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Sources and pathways of nutrients in the semi-arid region of Beijing-Tianjin, China.

ABSTRACT: Semiarid regions worldwide are particularly prone to eutrophication, which causes immense ecological and economic problems. One region that is in transition and requires systematic research for effective intervention is the dry landscape of Beijing-Tianjin (P. R. China). We investigated the sources and spatiotemporal loads of nitrogen and phosphorus species over a one-year period in the Haihe catchment that drains the megacity of Beijing. Although wastewater treatment was improved in recent years, the rivers were heavily contaminated by 0.3-5.3 mg P L(-1) and 3.0-49 mg N L(-1), with toxic levels of nitrite (?1 mg NO(2)-N L(-1)) and ammonia (?0.6 mg NH(3)-N L(-1)). The average NH(4)(+) (16.9 mg N L(-1)) increased by 160% compared to 1996-levels. Mass fluxes and ?(15)N-signatures revealed that nutrients originated almost exclusively from sewage. Furthermore, the water balance demonstrated that >90% of the polluted river water was diverted for irrigation, thereby threatening food safety and groundwater quality. Per capita loads of 1.42 kg N/yr and 115 g P/yr were comparable to the peak discharges typical of Europe and the United States in 1970-1990, but concentrations were 2-3 times higher in the Beijing-Tianjin region. Our research identified sewage as the predominant nutrient source in this semiarid region, which suggests that state-of-the-art wastewater treatment would drastically mitigate eutrophication and even more rapidly than was previously observed in Europe.

SUBMITTER: Pernet-Coudrier B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3357259 | biostudies-literature | 2012 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Sources and pathways of nutrients in the semi-arid region of Beijing-Tianjin, China.

Pernet-Coudrier Benoît B Qi Weixiao W Liu Huijuan H Müller Beat B Berg Michael M

Environmental science & technology 20120308 10

Semiarid regions worldwide are particularly prone to eutrophication, which causes immense ecological and economic problems. One region that is in transition and requires systematic research for effective intervention is the dry landscape of Beijing-Tianjin (P. R. China). We investigated the sources and spatiotemporal loads of nitrogen and phosphorus species over a one-year period in the Haihe catchment that drains the megacity of Beijing. Although wastewater treatment was improved in recent year ...[more]

PMID: 22401269

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Project description:Although anthropogenic emissions decreased, polluted days still occurred in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region during the initial outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Analysis of the characteristics and source distribution of large-scale air pollution episodes during the COVID-19 outbreak (from 23 January to April 8, 2020) in the BTH region is helpful for exploring the efficacy of control measures and policy making. The results indicated that the BTH region suffered two large-scale air pollution episodes (23-28 January and 8-13 February), which were characterized by elevated PM2.5, SO2, NO2, and CO concentrations, while the O3 concentration decreased by 1.5%-33.9% (except in Shijiazhuang, where it increased by 16.6% during the second episode). These large-scale air pollution episodes were dominated by unfavorable meteorological conditions comprising a low wind speed and increased relative humidity. The transport pathways and source distribution were explored using the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT), potential source contribution function (PSCF), and concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) models. The air pollution in the BTH region was mainly affected by local emission sources during the first episode, which contributed 51.6%-60.6% of the total trajectories in the BTH region with a PM2.5 concentration ranging from 146.2 μg/m3 to 196.7 μg/m3. The short-distance air masses from the southern and southwestern areas of the BTH region were the main transport pathways of airflow arriving in the BTH region during the second episode. These contributed 51.9%-57.9% of the total trajectories and originated in Hebei, Henan, central Shanxi, and Shaanxi provinces, which were the areas contributing the most to the PM2.5 level and exhibited the highest PSCF and CWT values. Therefore, on the basis of local emission reduction, enhancing regional environmental cooperation and implementing a united prevention and control of air pollution are effective mitigation measures for the BTH region.

Dataset Information

Sources and pathways of nutrients in the semi-arid region of Beijing-Tianjin, China.

Publications

Sources and pathways of nutrients in the semi-arid region of Beijing-Tianjin, China.

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