Investigating the biophysical and socioeconomic determinants of China tropospheric O(3) pollution based on a multilevel analysis approach

Severe tropospheric O(3) pollution has swept across China in recent years. Consequently, investigation of tropospheric O(3) concentration influencing mechanism is of significance for O(3) pollution control in China. Previous studies have rarely detected combined impacts of natural factors and anthropogenic activities behind tropospheric O(3) concentration in China at a national scale. Moreover, there is significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity of O(3) pollution distribution in China due to the temporal and regional differences of socioeconomic and natural environmental condition in the vast territory. The targeted O(3) control recommendations for different regions and seasons should be put forward in terms of the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of O(3) concentration determinants. In this context, a three-level regression model integrating multi-scale biophysical and socioeconomic variables was proposed to explore the determinants of O(3) pollution in China. The results showed that the tropospheric O(3) concentration in the eastern and southeastern regions of China was strongly affected by meteorological conditions. In contrast, tropospheric O(3) pollution concentrated in inland areas mainly depended on the emission intensity from anthropogenic sources. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10653-020-00797-8.