The objectives of this project is to improve our understanding of the chemical characteristics of the atmospheric aerosols over Taiwan, and to investigate the air quality impacts due to the long-range transported dust and particulate pollutants during the periods with the prevailing northeasterly of winter monsoons. In 2005, atmospheric aerosol samples were collected at seven observatories in Taiwan. The observatories are located at the FuGuei Cape (the northernmost tip of Taiwan) and in Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, PingTong, Hwalian, and Penghu, respectively. Mass concentration and chemical composition of the aerosol (PM10/PM2.5) samples were measured. The main results include: (1) Identification of the periods and impacted areas of the Asian dust events and the long-range transport of air pollutants in the springtime of 2005. (2) Identification of the major chemical species in the atmospheric aerosols in the respective areas over Taiwan. (3) Understanding the seasonal variation and spatial distribution of mass concentration and chemical constituents of the atmospheric aerosols in Taiwan. (4) Identifying the correlation among the aerosol concentrations of respective areas in Taiwan, and the meteorological mechanism for those correlations. (5) Identifying the spatial distribution features of the ratios of PM2.5/PM10 in terms of mass concentration.

Aerosol Chemical Composition,Asian Dust,Long-Range Transport