Extremely high fine particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration has become synonymous to Beijing, the capital of China, posing critical challenges to its sustainable development and leading to major public health concerns. In order to formulate mitigation measures and policies, knowledge on PM2.5 variation patterns should be obtained. While previous studies are limited either because of availability of data, or because of problematic a priori assumptions that PM2.5 concentration follows subjective seasonal, monthly, or weekly patterns, our study aims to let data show themselves on a daily basis through visualization rather than imposing subjective periodic patterns upon the data. To achieve this, we conduct a time-series cluster analysis on full-year PM2.5 data in Beijing in 2014, and provide an innovative calendar visualization of PM2.5 measurements throughout the year. Insights from the analysis on temporal variation of PM2.5 concentration show that there are three diurnal patterns and no weekly patterns; seasonal patterns exist but they do not follow a strict temporal division. These findings advance current understanding on temporal patterns in PM2.5 data and offer a different perspective which can help with policy formulation on PM2.5 mitigation.
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Relevant Papers
Jianzheng Liu, Jie Li, Weifeng Li. 2016. Temporal Patterns in Fine Particulate Matter Time Series in Beijing: A Calendar View. Scientific Report. doi: 10.1038/srep32221.
PDF Slides Shortlisted for RTPI Early Career Research Award
Presentations
- 2017. Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, Boston, MA, USA, April 5-9. Presentation title: Temporal Patterns in Fine Particulate Matter Time Series in Beijing: A Calendar Views.
- 2016. RGS-IBG Annual International Conference 2016, London, UK, 30 August – 2 September 2016. Presentation title: Temporal Patterns in Fine Particulate Matter Time Series in Beijing: A Calendar Views.
- 2016. The 10th International Association for China Planning (IACP) Conference, organized by IACP and Peking University, Beijing, China, June 30-July 3, 2016. Presentation title: Temporal Patterns in Fine Particulate Matter Time Series in Beijing: A Calendar Views.
- 2016. The 15th Academic Conference for Postgraduate Students in Construction Management & Real Estate, Hong Kong, June 22. Presentation title: Temporal Patterns in Fine Particulate Matter Time Series in Beijing: A Calendar Views.
Best Presentation Award - 2016. International Conference on Geographies of Health and Living in Cities: Making Cities Healthy for All, organized by Department of Geography at The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China, June 21-24, 2016. Presentation title: Temporal Patterns in Fine Particulate Matter Time Series in Beijing: A Calendar Views.