Abstract
This study is to investigate the air pollution characteristics of an industrialized midsize west-coastal city by comparing air quality to a neighboring inland city. The hourly averaged data of $O_3$, $SO_2$, $NO_2$, CO, and $PM_{10}$ measured from continuous air quality monitoring sites in Gunsan (coastal) and Jeonju (inland) were analyzed. The data set covers the period from 2004 to 2006. The annual average concentrations of the air pollutants in two cities were compared in their abundances and temporal trends as well. $O_3$ and $SO_2$ in Gunsan were relatively higher than those in Jeonju, while vice versa in case of $NO_2$ and $PM_{10}$. It seems that heavy automobile emissions from Jeonju mainly bring on higher $NO_2$ and $PM_{10}$ than those in Gunsan on annual base. $NO_2$ concentrations in both cities showed bimodal diurnal variations with peaks in the morning and in the late evening. These peaks correspond to the coupled effects of rush hour traffic and meteorological conditions (i.e., variation of mixing height and dispersion conditions). Maximum hourly averages of $NO_2$ ranged from 18 ppb to 28 ppb at Jeonju, and from 12 ppb to 20 ppb at Gunsan. $O_3$ showed typical diurnal variation with a maximum in the afternoon between 14:00 and 16:00 LST. Diurnal variations of CO and $PM_{10}$ were similar to $NO_2$ while $SO_2$ was similar to $O_3$. Seasonal variations of $PM_{10}$ in both cities indicated that their concentrations during spring season were significantly high. Asian dust storms occur frequently during spring and seem to affect increase in $PM_{10}$. High $O_3$ and $PM_{10}$ days were selected from both cities. The analyses based on the HYSPLIT trajectory model during the high $O_3$ and $PM_{10}$ showed these episodes (six cases) were mostly coincident with Asian dust storm originated from northern China and Mongolia. However, these high air pollution episodes in the west coastal cities may not only be caused by the Asian dust but also affected by other air pollutants transported from China accompanying the Asian dust.