Observed Interactions Among Haze, Fog and Atmospheric Boundary Layer during a Haze-fog Episode in the Yangtze River Delta Region, Eastern China

ABSTRACT 

A severe haze-fog episode occurred in the Yangtze River Delta region of eastern China during 22-30 November, 2018. In this period, the PM_2.5 mass concentration and meteorological parameters at the surface were collected at the Station for Observing Regional Processes of the Earth System site in Nanjing. The vertical distributions of PM_2.5, humidity and potential temperature below 500 m were observed simultaneously by an unmanned aerial vehicle, and the profile of potential temperature at 1400 local standard time on each day was also observed by radiosonde at the same site. During the first four days, the PM_2.5 mass concentration increased, the maximum convective planetary boundary layer height (CBLH) decreased, and the air humidity increased. These are favorable conditions for fog formation. In the latter five days, fog formed on four days, with a lowering of the CBLH and a further increase in PM_2.5 mass concentration. We found that the fog top cooling induced a potential temperature jump (i.e., sharp increase of potential temperature) with much warmer temperatures above the cloud top cooling and that this particular thermal structure was maintained until the end of the fog period, which significantly suppressed the daytime development of the planetary boundary layer after fog dissipation. The fog-induced reduction of the CBLH further increased the PM_2.5 mass concentration. We also found that the wet deposition of fog on PM_2.5 was negligible. The scavenging effect of fog on aerosols only acts during a fog period. When the fog dissipates, the aerosols are liberated from the fog droplets to the atmosphere.