Spatial statistics of atmospheric particulate matter in China

Abstract

In this paper, the spatial dynamics of the atmospheric particulate matters (resp. PM${}_{10}$ and PM${}_{2.5}$) are studied using turbulence methodologies. It is found experimentally that the spatial correlation function $\rho (r)$ shows a log-law on the mesoscale range, i.e., $50\le r\le 500km$, with an experimental scaling exponent $\beta =0.45$. The spatial structure function shows a power-law behavior on the mesoscale range $90\le r\le 500km$. The experimental scaling exponent $\zeta (q)$ is convex, showing that the intermittent correction is relevant in characterizing the spatial dynamic of particulate matter. The measured singularity spectrum $f(\alpha )$ also shows its multifractal nature. Experimentally, the particulate matter is more intermittent than the passive scalar, which could be partially due to the \red{mesoscale movements} of the atmosphere, and also due to local sources, such as local industry activities.

17 pages with 8 figures