Atmospheric Measurement

Since 2004, the Harvard-China Project and the School of Environment at Tsinghua University have operated a permanent atmospheric observatory at Miyun, north of Beijing, to collect independent data for use in the Project's atmospheric research. The researchers also often analyze observations from satellite-based instruments.

In 2018, the collaborating team led by J. William Munger (Harvard) and WANG Shuxiao (Tsinghua) opened a second observatory south of Beijing, at Dashiwo. The stations make continuous observations of key trace gases, including carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O₃), sulfur dioxide (SO₂), and oxides of nitrogen (NO/NO_y). The stations are sited in rural areas outside of Beijing, to distance them from the influence of individual sources and to measure a variety of conditions as local meteorology shifts, from relatively clean background air to polluted urban plumes.

The Harvard-China Project's atmospheric research is committed to observationally validated, fundamental research on the physical and chemical dimensions of China’s atmospheric environment and the emissions that influence it, at local, regional, and global scales. Complementing the observational research listed here, it includes modeling research and both bottom-up and top-down emissions research.