Processing of biomass-burning aerosol in the eastern Mediterranean during summertime
The aerosol chemical composition in air masses affected by wildfires from the Greek islands of Chios, Euboea and Andros, the Dalmatian Coast and Sicily, during late summer of 2012 was characterized at the remote background site of Finokalia, Crete. Air masses were transported several hundreds of kil...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2014-05-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
| Online Access: | http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/14/4793/2014/acp-14-4793-2014.pdf |
| Summary: | The aerosol chemical composition in air masses affected by wildfires from
the Greek islands of Chios, Euboea and Andros, the Dalmatian Coast and
Sicily, during late summer of 2012 was characterized at the remote
background site of Finokalia, Crete. Air masses were transported several
hundreds of kilometers, arriving at the measurement station after
approximately half a day of transport, mostly during nighttime. The
chemical composition of the particulate matter was studied by different high-temporal-resolution
instruments, including an aerosol chemical speciation
monitor (ACSM) and a seven-wavelength aethalometer. Despite the large
distance from emission and long atmospheric processing, a clear biomass-burning organic
aerosol (BBOA) profile containing characteristic markers is
derived from BC (black carbon) measurements and positive matrix factorization (PMF)
analysis of the ACSM organic mass spectra. The ratio of fresh to aged BBOA
decreases with increasing atmospheric processing time and BBOA components
appear to be converted to oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA). Given that the
smoke was mainly transported overnight, it appears that the processing can
take place in the dark. These results show that a significant fraction of
the BBOA loses its characteristic AMS (aerosol mass
spectrometry) signature and is transformed to OOA in
less than a day. This implies that biomass burning can contribute almost
half of the organic aerosol mass in the area during periods with significant
fire influence. |
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| ISSN: | 1680-7316 1680-7324 |