Advances in Earth Science ›› 2009, Vol. 24 ›› Issue (8): 845-853. doi: 10.11867/j.issn.1001-8166.2009.08.0845

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Progresses in the research of ozone production efficiency (OPE)

Xu Xiaobin, Ge Baozhu, Lin Weili   

  1. Key Laboratory for Atmospheric Chemistry, Centre for Atmosphere Watch and Services,Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, CMA,Beijing  100081, China
  • Received:2008-11-28 Revised:2009-04-30 Online:2009-08-10 Published:2009-08-10

Xu Xiaobin, Ge Baozhu, Lin Weili. Progresses in the research of ozone production efficiency (OPE)[J]. Advances in Earth Science, 2009, 24(8): 845-853.

Increase in regional and tropospheric O3 is closely related to climate change, atmospheric environment, human health, and ecosystems. The nonlinearity of atmospheric photochemistry causes the complexity of making O3 control strategy. Therefore, strong attention has been paid to a few indicators that are helpful to making O3control strategies. The Ozone Production Efficiency (OPE) is one of such indicators. Here major results and understandings gained in the researches of OPE are summarized. The definition of OPE and its development are reviewed;  the spatial and seasonal variations of OPE are summarized;  a few key factors influencing OPE are analyzed and discussed;  some necessary future studies are pointed out. OPE has proved to be a good measure of O3 sensitivity to VOCs and to NOx. It is influenced mainly by the levels of NOx and VOCs as well as the ratio between both. Therefore, the OPE value of an urban plume can change significantly during the transport, and regional differences in OPE are considerably large. The reported OPE values from studies in different regions and at different altitudes range from 1 to 246. OPE values are higher in the suburban sites than in the urban sites, and higher in the remote and high altitude sites than in the rural and low altitude sites. The seasonal variations of OPE are mainly driven by the variations of VOCs and NOx concentrations. Very few studies have been focusing on OPE in East Asia, particularly in China. In view of the severe O3 pollution situations in some Chinese cities and regions, it is suggested to carry out OPE studies based on long-term observations at various sites, to deepen scientific understandings in the issue of regional O3 pollution by combining the OPE data with model studies, and finally to find effective strategies for controlling O3 pollution.

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