Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Zhang, Yongwen
• Fan, Jingfang
• Chen, Xiaosong
• Ashkenazy, Yosef
• Havlin, Shlomo

Titel

Significant Impact of Rossby Waves on Air Pollution Detected by Network Analysis

Ist Teil von

• Geophysical research letters, 2019-11, Vol.46 (21), p.12476-12485

Ort / Verlag

Washington: John Wiley & Sons, Inc

Erscheinungsjahr

2019

Quelle

Wiley-Blackwell Journals

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Air pollution fluctuations have been found to strongly depend on the weather dynamics. Here we identify the significant atmospheric processes that affect the local daily variability of air pollution. We develop a multilayered network analysis to detect the interlinks between the 500‐hPa geopotential height and surface air pollution in both China and the United States. We find that Rossby waves significantly affect air pollution fluctuations through the development of cyclone and anticyclone systems and further affect the local stability of the air and the winds. Some of these systems are remote (∼3,000 km) and lead to air pollution 1–2 days later. Thus, the impact of Rossby waves on human life is greater than previously believed. The rapid warming of the Arctic could slow down Rossby waves, thus increasing human health risks. Our method can help to determine the risk assessment of such extreme events and can improve potential predictability. Plain Language Summary Outdoor air pollution plays an important role in a wide range of environmental and health problems. The impact of weather dynamics (at different pressure levels) on the daily fluctuations of air pollution is still not clear. Here we develop a novel multilayer and multivariable network method to delineate the influence of the upper air dynamics on the temporal variability of surface air pollution. We show that the underlying mechanism of our observed relation between weather and air pollution is the dynamics of planetary Rossby waves that not only cause extreme weather events but also lead to strong fluctuations in air pollution. The developed method is applied on data from China and the United States and can help to improve the prediction of extreme pollution events. Key Points Surface pollution variations from China and the United States associated with atmospheric upper air conditions are studied by a network approach The upper air critical regimes are found to significantly influence the surface air pollution Rossby waves significantly affect air pollution fluctuations through low‐ and high‐pressure systems