Spatiotemporal Variations in Satellite-Based Formaldehyde (HCHO) in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region in China from 2005 to 2015

The widespread distribution and strong seasonal pattern of highly concentrated summertime formaldehyde (HCHO) were observed using data from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) onboard Aura satellite from 2005 to 2015 in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, China. The large-scale HCHO concentrations and its close connection with the surface O3 pollution made the study of summertime HCHO patterns and its major contributors necessary. Accordingly, time series decomposition, Moran’s I and Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) were adopted to investigate the spatiotemporal variations of HCHO. We found that the HCHO columns regionally increased from 2005 to 2010 and decreased in the north (e.g., Chengde) from 2010 to 2015. Additionally, HCHO Vertical Column Densities (VCDs) exhibited higher values in urban areas. Despite the strong possibilities of major biogenic contributions, anthropogenic sources represented larger spatial PCCs and larger total emission rates. Industrial sources exhibited a large increasing emission amount, and the most similar distribution to HCHO was found in residential sources. By comparison, power-based emissions accounted for a relatively small fraction, and transportation emissions declined rapidly. In conclusion, anthropogenic VOCs might contribute to the summertime HCHO concentrations as well as isoprene, and controls on VOCs and HCHO would be greatly assisted by the satellite-based observations.