Linkages between aerosol pollution and planetary boundary layer structure in China

China suffers from high levels of PM2.5 pollution, which is often exacerbated by unfavorable planetary boundary layer (PBL) structures. Partly due to a lack of appropriate observations, the PBL-aerosol linkages in China are not clearly understood. Thus, we investigated these linkages from a national perspective using sounding data collected from 2014 to 2017. Correlation analyses revealed a significant anti-correlation between monthly boundary layer height (BLH) and aerosol pollution that was ubiquitous across China, indicating the important role of the PBL in regulating the seasonal variations of pollution in China. Besides, the day-to-day variations in pollution were modulated by the daily variabilities in the PBL structure. During winter, highly polluted days in most of the Chinese cities studied were associated with a low BLH, strong thermal stability, and weak PBL winds. In the North China Plain and Northeast China, the wintertime heavy pollution was often related to southerly winds and moister PBL. This study has important implications for understanding the crucial role that the PBL plays in modulating aerosol pollution in China. (c) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.