In order to investigate the elemental composition in atmospheric aerosols and its sources in the glacier area over the Tibetan Plateau (TP), seven totally suspended particle samples were collected continuously at the col of the Zhadang glacier (30°28′N,90°39′E,5800 m a.s.l.), Nyainqêntanglha Range, southern TP, from June to October 2006. Twenty-seven elements (Li, Be, B, Na, Mg, Al, K, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Fe, Mn, Zn, Ga, As, Rb, Sr, Y, Cd, Cs, Ba, Tl, Pb, Bi, Th, U) were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The result indicates that the concentrations of most elements (especially crustal elements) are lower than values at the Nam Co Station during the same period of 2005, and also much lower than other sites in the TP such as Wudaoliang and Waliguan. This suggests that elemental compositions of aerosols in the Zhadang glacier area may represent the background levels of the middle/upper troposphere over the TP. Crustal enrichment factors (EFs) reveal that several elements (e.g. B, Zn, As, Cd, Pb and Bi) may have anthropogenic sources. The southern TP is mainly influenced by the summer Indian monsoon during the sampling period. Backward air mass trajectory analysis suggests that air masses in the region may originate from South Asia. Therefore, anthropogenic pollutants from South Asia may be transported by the summer Indian monsoon to the region which clearly affects the atmospheric environment in the southern TP during the summer monsoon season.
LI ChaoLiu1,2, KANG ShiChang1,3 & CONG ZhiYuan1,2 1 Nam Co Monitoring and Research Station for Multisphere Interactions, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, CAS, Beijing 100085, China
High mountains may serve as a condenser for persistent organic pollutants. In the present study, soil and grass samples from Mt. Qomolangma region, China were collected from 4600 to 5620 m a.s.l and were analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) to determine if they are concentrated at colder, more elevated sites and to evaluate their possible resources and fractionation. The total PAHs concentration in soil samples was < 600 ng g?1, the critical value to differentiate PAHs levels in remote and urban regions. This implied the PAHs levels at Mt. Qomolangma are relatively low and what one might expect in such a remote region of the world. These low values may represent a soil background for mid-latitude Northern Hemisphere soils away from the direct influence of an anthropogenic source. As for the distribution pattern, the low molecular weight PAHs were prone to accumulate at higher altitude, while the high molecular weight PAHs inversely related or unrelated with elevation. Based on high concentration of phenanthrene at elevated sample site and the ratios of individual PAHs, we deduced that home-heating combustion and vehicle emission may result in the constitution trait of PAHs in this mountain region. Monsoon traveling over India, Pakistan and other countries with dense population may carry contaminant to Mt. Qomolangma region.
WANG XiaoPingYAO TanDongCONG ZhiYuanYAN XinLiangKANG ShiChangZHANG Yong
Global climate change has a wide range ofimpacts,and this paper presents an investigation onhow global warming has changed the relationshipbetween air temperature and latitude & altitude usingthe meteorological data obtained from 160 stations inChina. The investigation indicates that there are verydistinct seasonal differences in patterns of tempera-ture variation as a function of latitude and altitude:avery significant latitude effect in winter and a verysignificant altitude effect in summer. However,withglobal warming,the latitude effect in winter isweakening and the altitude effect in summer isstrengthening. This pattern of change in therelationship between temperature and latitude &altitude is helpful in efforts to reconstruct and explainthe past temperature patterns and variations.
