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Atmospheric Environment 36 (2002) 34733484

Inuence of meteorological conditions on PM2.5 and PM2.510


concentrations during the monsoon season in Hanoi, Vietnam
P.D. Hiena,*, V.T. Bacb, H.C. Thamb, D.D. Nhanb, L.D. Vinhc
b

a
Vietnam Atomic Energy Agency, 59 Ly Thuong Kiet, Hanoi, Viet Nam
Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology, Cau giay, Hanoi 5T-160, Viet Nam
c
Upper Air Meteorology Station, Hanoi, Viet Nam

Received 21 January 2002; accepted 10 April 2002

Abstract
Twenty-four hour samples of air particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters from 2 to 10 mm (PM10) and
o2.5 mm (PM2.5) were collected in Hanoi throughout 1 year since August 1998. The air sampler was located in a
meteorological garden where routine surface observations and upper air radiosoundings were conducted. Very high
PM2.5 and PM2.510 concentrations were observed in conjunction with the occurrence of nocturnal radiation inversions
from October to December and subsidence temperature inversions (STI) from January to March. In the rst case, the
PM2.510 fraction was much enhanced and particulate pollution was signicantly higher at night than in daytime.
During the occurence of STIs particulate mass was almost evenly distributed among the two fractions and no signicant
diurnal variations in concentrations were observed. In summer (MaySeptember) particulate pollution was much lower
than in winter.
The multiple regression of 24-h particulate concentrations against meteorological parameters for both the winter and
summer monsoon periods shows that the most important determinants of PM2.5 are wind speed and air temperature,
while rainfall and relative humidity largely control the daily variations of PM2.510, indicating the high abundance of
soil dust in this fraction. As to turbulence parameters, among the determinants of 24-h particulate concentrations are
the vertical gradients of potential temperature and wind speed recorded at 06.30 and 18.30, respectively. Meteorological
parameters could explain from 60% to 74% of the day-to-day variations of particulate concentrations. r 2002 Elsevier
Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Coarse and ne particulate matter; Temperature inversions; Meteorology; Diurnal variations; Regression analysis

1. Introduction
The rapid economic development since the introduction of a market orientation reform in the late 1980s has
dramatically changed the face of the 3.5 million
Vietnams capital, Hanoi. In the meantime, uncontrolled
growth of construction works, trafc and small manufacturing activities has resulted in an increasing number
of air pollution sources. Dusty atmosphere is visible,
especially during the dry winter season.
*Corresponding author. Fax: +84-4-9424133.
E-mail address: pdhien@netnam.vn (P.D. Hien).

A systematic air particulate pollution study has begun


in Hanoi since 1998. The 24-h PM10 (particulate matter
with aerodynamic diameters o10 mm) concentration
varies substantially, from as low as 10 mg m3 in the
rainy monsoon months (JuneAugust) to over
300 mg m3 in the winter (OctoberMarch). The development of appropriate pollution abatement measures
requires a thorough understanding of the nature of
major emission sources and atmospheric conditions
governing the variations of air particulate concentrations, particularly those relevant to pollution episodes.
The variations of atmospheric conditions in Hanoi
are governed by large-scale air circulations which are

1352-2310/02/$ - see front matter r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 1 3 5 2 - 2 3 1 0 ( 0 2 ) 0 0 2 9 5 - 9

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P.D. Hien et al. / Atmospheric Environment 36 (2002) 34733484

driving the monsoon regime in East and Southeast Asia.


Relatively few investigations have been conducted on
the relationships between air pollution and the monsoon
regime in this region. These include the works of Chung
et al. (1999), Cheng and Lam (2000) and Wang et al.
(2001) on the responses of pollutant gases to synoptic
conditions in Hong Kong; Hien et al. (1999) on the
seasonal variations of the impact of major emission
sources on a receptor site in Ho Chi Minh City; and
Pochanart et al. (2001) on the long-range transport of
O3 under Asian monsoon regime.
To investigate the impact of monsoon conditions on
air pollution in Hanoi, a year-round monitoring study
was carried out for air particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters o2.5 mm (PM2.5) and from 2.5 to
10 mm (PM2.510). Based on daily synoptic weather maps
and meteorological data provided by surface observations and upper air radiosoundings, atmospheric conditions and air masses relevant to pollution episodes could
be identied. Multiple regression analysis was applied to
derive statistical relationships between air particulate
pollution and meteorological parameters for the winter
and summer monsoon periods. For characterisation of
major emission sources, chemical compositions of
particulate matter were determined by instrumental
neutron activation analysis and ion chromatography
methods. This topic, however, will be reported elsewhere.

2. Meteorological conditions
Hanoi is located in the Red River delta in North
Vietnam (21.021N, 105.851E), about 100 km west of the
South China Sea (Figs. 1a and b). Being inuenced by
the Southeast Asia monsoon regime, the climate is
basically tropical and humid. There are two monsoon
seasons, i.e. the northeast monsoon in winter and the
southeast monsoon in summer.
During winter, atmospheric conditions are alternately
affected by air masses from the Highs over Siberia and
East China Sea (Fig. 1a) (Toan and Dac, 1993). Continental air from the Siberia High yields low temperature
and stable atmospheric conditions. As to air humidity, it
depends on the trajectory (continental or marine) of air
masses from the source origin to North Vietnam.
From October to December, northerly to northeasterly ow coming from the inland of China brings
dry and cold air. Nocturnal radiation inversions (NRI)
usually occur on clear and calm nights favouring the
accumulation of dust and air particles in the layer just
above the ground. Conversely, from January to March/
April, with the Siberia High system frequently shifted to
the East, air masses have to travel a long way over the
Pacic Ocean before reaching North Vietnam via the
Gulf of Tonkin. Northeasterly ow of moist-laden air
results in smog, low stratus cloudiness and drizzle. Poor

atmospheric dispersion conditions are associated with


anticyclones subsidence temperature inversions (STI) in
the near ground layer.
Maritime air from the High over East China Sea
prevailing during the transition period between cycles of
continental air intrusion brings warm, humid and better
dispersion conditions. Toward the winter end, northeasterly ow of continental air is getting less frequent
and southeasterly ow of maritime air becomes dominant in MarchApril.
In summer, high-pressure systems are expanded
northward from the Southern Hemisphere (Fig. 1b).
Atmospheric conditions in North Vietnam are governed
by air masses coming from the Highs over Indian Ocean
and the subtropical High over the South China Sea. The
two systems bring moist air and monsoon rains.
However, heavy rains mainly occur in July and August
in association with tropical depressions, highly unstable
conditions around the Intertropical Convergence Zone
and cyclones, which frequently appear in the South
China Sea and move westward striking the West Pacic
coast. The mean annual rainfall in Hanoi is 1800 mm,
80% of which are recorded from May to September.

3. Sampling
Coarse (PM2.510) and ne (PM2.5) particulates were
collected on two separate 47 mm diameter Nuclepore
polycarbonate lters using a Gent stack lter unit (SFU)
following the instruction manual by Maenhaut et al.
(1992). The air sampler head was mounted at 1.6 m
above the ground. The ow rate was kept between 18
and 14 l min1. To mitigate lter clogging an onoff
regime was set for the SFU.
The air sampler is located in the Hanoi meteorological
garden. The expansion of the city over the last two
decades had completely transformed this originally
semi-rural area into a new urban residential setting.
Surface observation parameters were recorded at every
3-hour interval. Balloon radiosondes using a RS80-15G
DigiCORA system were launched twice per day at 06.30
(23:30 GMT) and 18.30 (11:30 GMT), providing
information on vertical proles of air temperature,
relative humidity (RH), dew point, wind speed (WS)
and wind direction. Balloon ascent rate was approximately 5 m s1 with data retrieved every 2 s, yielding a
vertical resolution of about 10 m.
From September 1998 to August 1999, 24-h samples
were taken continuously for the study of the pollution
meteorology relationships. Daytime and nighttime
samples were taken on more than 100 days in winter
199899, providing information on diurnal variations of
particulate pollution. Since September 1999, 24-h
samples were taken twice a week. These samples are
not included in this study.

P.D. Hien et al. / Atmospheric Environment 36 (2002) 34733484

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Fig. 1. High-pressure systems in East Asia in winter (a) and summer (b).

Nuclepore lters were pre- and post-weighed to


determine the gravimetric masses of collected materials
using a Mettler balance placed in a dedicated room with
controlled temperature and humidity. The lters were
acclimatised in the room condition for 34 days prior to
weighing. The readability of the balance is 1 mg. A 210Po
electrostatic charge eliminator was used to neutralise
charges accumulated on the lters before weighing.

4. Meteorological data treatment

pressure, RH, WS, wind direction and sunshine duration. Rainfall was recorded as a 24-h total value. The
seasonal averages of meteorological parameters are
given in Table 1. For simplicity, the 1 October and 1
May are assigned to the beginning of the winter and
summer, respectively. For the summer, only a period
from May to July 1999 was analysed. The two summer
months of 1998 (August and September) were not
included in the regression analysis. WS and RH show
little seasonal variations, while temperature and rainfall
were much higher in summer than in winter.

4.1. Surface observation parameters

4.2. Radiosoundings

Surface observation meteorological parameters recorded at every 3-h interval include temperature,

Vertical proles of temperature and WS in the


boundary layer were analysed to derive atmospheric

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P.D. Hien et al. / Atmospheric Environment 36 (2002) 34733484

Table 1
Summary statistics of 24-h average particulate mass concentrations and meteorological parameters
Notation

Surface observations
Coarse mass (mg m3)
Fine mass (mg m3)
Wind speed (m s1)
Air temperature (1C)
Air pressure (mb)
Relative humidity (%)
Sunshiness (h)
Rainfall (mm)

CO
FI
WS
T
P
RH
SUN
RAIN

Upper air observationsa


(Dy=Dz), 06.30
(Du=Dz), 06.30
(Dy=Dz), 18.30
(Du=Dz), 18.30

Dy=Dzm
Du=Dzm
Dy=Dze
Du=Dze

October 98March 99

May 99July 99

Mean

S.D.

Mean

S.D.

69.8
51.5
1.6
21.5
1014.6
74.5
3.4
0.9

52.3
28.5
0.7
3.5
5.5
10.3
3.5
3.8

27.6
18.9
1.8
28.5
1004.2
78.9
4.9
8.0

15.0
8.0
0.6
2.3
3.9
5.7
3.2
20.3

0.61
1.06
0.30
0.86

0.39
0.64
0.20
0.54

0.55
0.92
0.32
1.10

0.26
0.52
0.32
0.58

The values in (K m1) for Dy=Dz and (s1) for Du=Dz are multiplied by 100.

turbulence parameters. For this purpose, the actual


temperature (T) was converted into potential temperature (y), thus enabling us to easily distinguish three types
of buoyancy according to the gradient Dy=Dz; namely
stable (Dy=Dz > 0), neutral (Dy=Dz 0) and unstable
(Dy=Dzo0). It was found that high particulate levels
were recorded in conjunction with the occurrence of
NRIs in the rst winter period (OctoberDecember) and
STIs in the second winter period (JanuaryMarch). The
criteria adopted for these temperature inversions were
taken as in Heffter (1983), Marsik et al. (1995) and
Calori and Carmichael (1999), namely
Dy=DzX0:005 K m1 ;
yT  yB X2 K;

where Dy=Dz is the potential temperature gradient in the


inversion layer and yT and yB refer to the potential
temperatures at the top and the base of the inversion
layer.
NRI appears at dawn, extending from the ground to
about 100150 m. Over the night the NRI layer moves
up to a higher and higher elevation, reaching a few
hundred meters in the early morning (Fig. 2a), and
presumably disappears thereafter as the sunlight warms
the ground. STI usually persists for days during which it
can be observed in both the morning and evening
soundings with the inversion layer height varying within
several hundred meters above the ground (Fig. 2c).
The WS proles are illustrated in Figs. 2b and d. WS
increases with height reaching the rst maximum at
some elevation below 1000 m. No signicant relation-

ship exists between the height of this maximum and the


top or bottom of temperature inversions. The proles of
RH and dew point have good correlations with that of
potential temperature. For this reason upper air data on
these parameters were not included in the regression
analysis.
4.3. Atmospheric turbulence
To characterise atmospheric turbulence, the mixing
depth is usually derived from the vertical prole of
temperature. A literature survey, however, did not nd
an overall acceptable denition and criteria for the
practical determination of the mixing depth that could
encompass a wide range of atmospheric stability and a
variety of its governing physical processes (Beyrich,
1997). For daytime convective conditions the mixing
depth was estimated by using a temperature prole
intersection scheme developed by Holzworth (1967). For
nighttime stable conditions, several prole-derived
heights have been proposed, e.g. the height of the NRI
or the rst WS maximum. (Mahrt et al., 1982; Baxter,
1991; Berman et al., 1999; Lena and Desiato, 1998;
Seibert et al., 2000). However, several researchers e.g.
Aron (1983), Lena and Desiato (1998) and Seibert et al.
(2000) noted that the mixing depth estimated by the
above methods in general poorly correlate with air
pollutant concentrations.
In our work, the gradients of potential temperature
Dy=Dz and WS Du=Dz between two elevations z1 and z2
in the surface layer were used for characterising atmospheric turbulence. Such a simple empirical method is

P.D. Hien et al. / Atmospheric Environment 36 (2002) 34733484

3477

600

height, m

500
400
300
200
100

(a)

0
290 292 294 296 298
theta, K

(b)

w ind speed, m s -1

height, m

11/13/98 6:30
11/12/98 18:30
600

600

400

400

200

200

0
287 290 293 296
(c)

0
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

theta, K

(d)

w ind speed, m s -1

01/22 18:30
01/22 06:30
Fig. 2. Vertical proles of potential temperature (left) and wind speed (right). NRI (a,b), STI (c,d).

based on the physical consideration that the gradient


Richardson number is expressed in terms of these
gradients, namely
2

Ri g=TDy=DzDu=Dz ;

where g is the constant of gravity and Dz z1  z2 :


Other turbulence parameters, such as the Monin
Obukhov length L; the sensible heat ux H and the
friction velocity u * ; could also be estimated from these
gradients (see e.g. Berkowicz and Prahm, 1982) based on
MoninObukhov similarity theory for the surface layer
(Monin and Obukhov, 1954). The gradients were
computed for the layer between z1 5 m (the lowest
elevation recorded in radiosoundings) and z2 500 m.
By varying z2 from 200 to 800 m, we found that the
elevation of 500 m had yielded highest correlations
between the gradients and the observed 24-h PM2.510
and PM2.5 concentrations. Both the morning and
evening soundings were analysed to provide four
turbulence parameters, the seasonal variations of which
are given in Table 1.

5. Experimental results
5.1. 24-h particulate concentrations
Figs. 3ac display the time series of 24-h PM2.5 and
PM10 concentrations. The annual mean concentrations
(7standard errors) from August 1998 to July 1999 were
(87.173.1) mg m3 for PM10 and (36.171.3) mg m3 for
PM2.5. The PM10 US NAAQS (150 mg m3) was
exceeded on 52 days. Also, PM2.5 concentrations exceed
50 mg m3 on 77 days. Most of these pollution episodes
were observed from October 1998 to February 1999. The
time series of 24-h PM2.510 and PM2.5 concentrations
and some relevant meteorological parameters for that
period are displayed in Figs. 4a and h.
5.2. Winter pollution episodes
From October to early January, most pollution
episodes were associated with the occurrence of NRIs,
which are marked by full height columns in Figs. 4ah.

P.D. Hien et al. / Atmospheric Environment 36 (2002) 34733484

Concentration (g/m3)

Concentration (g/m3)

3478
150

PM2.5
100
50
0
7/23/98

9/6/98 10/21/98 12/5/98 1/19/99 3/5/99


Date

4/19/99

400

6/3/99

7/18/99

PM10

300
200
100
0
7/23/98

9/6/98 10/21/98 12/5/98 1/19/99 3/5/99


Date

4/19/99

6/3/99

7/18/99

Fig. 3. Time series of PM2.5 and PM10. The bold horizontal line in the PM10 chart represents the US NAAQS standard (150 mg m3).

NRI usually appeared several days after the passage of a


cold front, which can be recognised by a peak in the WS
chart (Fig. 4f) and a sudden drop of temperature
(not shown). The weather conditions during these
events were light wind (Fig. 4f), long sunshine duration
(Fig. 4g) and low RH (Fig. 4h). From late December to
March, the prevailing humid and overcast conditions
did not favour NRIs. Instead, most pollution episodes
were observed in conjunction with STIs located in
the layer below, say, 500 m, which are marked by half
height columns in Figs. 4ah. Temperature inversions
above this level show little inuence on particulate
concentrations.
Figs. 4bd show the diurnal change (the nighttime-todaytime concentration ratio) of particulate pollution in
response to different dispersion conditions. The interplay of emissions and atmospheric dispersion processes
operating on a diurnal cycle results in generally lower
particulate loadings at night in non-episode and STI
cases. The NRI, however, entails much higher loadings
at night, especially for coarse particulates. As a result,
the diurnal change was much larger for coarse particulates (Fig. 4b) and the coarse mode was signicantly
enhanced (Fig. 4e). These trends are summarised in
Table 2, where the averages of particulate concentrations, diurnal changes and coarse mode enhancement
are calculated for the three turbulence categories. The
average WS and RH are also given as relevant surface
meteorological parameters.
To gain insight into the above ndings, Figs. 5ae
provide an example that details the diurnal variations
of particulate pollution during a period covering the

NRI episodes on 13 and 14 November followed by a


non-inversion case on 15 November. Potential temperature proles are shown in Fig. 5a. The pattern of
surface WS (Fig. 5b) shows calm to light wind at
night on 13 and 14 November when NRIs occurred
(Fig. 5a).
Particulate
concentrations
markedly
increased after 18.00 (Figs. 5c and d), which is about
evening rush hours (from 17.30 to 19.00) and time for
street sweeping (from 18.30 to 20.00). Signicant
amounts of road dust and car exhaust particulates were
trapped in a shallow layer just above the ground,
causing the surges of particulate loadings (Figs. 5c and
d) and a signicant enhancement of the coarse mode
until midnight or later (Fig. 5e). Particulate loadings
dropped in daytime and returned to a non-inversion
level on 15 November. As dry soil favours the
resuspension of soil dust by trafc and street sweeping,
both the coarse mode enhancement and the diurnal
change of coarse particulates tend to inversely correlate
with RH, as seen in Table 2.
5.3. Summer
The mean concentrations of PM2.5 and PM2.510
were about 2.5 times lower in summer than in
winter (Table 1). The daily variations of particulate
concentrations in summer were also lower. The
lowest monthly averaged concentrations were recorded
in JulyAugust, during which prolonged rains
occurred. Details of daily variations of particulate
concentrations and weather characteristics in summer
are not shown.

P.D. Hien et al. / Atmospheric Environment 36 (2002) 34733484

3479

Fig. 4. Time series of particulate concentrations during a winter period from October 1998 to February 1999 (a: coarse, c: ne),
nighttime-to-daytime concentration ratios (b: coarse, d: ne), coarse-to-ne concentration ratio (e), surface wind speed (f), sunshine
duration (g) and RH (h). The occurrence of NRIs and STIs is marked by full- and half-height columns, respectively.

P.D. Hien et al. / Atmospheric Environment 36 (2002) 34733484

3480

Table 2
Particulate pollution in NRI, STI and non-inversion categories in the two winter periods

RH (%)
WS (m s1)
Coarse (mg m3)
Fine (mg m3)
Coarse mode enhancement
Diurnal change, coarse
Diurnal change, ne

1st winter period (OctoberDecember)

2nd winter period (JanuaryMarch)

NRI (43 days)

Non-inversion (43 days)

STI (37 days)

Non-inversion (89 days)

65.570.7
1.170.1
13978
6974
2.170.1
3.270.3
1.570.1

75.771.7
2.070.1
3973
3472
1.1870.08
0.9070.06
0.8870.03

77.571.3
1.270.1
7975
8074
1.0370.06
1.0170.06
1.0470.06

78.671.2
2.070.1
4572
4472
1.0570.05
0.7270.02
0.8970.04

The values are given as means7standard errors.

(a)

Height, m

500
400

w . sp., m s -1
Coarse, ug m-3
Fine, ug m-3

6:30
11/14

18:30
14/11

18:30
11/15

6:30
11/15

6:30
11/16

300
200
100
0
291 293

Coarse/fine

18:30
11/13

6:30
11/13

295

298

290 292 294 296 298


Theta (K)

293

295

295

298

301

295 298 301

(b)

2
1
0
11/13 6:00

11/13 18:00

11/14 6:00

11/14 18:00

11/15 6:00

11/15 18:00

11/16 6:00

11/14 6:00

11/14 18:00

11/15 6:00

11/15 18:00

11/16 6:00

11/13 18:00

11/14 6:00

11/14 18:00

11/15 6:00

11/15 18:00

11/16 6:00

6
5
(e)
4
3
2
1
0
11/13 6:00
11/13 18:00

11/14 6:00

11/14 18:00

11/15 6:00

11/15 18:00

11/16 6:00

800
(c)
600
400
200
0
11/13 6:00
11/13 18:00

300
200

(d)

100
0
11/13 6:00

Fig. 5. A scenario of a NRI high pollution episode on 13 and 14 November followed by a non-inversion case on 15 November. (a)
Vertical proles of potential temperature, (b) surface wind speed, (c) coarse concentration, (d) ne concentration, (e) coarse-to-ne
concentration ratio.

P.D. Hien et al. / Atmospheric Environment 36 (2002) 34733484

6. Relationships between particulate pollution and


meteorological parameters
6.1. Multiple regression analysis method
Meteorological parameters governing the day-to-day
variations of PM2.5 and PM2.510 for the two monsoon
periods were studied by multiple regression analysis. In
the regression analysis dependent and independent
variables were constructed by logarithmically transforming observation values. The logarithm transformation
was necessary because atmospheric dispersion equations
suggest that the relationship between particulate concentration (C) and meteorological parameters (Pi ) is
multiplicative rather than additive (Elsom and Chandler, 1978), i.e.,
Y
3
C k Pi ai :
i

The exponent ai measures the response of particulate


concentration C to the rate of change in meteorological parameter Pi ; other meteorological parameters
being constant. Eq. (3) leads to the multi-linear
regression model for logarithmically transformed
variables, i.e.
X
ln C ln k
ai ln Pi e;
4
i

where ln k; ai and e are the intercept, regression


coefcients and the error term, respectively. Note that
the weather condition has a delayed impact on
particulate pollution, e.g. the todays drop in fugitive
soil dust is a consequence of the previous days rain
that made the surface soil humid. To take into account
this effect, the previous days meteorological parameters
are also included in the data set as independent
variables.
Thus, 20 independent variables were used in the
regression analysis including 2  6 surface observation
and 2  4 turbulence parameters. To reveal the predictors (determinants) of 24-h particulate concentrations
among these descriptors, a stepwise multiple regression
method (SPSS, version 7.5) was applied and a statistical
signicance p 0:01 was set for the regression coefcients.
6.2. Regression models
The determinants Pi ; coefcients ai and the intercept
ln k of the regression models (5) for the winter and
summer periods are presented in Table 3. The determinant acronyms are listed in Table 1. In addition, a sufx
p is used to denote the previous days meteorology. The
standardised regression coefcients b are shown in
column 8. The determinants of 24-h particulate concentrations are listed in decreasing order of relative

3481

importance according to the standardised regression


coefcients b: The statistical signicance of the determinants is po0:01:
Among surface observation parameters, rainfall
(RAIN) and RH largely control the daily variations of
PM2.510, while WS and air temperature (T) are
most important determinants of PM2.5. As can be
expected, these parameters are inversely related to
particulate concentrations (a; bo0). Rain and moisture
remove atmospheric particulates and diminish the
amount of resuspended soil dust by making the
soil humid. The governing role of rain and humidity
for PM2.510 conrms the high abundance of resuspended soil dust in the coarse fraction, as suggested in
Section 4.5.
WS plays a leading role in cleansing ne particulates.
In winter both the prompt (WS) and delayed response
(WSp ) of WS are observed making it a most important
meteorological parameter in explaining the variations in
ne particulate concentrations. For PM2.510, the
relationships with WS are not as signicant as with
rainfall. Moreover, PM2.510 positively correlates with
WS in summer. Harrison et al. (1997) found a positive
relationship between coarse particulates and WS for the
summer in Birmingham (UK), pointing to the evidence
of resuspension of soil particles.
Air temperature controls PM2.5 but PM2.510 and
more signicant in winter than in summer. In early
works on air pollution in European cities, the inverse
relationship between air temperature and air pollutant
concentration was attributed to the fuel burning for
space heating of buildings in winter (see Elsom and
Chandler, 1978; and references therein). Space heating is
not a practice in our tropical conditions. The control of
air temperature on PM2.5 in our case reects a trend that
more favourable atmospheric dispersion conditions are
observed under warm air than cold air masses. In winter,
for example, dispersion conditions are better under
warm maritime air than cold continental air.
The gradients of potential temperature and WS also
contribute to explaining the variations of particulate
concentrations. As expected, particulate concentrations
have positive relationships with the gradient of potential
temperature (Dy=Dz) and negative relationships with the
gradient of WS (Du=Dz). However, only Dy=Dzm and
Du=Dze appear as determinants in the regression
models. The two remaining gradients Dy=Dze and
Du=Dzm are much less sensitive to the 24-h averaged
particulate concentrations. This nding can be illustrated in Fig. 6, where the gradients of potential
temperature and WS are plotted along with the
occurrence of NRIs (full height columns) for the rst
winter period. NRIs occurred in conjunction with high
Dy=Dzm (Fig. 6a) and low Du=Dze (Fig. 6d), but not
in correlation with Dy=Dze (Fig. 6b) and Du=Dzm
(Fig. 6d).

P.D. Hien et al. / Atmospheric Environment 36 (2002) 34733484

3482

Table 3
Results of regression analysis (p 0:01)
PM

Period

R2

October 98March 99

0.64

ln k (7std. err.)

Determinant (loge)

Std. err. of a

RAIN
Du=Dze
Dy=Dzm
RHp
WS
WSp
RAINp

0.22
0.20
0.25
0.95
0.30
0.22
0.09

0.03
0.04
0.05
0.25
0.08
0.07
0.03

0.33
0.26
0.24
0.20
0.20
0.15
0.14

RH
RAIN
SUN
RHp
WS
Du=Dze

5.08
0.07
0.07
1.56
0.24
0.11

0.60
0.01
0.02
0.54
0.09
0.04

0.83
0.32
0.23
0.29
0.18
0.16

Tp
WS
RAINp
WSp
Du=Dzep
Dy=Dzm
Du=Dze

1.25
0.33
0.16
0.17
0.08
0.12
0.08

0.15
0.06
0.02
0.06
0.03
0.04
0.03

0.45
0.33
0.33
0.16
0.15
0.15
0.14

WS
RH
T
Du=Dzep
Du=Dze

0.44
1.67
0.97
0.10
0.07

0.07
0.33
0.31
0.04
0.04

0.49
0.42
0.26
0.21
0.17

PM2.510

May 99July 99

0.74

8.071.1

18.671.7

PM2.5
October 98March 99

May 99July 99

0.60

0.60

7.770.5

13.972.0

Among determinants in the regression models, 9 out


of 25 (7 in winter and 2 in summer) are the previous
days parameters, showing the importance of the
delayed response of air particulate matter to meteorology, especially in winter. There are cases with only the
previous days parameters present, e.g. Tp and RAINp in
the PM2.5 winter model. Meanwhile, in the PM2.5
summer model both WS and WSp appear, making WS
a leading determinant of ne particulates.
Therefore, only 57 among 20 meteorological parameters appear as determinants in each regression model,
that could explain from 60% to 74% of the day-to-day
variations of particulate concentrations in the winter
and summer. The remaining variances should be
attributed to the variabilities of emission strengths and
long-range transported (LRT) pollutants. Potential
sources of these LRT pollutants are areas under fast
growing urbanisation and industrialisation in Southeastern China (Wang et al., 2001).

7. Summary and conclusion


Continental air masses from the Siberia High take the
way to North Vietnam either through the inland of
China or on the Pacic Ocean via the Gulf of Tonkin.
Inland trajectories, dominating in the rst winter period,
supply dry air and facilitate the NRIs. In the second
winter period cold air parcels mostly travel through the
Pacic Ocean, supplying moist air and under anticyclonic conditions near ground STIs occur. During the
winter 199899, NRIs occurred on 43 days from
October to early January, while STIs were observed on
37 days (not including those occurring along with NRIs
in the rst winter period). NRIs and STIs may persist for
days, yielding prolonged particulate pollution episodes.
The averaged PM10 concentrations were 84, 159 and
208 mg m3 for the non-episode, STI and NRI categories, respectively. The corresponding gures for the
PM2.510 and PM2.5 concentrations were 43, 79 and

P.D. Hien et al. / Atmospheric Environment 36 (2002) 34733484

3483

Fig. 6. The gradients of potential temperature and wind speed at 06.30 (a,b) and 18.30 (c,d) during the rst winter period October
December 1998 (see footnote a in Table 1 for the units of the gradients). The graphs show the association of Dy=Dzm and Du=Dze
with the occurrence of NRIs, which is marked by full-height columns.

139 mg m3 and 41, 80 and 69 mg m3, respectively,


showing a signicant enhancement of the coarse mode
during NRI episodes. Soil particles thrown into the
atmosphere by street sweeping and trafc shaking in
evening rush hours are found to be a main cause giving
rise to the coarse mode enhancement as well as the very
high levels of PM2.510 during NRI episodes. As the
abundance of this soil dust component is inversely
related to the humidity of surface soil, the PM2.510
concentrations are much suppressed in humid conditions during non-episode and STI periods. The above
ndings provide guidance not only for forecasting
pollution episodes but also for developing abatement
measures.
Multiple regression analysis was applied to reveal
atmospheric parameters controlling the day-to-day
variations of particulate concentrations. PM2.5 is governed mainly by WS and air temperature, while rainfall
and RH largely control the daily variations of PM2.510,
indicating the high abundance of soil dust in the
PM2.510 fraction. Dusty air resulting from uncontrolled
construction works and unpaved roads and sidewalks is
common in urban areas of Vietnam (Hien et al., 2001).

As to parameters characterising atmospheric turbulence,


among the predictors of 24-h particulate concentrations
are the vertical gradients of potential temperature and
WS recorded at 06.30 and 18.30, respectively. These
controlling meteorological parameters dominate the
regression models for both the winter and summer
periods. Regression models could explain from 60% to
74% of the variances of 24-h particulate concentrations.
The remaining unexplained parts are associated mainly
with the variabilities of emission strengths and LRT air
pollutants.

Acknowledgements
This research was funded by the Ministry for Science,
Technology and Environment and was supported by
UNDP/IAEA/RCA Co-ordinated Project for Asia and
the Pacic on Air Pollution and its Trends. The authors
are grateful to the Hanoi Meteorological Station for the
kind assistance in providing routine surface observation
data. We also gratefully acknowledge contributions of
N.H. Quang and N.Q. Long (Institute of Nuclear

3484

P.D. Hien et al. / Atmospheric Environment 36 (2002) 34733484

Science and Technology) during the implementation of


this research project.

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