Erratum to: Characterization of carbonaceous aerosols at Mount Lu in South China: implication for secondary organic carbon formation and long-range transport

Abstract. A major fraction of fine particle matter consists of organic carbon (OC) but its origin is still inadequately known. In this study the sources of OC were investigated in the northern European urban environment in Helsinki, Finland. Measurements were carried out over one year and they included both filter (PM1) and online methods. From the filter samples OC, elemental carbon (EC), water-soluble OC (WSOC), levoglucosan and major ions were analyzed. Filter data together with the concentrations of inorganic gases were analyzed by Positive matrix factorization (PMF) in order to find the sources of OC (and WSOC) on an annual as well as on a seasonal basis. In order to study the diurnal variation of sources, OC and EC were measured by a semicontinuous OC/EC analyzer and major ions were determined by a Particle-into-Liquid Sampler coupled to ion chromatographs. According to PMF, OC concentrations were impacted by four sources: biomass combustion, traffic, long-range transport and secondary production. On an annual basis the OC concentration was dominated by secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Its contribution to OC was as high as 64% in summer, which besides anthropogenic sources may also result from the large biogenic volatile organic carbon (VOC) emissions in the boreal region. In winter biomass combustion constituted the largest fraction in OC due to domestic wood combustion for heating purposes. Traffic contributed to OC from 15 to 27%. Regarding the diurnal variation, the contribution from traffic was higher from 08:00 to 18:00 on weekdays than on weekends. The contribution from long-range transport to OC was 24% on average. All four sources also influenced the WSOC concentrations, however, the contribution of SOA was significantly larger for WSOC than OC.

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Long-term measurements of carbonaceous aerosols in the Eastern Mediterranean: evidence of long-range transport of biomass burning

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ◽

10.5194/acp-8-5551-2008 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 8 (18) ◽

pp. 5551-5563 ◽

Cited By ~ 126

Author(s):

J. Sciare ◽

K. Oikonomou ◽

O. Favez ◽

E. Liakakou ◽

Z. Markaki ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Long Range ◽

Biomass Burning ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Long Range Transport ◽

Crete Island ◽

Yearly Average ◽

Range Transport

Abstract. Long-term (5-year) measurements of Elemental Carbon (EC) and Organic Carbon (OC) in bulk aerosols are presented here for the first time in the Mediterranean Basin (Crete Island). A multi-analytical approach (including thermal, optical, and thermo-optical techniques) was applied for these EC and OC measurements. Light absorbing dust aerosols were shown to poorly contribute (+12% on a yearly average) to light absorption coefficient (babs) measurements performed by an optical method (aethalometer). Long-range transport of agricultural waste burning from European countries surrounding the Black Sea was shown for each year during two periods (March–April and July–September). The contribution of biomass burning to the concentrations of EC and OC was shown to be rather small (20 and 14%, respectively, on a yearly basis), although this contribution could be much higher on a monthly basis and showed important seasonal and interannual variability. By removing the biomass burning influence, our data revealed an important seasonal variation of OC, with an increase by almost a factor of two for the spring months of May and June, whereas BC was found to be quite stable throughout the year. Preliminary measurements of Water Soluble Organic Carbon (WSOC) have shown that the monthly mean WSOC/OC ratio remains stable throughout the year (0.45±0.12), suggesting that the partitioning between water soluble and water insoluble organic matter is not significantly affected by biomass burning and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. A chemical mass closure performed in the fine mode (Aerodynamic Diameter, A.D.<1.5μm) showed that the mass contribution of organic matter (POM) was found to be essentially invariable during the year (monthly average of 26±5%).

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Long-term measurements of carbonaceous aerosols in the eastern Mediterranean: evidence of long-range transport of biomass burning

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-8-6949-2008 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 6949-6982 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

J. Sciare ◽

K. Oikonomou ◽

O. Favez ◽

Z. Markaki ◽

E. Liakakou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Organic Matter ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Long Range ◽

Biomass Burning ◽

Water Soluble ◽

Long Range Transport ◽

Crete Island ◽

Yearly Average ◽

Range Transport

Abstract. Long-term (5-yr) measurements of Black Carbon (BC) and Organic Carbon (OC) in bulk aerosols are presented here for the first time in the Mediterranean Basin (Crete Island). A multi-analytical approach (including thermal, optical, and thermo-optical techniques) was applied for these BC and OC measurements. Light absorbing dust aerosols have shown to poorly contribute (+17% on a yearly average) to light absorption coefficient (babs) measurements performed by an optical method (aethalometer). Long-range transport of agricultural waste burning from European countries surrounding the Black Sea was shown for each year during two periods (March–April and July–September). The contribution of biomass burning to the concentrations of BC and OC has shown to be rather small (20 and 14%, respectively, on a yearly basis), although this contribution could be much higher on a monthly basis and is expected a high intra and inter annual variability. By removing the biomass burning influence, our data revealed an important seasonal variation of OC, with an increase by almost a factor of two for the Spring months of May and June, whereas BC was found to be quite stable throughout the year. Preliminary measurements of Water Soluble Organic Carbon (WSOC) have shown that the monthly mean WSOC/OC ratio remains stable throughout the year (0.45±0.12), suggesting that the partitioning between water soluble and water insoluble organic matter is not significantly affected by biomass burning and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. A chemical mass closure performed in the fine mode (Aerodynamic Diameter, A.D.<1.5 μm) showed that the mass contribution of organic matter (POM) was found to be essentially invariable during the year (monthly average of 26±5%).

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