• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.643-652
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• 2006

Data of the carbon monoxide concentration observed in Mt. Waliguan in China (WLG), Ulaan Uul in Mongolia (UUM), Tae-ahn Peninsula in Korea (TAP), and Ryori in Japan (RYO) were analyzed for a long period between 1991 and 2004. The annual average concentration of carbon monoxide was the highest at TAP $(233{\pm}41ppb)$ followed by $RYO(171{\pm}36ppb),\;UUM(155{\pm}26ppb),\;and\;WLG(135{\pm}22ppb)$. The seasonal variations being high in spring and low in summer were observed in other areas of Eastern Asia except WLG. TAP was high in carbon monoxide concentration in all seasons compared to WLG, UUM and RYO and shows wide distribution of concentration in the histogram, which is caused by the influence of large-scale air pollution due to its downwind location close to the East Asian continent, China in particular. Also, our data was compared with data measured at Mauna Loa (MLO) in Hawaii. According to the origin of the isentropic backward trajectory and its transport passage, carbon monoxide concentration observed in TAP was analyzed as follows: continental background airflows (CBG) were $216{\pm}47ppb$; regionally polluted continental airflows (RPC) were $316{\pm}56ppb$; Oceanic background airflows (OBG) were $108{\pm}41ppb$; and Partly perturbed oceanic airflows (PPO) were $161{\pm}6ppb$. The high concentration of carbon monoxide in TAP is due to the airflow from East Asian continent origin rather than that from the North Pacific origin. Especially, RPC which passes through the eastern China appeared to be the highest in concentration in spring, fall, and winter. However, OBG was affected by the North Pacific air mass with a low carbon monoxide concentration in summer. The NOAA satellite images and GEOS-CHEM model simulation confirmed a large-scale air pollution event that was in the course of expansion from southeastern China bound to the Korean Peninsula and the Korea East Sea by way of the Yellow Sea.