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Updated: Aug 5, 2026

Characterization, Quantification and Compound-specific Isotopic Analysis of Pyrogenic Carbon Using Benzene Polycarboxylic Acids BPCA
Published on: May 16, 2016
Two-decade study of monsoon-driven transport and source signatures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at a Japanese
Lulu Zhang1, Pengchu Bai2, Yan Wang2
1Key Laboratory of Intelligent Health Perception and Ecological Restoration of Rivers and Lakes, Ministry of Education, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China; Innovation Demonstration Base of Ecological Environment Geotechnical and Ecological Restoration of Rivers and Lakes, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China; Hubei Key Laboratory of Environmental Geotechnology and Ecological Remediation for Lake & River, Hubei University of Technology, Wuhan 430068, China; Institute of Nature and Environmental Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan.
Abstract:
Long-range transport of particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) under the East Asian monsoon regime poses significant challenges to regional air quality management, yet research on how human activities influence the spatiotemporal dynamics of PAHs remains limited. Through 20 years (2004-2024) of monitoring at a background site within the East Asian monsoon region, this study analyzed the temporal variations of particulate PAHs and their sources using backward trajectory and positive matrix factorization models. The mean PAHs concentration (426.1 ± 399.5 pg/m3) reflected regional atmospheric background values, exhibiting distinct characteristics of winter maxima and summer minima. This seasonality was driven primarily by monsoon-mediated transport of pollution plumes from East Asian hotspots. Coal combustion (CC; 41.1 %) and vehicle emissions (VE; 29.9 %) emerged as dominant sources, displaying inverse seasonal patterns: CC contributions peaked during winter under continental outflow driven by the East Asian Winter Monsoon, while VE dominated summer months coinciding with strengthened East Asian Summer Monsoon transporting Japanese emissions. Significant reductions in PAHs concentration between 2012 and 2024 tracked policy-driven declines in CC and VE contributions across East Asia. Nevertheless, contributions of biomass burning and non-road mobile machinery and coking emissions to PAHs underscore unresolved regional challenges. This work demonstrates the cumulative benefits of regional air quality governance in mitigating transboundary PAHs pollution, delivering a benchmark dataset and important insight for optimizing multinational mitigation strategies in East Asia.
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