Synergistic Effect of Atmospheric Boundary Layer and Regional Transport on Aggravating Air Pollution in the Twain-Hu Basin: A Case Study
, Yongqing Bai 1,*, Tianliang Zhao 2, Yue Zhou 1, Xiaoyun Sun 2, Jiaping Xu 3, Wengang Zhang 1, Liang Leng 1 and Guirong Xu 1
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
My only suggestion is to include an analysis of statistical properties of the resulting time-series of Fig. 2 as well as of Fig. 5. This way these results can be compared with other 'snapshots' from the same region or from other locations given the proper assumptions.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer,
Thanks for your comment concerning our manuscript-remotesensing-1897360.
We appreciate very much your constructive suggestion on our manuscript. This suggestion is valuable and very helpful for improving our paper. We have studied suggestion carefully and have made. Revised portion are with the “Track Changes” in the supplemented file. Please find our point to point response to the reviewer’s comment as follows:
Responses to the reviewer 1
- My only suggestion is to include an analysis of statistical properties of the resulting time-series of Fig. 2 as well as of Fig. 5. This way these results can be compared with other “snapshots” from the same region or from other locations given the proper assumptions.]
Response 1: Thanks for the suggestion of reviewer. We have added the discussions as:
3.1.
The reverse changes of PM2.5 and CO and the high humidity condition in the formation stage indicate that the increase of PM2.5 concentration in this stage may be mainly affected by complex chemical processes. The synchronous change of PM2.5 and CO in the maintenance and dissipation stage indicates that PM2.5 pollution in those stages may be mainly affected by atmospheric transport or vertical mixing. Those are consistent with the conclusions of Zhang et al. (2015) [53].
3.2.
At the same time, it can be concluded that pollutants are uniformly mixed in the SBL, and the peak value of pollutants above the SBL can be judged as the pollution transport zone.
In summary, the vertical stratification characteristics of the atmosphere are obvious at stage I, and the vertical mixing of pollutants is uniform in the SBL. The high humidity condition caused by heavy near-surface fog contributed to the production of secondary PM2.5 components and the cumulative increase in surface PM2.5 concentrations, this conclusion was consistent with the study by Huang et al. (2016)[54] in Beijing. While the horizontal transport of atmospheric pollutants exists in the RL of 500–600 m.
Reviewer 2 Report
The manuscript must be improved as the methodology and results are not clearly presented.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
1) Lines 63-65: "...Due to the small size and portability of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), they can select different locations and heights for observations [25-26], breaking the limitations for traditional observation methods to a cer-tain extent...."
- UAV don't select different locations perse. If they did then need to add to the text how this was done (or point to it here)
2) Lines related to UAV data-significant issue: Reviewer is all for UAV use, assuming it is within local aviation authority regulations. Need to address a global community concern related to measurements from a UAV platform versus their counterparts on a more traditional platform at the same time and place. Please provide such a co-comparison. This will substantiate your findings and help the community at large..
3) Add a paragraph on Aviation Authority Regulations regarding use of UAV. Others across the globe using UAV/UAS are finding restrictions. Perhaps there are lessons to learn or more likely insights and info they can use.
4) How do these results compare to analyses for similar topography sites across the globe? Such might require a literature search back about 40 years to catch all similar topographic sites, but those likely also include similar measurements, minus the UAV. This would strengthen your results, help others, and strengthen your leadership in this field.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 4 Report
Review comments are attached in a separate file.
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
