Characterization of submicron aerosols influenced by biomass burning at a site in the Sichuan Basin, southwestern China
Severe air pollution in Asia is often the consequence of a combination of large anthropogenic emissions and adverse synoptic conditions. However, limited studies on aerosols have been conducted under high emission intensity and under unique geographical and meteorological conditions. In this stu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2016-10-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| Online Access: | https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/16/13213/2016/acp-16-13213-2016.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811265583335866368 |
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| author | W. Hu W. Hu M. Hu W.-W. Hu W.-W. Hu H. Niu H. Niu J. Zheng Y. Wu W. Chen C. Chen L. Li M. Shao S. Xie Y. Zhang |
| author_facet | W. Hu W. Hu M. Hu W.-W. Hu W.-W. Hu H. Niu H. Niu J. Zheng Y. Wu W. Chen C. Chen L. Li M. Shao S. Xie Y. Zhang |
| author_sort | W. Hu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Severe air pollution in Asia is often the consequence of a
combination of large anthropogenic emissions and adverse synoptic
conditions. However, limited studies on aerosols have been conducted under
high emission intensity and under unique geographical and meteorological
conditions. In this study, an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight
aerosol mass spectrometry (HR-ToF-AMS) and other state-of-the-art
instruments were utilized at a suburban site, Ziyang, in the Sichuan Basin
during December 2012 to January 2013. The chemical compositions of
atmospheric submicron aerosols (PM<sub>1</sub>) were determined, the sources of
organic aerosols (OA) were apportioned, and the aerosol secondary formation
and aging process were explored as well. Due to high humidity and static
air, PM<sub>1</sub> maintained a relatively stable level during the whole
campaign, with the mean concentration of 59.7 ± 24.1 µg m<sup>−3</sup>.
OA was the most abundant component (36 %) in PM<sub>1</sub>, characterized by a
relatively high oxidation state. Positive matrix factorization analysis was
applied to the high-resolution organic mass spectral matrix, which
deconvolved OA mass spectra into four factors: low-volatility (LV-OOA) and
semivolatile oxygenated OA (SV-OOA), biomass burning (BBOA) and
hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA). OOA (sum of LV-OOA and SV-OOA) dominated OA as
high as 71 %. In total, secondary inorganic and organic formation
contributed 76 % of PM<sub>1</sub>. Secondary inorganic species correlated well
(Pearson <i>r</i> = 0.415–0.555, <i>p</i> < 0.01) with relative humidity
(RH), suggesting the humid air can favor the formation of secondary
inorganic aerosols. As the photochemical age of OA increased with higher
oxidation state, secondary organic aerosol formation contributed more to OA.
The slope of OOA against O<sub><i>x</i></sub>( = O<sub>3</sub>+NO<sub>2</sub>) steepened with
the increase of RH, implying that, besides the photochemical transformation,
the aqueous-phase oxidation was also an important pathway of the OOA
formation. Primary emissions, especially biomass burning, resulted in high
concentration and proportion of black carbon (BC) in PM<sub>1</sub>. During the
episode obviously influenced by primary emissions, the contributions of BBOA
to OA (26 %) and PM<sub>1</sub> (11 %) were much higher than those
(10–17 %, 4–7 %) in the clean and other polluted episodes,
highlighting the significant influence of biomass burning. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T20:26:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d872e0082036425d8c0182a60c3ce9e3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1680-7316 1680-7324 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T20:26:26Z |
| publishDate | 2016-10-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-d872e0082036425d8c0182a60c3ce9e32022-12-22T03:17:52ZengCopernicus PublicationsAtmospheric Chemistry and Physics1680-73161680-73242016-10-0116132131323010.5194/acp-16-13213-2016Characterization of submicron aerosols influenced by biomass burning at a site in the Sichuan Basin, southwestern ChinaW. Hu0W. Hu1M. Hu2W.-W. Hu3W.-W. Hu4H. Niu5H. Niu6J. Zheng7Y. Wu8W. Chen9C. Chen10L. Li11M. Shao12S. Xie13Y. Zhang14State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, Chinanow at: Graduate School of Environmental and Symbiotic Sciences, Prefectural University of Kumamoto, Kumamoto 862-8502, JapanState Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaState Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, Chinanow at: Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USAState Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, Chinanow at: Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center of Coal Exploitation, Hebei University of Engineering, Handan 056038, Hebei, ChinaState Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaState Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaState Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaState Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaState Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaState Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaState Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaState Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, ChinaSevere air pollution in Asia is often the consequence of a combination of large anthropogenic emissions and adverse synoptic conditions. However, limited studies on aerosols have been conducted under high emission intensity and under unique geographical and meteorological conditions. In this study, an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometry (HR-ToF-AMS) and other state-of-the-art instruments were utilized at a suburban site, Ziyang, in the Sichuan Basin during December 2012 to January 2013. The chemical compositions of atmospheric submicron aerosols (PM<sub>1</sub>) were determined, the sources of organic aerosols (OA) were apportioned, and the aerosol secondary formation and aging process were explored as well. Due to high humidity and static air, PM<sub>1</sub> maintained a relatively stable level during the whole campaign, with the mean concentration of 59.7 ± 24.1 µg m<sup>−3</sup>. OA was the most abundant component (36 %) in PM<sub>1</sub>, characterized by a relatively high oxidation state. Positive matrix factorization analysis was applied to the high-resolution organic mass spectral matrix, which deconvolved OA mass spectra into four factors: low-volatility (LV-OOA) and semivolatile oxygenated OA (SV-OOA), biomass burning (BBOA) and hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA). OOA (sum of LV-OOA and SV-OOA) dominated OA as high as 71 %. In total, secondary inorganic and organic formation contributed 76 % of PM<sub>1</sub>. Secondary inorganic species correlated well (Pearson <i>r</i> = 0.415–0.555, <i>p</i> < 0.01) with relative humidity (RH), suggesting the humid air can favor the formation of secondary inorganic aerosols. As the photochemical age of OA increased with higher oxidation state, secondary organic aerosol formation contributed more to OA. The slope of OOA against O<sub><i>x</i></sub>( = O<sub>3</sub>+NO<sub>2</sub>) steepened with the increase of RH, implying that, besides the photochemical transformation, the aqueous-phase oxidation was also an important pathway of the OOA formation. Primary emissions, especially biomass burning, resulted in high concentration and proportion of black carbon (BC) in PM<sub>1</sub>. During the episode obviously influenced by primary emissions, the contributions of BBOA to OA (26 %) and PM<sub>1</sub> (11 %) were much higher than those (10–17 %, 4–7 %) in the clean and other polluted episodes, highlighting the significant influence of biomass burning.https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/16/13213/2016/acp-16-13213-2016.pdf |
| spellingShingle | W. Hu W. Hu M. Hu W.-W. Hu W.-W. Hu H. Niu H. Niu J. Zheng Y. Wu W. Chen C. Chen L. Li M. Shao S. Xie Y. Zhang Characterization of submicron aerosols influenced by biomass burning at a site in the Sichuan Basin, southwestern China Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| title | Characterization of submicron aerosols influenced by biomass burning at a
site in the Sichuan Basin, southwestern China |
| title_full | Characterization of submicron aerosols influenced by biomass burning at a
site in the Sichuan Basin, southwestern China |
| title_fullStr | Characterization of submicron aerosols influenced by biomass burning at a
site in the Sichuan Basin, southwestern China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Characterization of submicron aerosols influenced by biomass burning at a
site in the Sichuan Basin, southwestern China |
| title_short | Characterization of submicron aerosols influenced by biomass burning at a
site in the Sichuan Basin, southwestern China |
| title_sort | characterization of submicron aerosols influenced by biomass burning at a site in the sichuan basin southwestern china |
| url | https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/16/13213/2016/acp-16-13213-2016.pdf |
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