Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of tropical atmospheric aerosols: sources and contribution from burning of C3 and C4 plants to organic aerosols
In this paper, we report for the first time the δ13C and δ15N data for PM2.5 and PM10 aerosols collected in Tanzania during May–August 2011 together with total carbon (TC) and nitrogen (TN) contents. Mean TC concentrations were 6.5±2.1 µg m−3 in PM2.5 and 9.2±3.5 µg m−3 in PM10. δ13C of TC ranged fr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Stockholm University Press
2014-01-01
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| Series: | Tellus: Series B, Chemical and Physical Meteorology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.tellusb.net/index.php/tellusb/article/download/20176/pdf_1 |
| _version_ | 1818545106024660992 |
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| author | Stelyus L. Mkoma Kimitaka Kawamura Eri Tachibana Pingqing Fu |
| author_facet | Stelyus L. Mkoma Kimitaka Kawamura Eri Tachibana Pingqing Fu |
| author_sort | Stelyus L. Mkoma |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this paper, we report for the first time the δ13C and δ15N data for PM2.5 and PM10 aerosols collected in Tanzania during May–August 2011 together with total carbon (TC) and nitrogen (TN) contents. Mean TC concentrations were 6.5±2.1 µg m−3 in PM2.5 and 9.2±3.5 µg m−3 in PM10. δ13C of TC ranged from −26.1 to −20.6‰ with a mean of −23.6‰ in PM2.5 and from −24.4 to −22.4‰ with a mean of −23.6‰ in PM10. We found substantially greater δ13C values in PM2.5 samples during dry season as well as strong positive correlation between levoglucosan (and nss-K+) and TC in PM2.5. These results suggest a significant contribution from burning of C4 plants to fine organic aerosol formation. TN contents showed a mean of 0.7±0.3 µg m−3 in PM2.5 and 0.8±0.2 µg m−3 in PM10. δ15N ranged from +13.4 to +22.1‰ with a mean of +16.2±2.7‰ in PM2.5 and +10.4 to +18.7‰ with a mean of +13.7±2.2‰ in PM10. δ15N showed higher ratios in fine particles than coarse particles in both wet and dry season. The relatively high δ15N values suggest isotopic enrichment of 15N in aerosols via exchange reaction between NH3 (gas) and NH4+ (particle). We found a strong correlation between TN and NH4+(r2=0.94 in PM2.5 and r2=0.86 in PM10) and NO3- (r 2=0.48 in PM2.5 and r2=0.55 in PM10). We also found that organic nitrogen is less significant than inorganic nitrogen in the Morogoro aerosols. Based on stable carbon isotopic composition, contributions of burning C3 plants to TC were estimated to range from 42 to 74% in PM2.5 and from 39 to 64% in PM10, whereas those of C4 ranged from 26 to 58% in PM2.5 and from 36 to 61% in PM10. These results suggest that burning activities of C3 and C4 plants contribute to organic aerosol formation in Tanzania. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T22:57:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-85fa853aef95499e9fba6e5cb3e6a053 |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T22:57:11Z |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
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| series | Tellus: Series B, Chemical and Physical Meteorology |
| spelling | doaj.art-85fa853aef95499e9fba6e5cb3e6a0532022-12-22T00:47:12ZengStockholm University PressTellus: Series B, Chemical and Physical Meteorology1600-08892014-01-0166011410.3402/tellusb.v66.2017620176Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of tropical atmospheric aerosols: sources and contribution from burning of C3 and C4 plants to organic aerosolsStelyus L. Mkoma0Kimitaka Kawamura1Eri Tachibana2Pingqing Fu3 Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, N19 W08, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0819, Japan Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, N19 W08, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0819, Japan Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, N19 W08, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0819, Japan Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, N19 W08, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-0819, JapanIn this paper, we report for the first time the δ13C and δ15N data for PM2.5 and PM10 aerosols collected in Tanzania during May–August 2011 together with total carbon (TC) and nitrogen (TN) contents. Mean TC concentrations were 6.5±2.1 µg m−3 in PM2.5 and 9.2±3.5 µg m−3 in PM10. δ13C of TC ranged from −26.1 to −20.6‰ with a mean of −23.6‰ in PM2.5 and from −24.4 to −22.4‰ with a mean of −23.6‰ in PM10. We found substantially greater δ13C values in PM2.5 samples during dry season as well as strong positive correlation between levoglucosan (and nss-K+) and TC in PM2.5. These results suggest a significant contribution from burning of C4 plants to fine organic aerosol formation. TN contents showed a mean of 0.7±0.3 µg m−3 in PM2.5 and 0.8±0.2 µg m−3 in PM10. δ15N ranged from +13.4 to +22.1‰ with a mean of +16.2±2.7‰ in PM2.5 and +10.4 to +18.7‰ with a mean of +13.7±2.2‰ in PM10. δ15N showed higher ratios in fine particles than coarse particles in both wet and dry season. The relatively high δ15N values suggest isotopic enrichment of 15N in aerosols via exchange reaction between NH3 (gas) and NH4+ (particle). We found a strong correlation between TN and NH4+(r2=0.94 in PM2.5 and r2=0.86 in PM10) and NO3- (r 2=0.48 in PM2.5 and r2=0.55 in PM10). We also found that organic nitrogen is less significant than inorganic nitrogen in the Morogoro aerosols. Based on stable carbon isotopic composition, contributions of burning C3 plants to TC were estimated to range from 42 to 74% in PM2.5 and from 39 to 64% in PM10, whereas those of C4 ranged from 26 to 58% in PM2.5 and from 36 to 61% in PM10. These results suggest that burning activities of C3 and C4 plants contribute to organic aerosol formation in Tanzania.www.tellusb.net/index.php/tellusb/article/download/20176/pdf_1PM2.5 and PM10aerosolsisotopic composition of total carbon and nitrogenC3 and C4 plantsTanzania |
| spellingShingle | Stelyus L. Mkoma Kimitaka Kawamura Eri Tachibana Pingqing Fu Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of tropical atmospheric aerosols: sources and contribution from burning of C3 and C4 plants to organic aerosols Tellus: Series B, Chemical and Physical Meteorology PM2.5 and PM10 aerosols isotopic composition of total carbon and nitrogen C3 and C4 plants Tanzania |
| title | Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of tropical atmospheric aerosols: sources and contribution from burning of C3 and C4 plants to organic aerosols |
| title_full | Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of tropical atmospheric aerosols: sources and contribution from burning of C3 and C4 plants to organic aerosols |
| title_fullStr | Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of tropical atmospheric aerosols: sources and contribution from burning of C3 and C4 plants to organic aerosols |
| title_full_unstemmed | Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of tropical atmospheric aerosols: sources and contribution from burning of C3 and C4 plants to organic aerosols |
| title_short | Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of tropical atmospheric aerosols: sources and contribution from burning of C3 and C4 plants to organic aerosols |
| title_sort | stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic compositions of tropical atmospheric aerosols sources and contribution from burning of c3 and c4 plants to organic aerosols |
| topic | PM2.5 and PM10 aerosols isotopic composition of total carbon and nitrogen C3 and C4 plants Tanzania |
| url | http://www.tellusb.net/index.php/tellusb/article/download/20176/pdf_1 |
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