Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters

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The Role of Aerosol in Climate Change, the

Environment, and Human Health

Zhang Ren-Jian, Ho Kin-Fai & Shen Zhen-Xing

To cite this article: Zhang Ren-Jian, Ho Kin-Fai & Shen Zhen-Xing (2012) The Role of Aerosol in
Climate Change, the Environment, and Human Health, Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters,
5:2, 156-161, DOI: 10.1080/16742834.2012.11446983

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ATMOSPHERIC AND OCEANIC SCIENCE LETTERS, 2012, VOL. 5, NO. 2, 156161

The Role of Aerosol in Climate Change, the Environment, and Human

Health
ZHANG Ren-Jian1, HO Kin-Fai2, and SHEN Zhen-Xing3
1
Key Laboratory of Regional Climate-Environment for Temperate East Asia, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing 100029, China
2
School of Public Health and Primary Care, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
3
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China
Received 27 October 2011; revised 7 December 2011; accepted 29 December 2011; published 16 March 2012

Abstract Aerosol is an important component of the
atmosphere, and its source, composition, distribution, and
effects are highly complicated. Governments and scien-
tists have given much attention to aerosol problems, and it
has become a hot topic due to the important role it plays
in climate change and the Earth’s environment. In this
paper, 1) the importance of aerosol in climate change, the
atmospheric environment, and human health is summa-
rized; 2) the recent serious problems of aerosol pollution
and the shortage of current aerosol research in China are
pointed out; and 3) the necessity to enhance aerosol re-
search in China is emphasized.

Keywords: aerosol, climate change, environment, human
health
Citation: Zhang, R.-J., K. F. Ho, and Z.-X. Shen, 2012:
The role of aerosol in climate change, the environment,
and human health, Atmos. Oceanic Sci. Lett., 5, 156–161.
1 Introduction
Atmospheric aerosols are defined as solid and/or liquid
particles suspended in the air (Wang et al., 2001). Aerosol
particles are one of the most important components of the
atmosphere, and they have been studied for a long time.
There is increasing interest in the studies of atmospheric
aerosols due to their impact on the climate, their chemical
heterogeneous reactions in the atmosphere, which par-
ticularly affect environmental quality, and the associated
problems of visibility and health issues (Menon et al.,
2002; Watson, 2002). Therefore, increasingly more atten-
tion has been paid to aerosol studies from the fields of
meteorology, chemistry, physics, space science, environ-
mental science, medical science, and public health, form-
ing a multidisciplinary focus of investigation.
The currently known atmospheric aerosols consist
mainly of sulphate, nitrate, ammonium, organic carbon,
elemental carbon, and mineral elements. Many important
atmospheric heterogeneous chemical reactions occur over
the surface of aerosol particles or are impacted by them
(Zhang and Iwasaka, 2004). Since the industrial revolu-
tion, a large amount of pollutant aerosols and gases have
been directly emitted into the atmosphere. More impor-
tantly, through heterogeneous chemical reactions, these
pollutant gases can be gradually transferred to sulfate and
Corresponding author: ZHANG Ren-Jian, zrj@mail.iap.ac.cn
nitrate particles, forming secondary aerosols (Ding and
Zhu, 2003; Wang et al., 2005; Wrzesinsky and Klemm,
2000; Ye et al., 2003).
It is known that there are thousands of potentially
harmful organisms that can severely harm human health
in inhalable atmospheric aerosols. Evidence also shows
that aerosols impact climate, although this impact is
largely uncertain (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), 2001, 2007).
Many papers related to aerosols have been recently
published in internationally renowned journals such as
Nature and Science, indicating that the topic of atmos-
pheric aerosol has become one of the most important re-
search directions.
In this study, the importance of investigating aerosol
will be discussed, and both the severity of aerosol pollu-
tion and the shortage of relative studies will be pointed
out.
2 The function of aerosol in climate change
Atmospheric aerosol particles have strong climate and
environmental effects (Andreae et al., 2005; Charlson et
al., 1990; Huebert et al., 2003; Jacobson, 2001, 2002;
Lohmann and Lesins, 2002; Zhao et al., 1988). A recent
assessment report by the IPCC (2007) clearly indicates
that aerosol, as greenhouse gases, is also an important
factor impacting climate change. The impact of aerosol on
the climate can be described by direct and indirect effects
through a series of complex processes that are still not
well understood.
The direct impact of aerosol on climate indicates that
aerosol particles absorb and diffuse solar radiation and
longwave radiation emitted from the ground surface, im-
pacting the Earth-atmosphere radiation budget. Because
aerosol is composed of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN),
the variation of aerosol concentrations can change the
macro and micro characteristics of clouds, especially al-
tering the lifetime and optical characteristics of clouds
(Ramanathan et al., 2001; Ramanathan and Crutzen,
2003). This effect may result in negative radiation forcing
(Lohmann and Lesins, 2002), which represents the indi-
rect impact of aerosol on climate. Aerosol increases the
number of CCN and increases the scattering cross-section,
thereby brightening clouds and reflecting more solar ra-
diation (1st indirect effect). Small CCN limit collision and
NO. 2 ZHANG ET AL.: THE ROLE OF AEROSOL IN CLIMATE CHANGE, THE ENVIRONMENT, AND HUMAN HEALTH
coalescence, prolonging the lifetime of clouds and inhib-
iting the growth of cloud drops to raindrops (2nd indirect
effect). This process leads to cloudy days and the subse-
quent increased reflection of solar radiation and further
cooling at the Earth’s surface (Charlson et al., 1990; Lau
et al., 2008).
Aerosol can impact cloud formation and radiative
forcing, in turn impacting the climate and hydroBe-
causelogical cycle of the Earth system, it can have a great
impact on the living environment of humans. However,
although many studies on the impact of aerosol on climate
have been conducted, the effects (especially the indirect
effect) of aerosol on climate are still unclear. In other
words, the function of aerosol and cloud processes on
climate models is still unclear, and it is the most indeter-
minate factor in all climate projects. Previous studies have
indicated that sulphate aerosol in the troposphere emitted
by human activities can cool the ground surface by re-
ducing the solar radiation reaching the Earth, leading to
decreased temperatures. This process can partially offset
global warming resulting from the increase of greenhouse
gases (Charlson et al., 1990). However, estimations of the
direct radiative force effect of aerosols are considerably
different from the warming effect of greenhouse gases
due to the spatiotemporal heterogeneous distribution of
global scale aerosols and from the diverse characteristics
of the radiation feature for different elements. In the past
decades, atmospheric aerosol may have partially counter-
acted the greenhouse effect resulted from the increase of
greenhouse gases; therefore, a cleaner atmosphere in the
future may result in higher global temperatures and faster
global temperature increase (Andreae et al., 2005), mak-
ing global warming even more severe.
Land use, land cover change, and numerous natural
and human factors may alter the concentration of atmos-
pheric dust aerosol and the frequency and intensity of
sand dust storms. By the direct radiative effect, the radia-
tion balance on Earth can be impacted by the variation of
atmospheric sand dust aerosol, which also impacts climate
change (Sokolik and Toon, 1996; Tegen et al., 1996).
Therefore, the effect of sand dust aerosol produced by
human activities on global climate change has aroused
increasingly more general concern. Because of its rapid
economic development in the past twenty years, East Asia
has become one of the major emission sources of hu-
man-emitted black carbon and sulphate aerosols in the
world (Han et al., 2008; Streets et al., 2001).
Some recent studies have indicated that black carbon,
following carbon dioxide, is an important atmospheric
component of the greenhouse effect (Cooke and Wilson,
1996; Jacobson, 2001; Koelmans et al., 2006), and China
is considered the top country emitting black carbon (Cao
et al., 2009; Streets et al., 2001; Zhang et al., 2009). Black
carbon can accelerate the trend of flooding in south China
and drought in the north (Menon et al., 2002). American
scientists have indicated that controlling black carbon
emission from China and southeast Asian countries is the
most effective way to decrease global climate warming
(Babu and Moorthy, 2002; Jacobson, 2002; Ramachan-
dran and Rajesh, 2007; Tripathi et al., 2005), which
157
places a burden on developing countries (such as China)
regarding diplomacy with respect of climate and the en-
vironment. Black carbon emission and its climate effects
will be one of the most important lines of investigation for
Chinese scientists.
3 The function of aerosol in the environment
Since the increase of urbanization, atmospheric parti-
cles have become one of the most important factors in-
fluencing urban air pollution. As global economic growth
increases, environmental pollution becomes increasingly
more serious. It is known that the physics, chemistry, and
optical characteristics of atmospheric aerosols are closely
related to homogeneous- and heterogeneous-phase chemi-
cal reactions, which result in a series of environment
problems, including air quality degradation, ozone layer
destruction, acid rain formation, and smoke-fog related
accidents. Aerosol particles are intuitive atmospheric trace
components that can be detected by the senses; they in-
terfere with the visual field and are harmful for the respi-
ratory systems of animals and mankind (Dockery et al.,
1993; Garshick et al., 2008; Ramon et al., 2006; Pope,
2000; Schichtel et al., 2001; Schwartz et al., 1996; Tsai et
al., 2003; Tsai and Cheng, 1999; Wilson and Suh, 1997).
Atmospheric aerosol pollution can be serious, and there
has been an increase of serious accidents resulting from
aerosol pollution (Dockery et al., 1993; Schichtel et al.,
2001). The aerosols in polluted urban air usually contain
many complex organic chemicals, such as volatile organic
compounds (VOCs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
(PAHs), fumigants, and agricultural chemicals (Cheng et
al., 2007; Bi et al., 2005; Fang et al., 2005; Hong et al.,
2007; De Kok et al., 2006; Miyazaki et al., 2009; Mastral
et al., 2003; Uchimiya et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2007;
Wingfors et al., 2001; Xie et al., 2009; Yassa et al., 2001).
These chemicals have specific physiological impacts on
human health. Therefore, aerosols are closely connected
to human existence.
With the high economic development in China, studies
show that particle pollution in Chinese cities has become
more serious (Chan and Yao, 2008; Han et al., 2008; He et
al., 2001; Ho et al., 2007; Hu et al., 2002; Sheesley et al.,
2003; Takegawa et al., 2009; Wei et al., 2009; Xiao and
Liu, 2004; Xu et al., 2002) especially inhalable particle
pollution. As mentioned in these studies, the particle con-
centrations in these cities are in an upward trend and
cover a large area. In 2003, more than half of the 113 ma-
jor Chinese cities had an air quality grade worse than the
Chinese air quality standard Π, and more than 90% of
which were inhalable particle pollution (www.zhb.gov.cn).
A major concern is that during particle pollution episodes
in Chinese cities, secondary aerosols contain highly toxic
organic and heavy metal contents (Lin et al., 2009; Wang
et al., 2005; Xiao et al., 2009; Zhang et al., 2009). The
emissions of aerosol and their photochemistry in
mega-cities, including the Pearl River Delta, the Yangtze
River Delta, and the cities in the Beijing-Tianjin area,
have been listed as an urgent topic of investigation by the
International Global Atmospheric Chemistry (IGAC)
158 ATMOSPHERIC AND OCEANIC SCIENCE LETTERS
Project (Kondo and Kim, 2003).
Dust is another important aerosol type impacting the
environment. Under the action of atmospheric circulation,
dust particles can be carried to densely populated areas
and oceans thousands of kilometers from the source, im-
pacting human living natural environment (Cheng et al.,
2008; Zhang et al., 2005). It is widely known that atmos-
pheric dust can neutralize acid rain and influence photo-
chemical oxidation and ocean environments (Jickells et al.,
2005).
4 The impact of aerosol on human health
With the development of the social economy and the
enhancement of living standards, many more people hope
to obtain higher living quality environment. Therefore,
investigating the impacts of aerosol on human health has
been a great concern of the medical science, public health,
and atmospheric science communities (Ramon et al., 2006;
Wei et al., 2009; Wilson and Suh, 1997).
The size of atmospheric aerosol particles is generally
within the range 103–102 m. Based on the particle size,
particles in the atmosphere can be divided into total sus-
pended particle (TSP, with the diameter D<100 m),
floating dust (D<30 m), PM10 (D<l0 m), and PM2.5 (D<
2.5 m). Among them, PM10 and PM2.5 are generally
called inhalable particles, which are the most threatening
to the atmospheric environment and human health.
Through respiration, people unavoidably breathe aerosol
particles. The stagnation and sedimentation of these parti-
cles in the different positions of the respiration system
depend on particle diameter. Generally speaking, the life-
time of a particle with a diameter greater than 10 m is
brief, so it is rarely breathed. Even if these particles pass
into the respiration tract, they are filtered by the nasal
cavity, the throat and mucous, or the cilia in upper part of
the trachea. For particle diameters less than 10 m, the
situation is just the opposite. PM2.5 can be deposited into
the pulmonary system, causing emphysema, and can even
enter the bloodstream. To a certain extent, most small
aerosol particles are moisture absorbent; they absorb at-
mospheric water vapor, forming condensation nuclei with
strong adsorption of harmful gases. Different metal pow-
ders emitted from smelt blast furnaces and 3,4-Benzyp-
yrene can cause cancer. Smaller particles correspond to a
larger particle surface area, making its chemical action in
the human body stronger, resulting in evident fibrosis of
the lung. Small particles in the atmosphere can also ad-
sorb onto microbes, which can easily cause infectious
diseases that can slowly cause blockage in the lungs and
degrade resistance to and immunity from diseases of the
human body, thus harming human health and children’s
lung development (Dockery et al., 1993; Huang et al.,
2003; Pope, 2000; Schwartz et al., 1996; Wilson and Suh,
1997). Some biological aerosols contain viruses, rickettsia,
chlamydia, bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, and bryophytes,
all of which are related to human diseases (Kanaani et al.,
2008).
The daily and annual mean values of the PM2.5 stan-
VOL. 5
dard, as defined by the U.S. Environment Protection
Agency (EPA) (2006) were 35 µg m3 and 15 µg m3,
respectively. In the same year, the daily and annual mean
values of the PM2.5 standard were 25 µg m3 and 10 µg
m3, respectively, as revised by the World Health Organi-
zation (WHO). In China, inhalable particles (PM10 and
smaller) were also defined as one of the important indexes
issued by the Chinese EPA in 1996. However, no PM2.5
standard has been issued until now, although the current
PM2.5 pollution is serious in China (He et al., 2001; Shen
et al., 2009; Wang et al., 2005; Wei et al., 2009; Zhang et
al., 2005). Previous studies show that PM2.5 not only
threatens human health, it is also the main obstacle to
achieving clean air. Therefore, investigating PM2.5 is im-
portant for climate study, environment air quality, and
human health.
It is indeed necessary to pay attention to pollution from
coal burning and vehicle emissions, but indoor air pollu-
tion cannot been ignored either (Guo et al., 2004; Lee et
al., 2006; Ohura et al., 2009; Zhang et al., 2002). Many
investigations have presented results indicating that in-
door air pollution, including chemical, biological, and
physical pollution, is even more serious than outdoor
pollution. Indoor pollution is mainly caused by human
activities. These aerosols are mostly chemical and bio-
logical pollutants. Investigations have indicated that in-
door heating by burning coal and indoor smoke is harmful
to the human respiratory system, especially that of chil-
dren (Jones, 1999; Schwarze et al., 2006). Building mate-
rials, indoor chemicals, furniture, office items, cooking,
heating, smoking, and outdoor atmospheric pollutants are
the main factors causing indoor pollution and impacting
the human living environment and human health (Borne-
hag et al., 2005; Li et al., 2005, 2009). Suspended parti-
cles in museums may carry harmful chemicals that can be
deposited or adsorbed onto museum pieces, which can be
chemically eroded, influencing the aesthetics of the mu-
seum piece or even damaging it. Therefore, investigating
air quality and the harmful effects of dust deposition on
museum pieces has become a hot topic of cultural heri-
tage study (De Bock et al., 1996; Nazaroff et al., 1990;
Oddy, 1994).
5 Summary
Because of the importance and uncertainty of the ef-
fects of aerosols on climate change, aerosol studies have
become a hot topic, drawing attention from scientists, the
public, and governments worldwide. Aerosol pollution in
China is serious; investigating aerosols, therefore, is ur-
gent. Due to its low vegetation coverage, large population,
and shortage of water resources, the general living envi-
ronment in China is fragile. Over the past few decades,
high frequency dust storm events coming from the north-
east of China have drawn the attention of scientists
worldwide. In addition, human activities (e.g., urbaniza-
tion and modernizations in vehicles, industry, and agri-
culture) have introduced serious air pollution to China,
and the high concentrations of particle pollutants and their
NO. 2 ZHANG ET AL.: THE ROLE OF AEROSOL IN CLIMATE CHANGE, THE ENVIRONMENT, AND HUMAN HEALTH
wide coverage area make the situation difficult to manage.
Currently, atmospheric aerosol concentrations of black
carbon and sulphate are extremely high in China. It is
anticipated that this poor environmental situation in China
will last for a long time, for which China will endure high
pressure from other governments to reduce aerosol emis-
sions. Besides impacting human health, aerosols can in-
duce harmful changes to the regional atmosphere and
climate.
Recently, aerosol-related investigations in China have
increased considerably, and these studies have obtained
good results. However, these studies still exhibit short-
comings regarding qualities such as depth of investigation,
creativity, data sharing, interdisciplinarity, and synthesis
of results. To ensure the sustainable development of the
social economy and to enhance people’s standard of living,
the Chinese government and scientists must pay more
attention to the aerosol problem and must put more effort
into studying the impacts of aerosol on climate change,
the environment, and human health.
Acknowledgements. This research is supported by the National
Basic Research Program of China (2012CB955303) and the Na-
tional Natural Science Foundation of China (41175131).
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