[Analysis of characteristics of black carbon concentration in Shanghai from 2008 to 2012]

The variations of black carbon (BC) mass concentration in Shanghai are analyzed and discussed by using hourly averaged data monitored continuously at Shanghai Urban Environmental Meteorological Center from January 2008 to December 2012. The results show that the annual mean mass concentration of BC decreased from (4 045.3 +/- 3 375.4) ng x m(-3) in 2008 to (2 766.2 +/- 2 078.9) ng x m(-3) in 2012, and the annual changes are 2.3%, - 6.5%, -18.7% and -12.1%, respectively. The yearly averaged BC mass concentration in Shanghai is on the low side of middle-level compared with other mega-cities of China. According to the test data,the highest monthly averaged concentration of BC appeared in November and December,which were 5 426.6 ng x m(-3) and 5 365.3 ng x m(-3), respectively,and then in January, June and October, which were 4402.5, 3763.3 and 3412.7 ng x m(-3), respectively. The diurnal cycles of the BC mass concentration show that there are two obvious peaks during morning 07:00-10:00 and during evening 18:00-22:00 Beijing time (BT), and the first peak was higher than the second on weekdays, but opposite on weekends and holidays. The daily mean mass concentration of BC was 9% higher on weekdays than on weekends and holidays. In addition, an empirical equation is obtained for daily BC concentration estimation and prediction using all the effective test data during the 5-year observation period and employing the regression analysis.