First Measurements of Carbonaceous Aerosol across Urban, Rural and Residential Areas in Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia
Concentrations of black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC), and total suspended particulate matter (TSP) were simultaneously assessed in urban, rural and residential areas in Jeddah city for one year from January to December 2017. It was aimed in the present study to provide information about the s...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5572/ajae.2021.021 |
| Summary: | Concentrations of black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC), and total suspended
particulate matter (TSP) were simultaneously assessed in urban, rural and residential
areas in Jeddah city for one year from January to December 2017. It was aimed in
the present study to provide information about the spatial and seasonal variability of
these aerosol species in Jeddah, and insight into sources, processes and effects of meteorological
conditions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investigating
the variability of carbonaceous aerosols (OC and BC) in Saudi Arabia. The average concentrations
of OC, BC, and TSP varied spatially and temporally. The annual average concentrations
of OC, BC, and TSP were 134.05, 7.16, and 569.41 μg m-3 and 34.32, 5.14, and
240.64 μg m-3 and 10.67, 4.39 and 101.31 μg m-3 in the urban, residential and rural areas,
respectively. Moreover, there was a clear seasonal variation in the concentration of carbonaceous
aerosols; the highest concentrations were recorded in February and September,
while the lowest concentrations of OC were recorded during April, May and August
in the urban, residential and rural sites, respectively. Nevertheless, the lowest concentrations
of BC were recorded during March in the urban and residential sites and during
November in the rural site. The relative concentrations of OC and BC to the TSP were relatively
high, and they have a significant correlation with prevalent wind speed (-0.636,
and -0.581 in the urban area), (-0.539 and -0.511 in the residential area), and (-0.508
and -0.501 in the rural area), respectively. The marked differences in the concentrations
of BC and OC were reflected on OC/BC ratio, which is a good representative of different
source types. This preliminary study showed that the potential local sources were emissions
from traffic (fossil fuel), biomass burning, anthropogenic activities (e.g. car drifting
and outdoor cooking), and industrial activities. The present study suggest the presence
of highly inefficient combustion sources and highlight the need for the regulation of
such emissions. |
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| ISSN: | 1976-6912 2287-1160 |