipitation.

Aerosol composition, sources and processes during wintertime in Beijing, China

Abstract: . Air pollution is a major environmental concern during all seasons in the megacity of Beijing, China. Here we present the results from a winter study that was conducted from 21 November 2011 to 20 January 2012 with an Aerodyne Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) and various collocated instruments. The non-refractory submicron aerosol (NR-PM1) species vary dramatically with clean periods and pollution episodes alternating frequently. Compared to summer, wintertime submicron aerosols show much enhanced organics and chloride, which on average account for 52% and 5%, respectively, of the total NR-PM1 mass. All NR-PM1 species show quite different diurnal behaviors between summer and winter. For example, the wintertime nitrate presents a gradual increase during daytime and correlates well with secondary organic aerosol (OA), indicating a dominant role of photochemical production over gas–particle partitioning. Positive matrix factorization was performed on ACSM OA mass spectra, and identified three primary OA (POA) factors, i.e., hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA), cooking OA (COA), and coal combustion OA (CCOA), and one secondary factor, i.e., oxygenated OA (OOA). The POA dominates OA during wintertime, contributing 69%, with the other 31% being SOA. Further, all POA components show pronounced diurnal cycles with the highest concentrations occurring at nighttime. CCOA is the largest primary source during the heating season, on average accounting for 33% of OA and 17% of NR-PM1. CCOA also plays a significant role in chemically resolved particulate matter (PM) pollution as its mass contribution increases linearly as a function of NR-PM1 mass loadings. The SOA, however, presents a reverse trend, which might indicate the limited SOA formation during high PM pollution episodes in winter. The effects of meteorology on PM pollution and aerosol processing were also explored. In particular, the sulfate mass is largely enhanced during periods with high humidity because of fog processing of high concentration of precursor SO2. In addition, the increased traffic-related HOA emission at low temperature is also highlighted.

Layered‐Double‐Hydroxide Nanosheets as Efficient Visible‐Light‐Driven Photocatalysts for Dinitrogen Fixation

Abstract: Semiconductor photocatalysis attracts widespread interest in water splitting, CO2 reduction, and N2 fixation. N2 reduction to NH3 is essential to the chemical industry and to the Earth's nitrogen cycle. Industrially, NH3 is synthesized by the Haber-Bosch process under extreme conditions (400-500 °C, 200-250 bar), stimulating research into the development of sustainable technologies for NH3 production. Herein, this study demonstrates that ultrathin layered-double-hydroxide (LDH) photocatalysts, in particular CuCr-LDH nanosheets, possess remarkable photocatalytic activity for the photoreduction of N2 to NH3 in water at 25 °C under visible-light irradiation. The excellent activity can be attributed to the severely distorted structure and compressive strain in the LDH nanosheets, which significantly enhances N2 chemisorption and thereby promotes NH3 formation.