scholarly journals Stable carbon isotopic compositions of total carbon, dicarboxylic acids and glyoxylic acid in the tropical Indian aerosols: Implications for sources and photochemical processing of organic aerosols

2011 ◽  
Vol 116 (D18) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandra Mouli Pavuluri ◽  
Kimitaka Kawamura ◽  
T. Swaminathan ◽  
Eri Tachibana
Keyword(s):  
Glyoxylic Acid ◽  
Organic Aerosols ◽  
Dicarboxylic Acids ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Stable Carbon ◽  
Isotopic Compositions ◽  
Carbon Isotopic ◽  
Photochemical Processing

scholarly journals Diurnal variations of organic molecular tracers and stable carbon isotopic compositions in atmospheric aerosols over Mt. Tai in North China Plain: an influence of biomass burning

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 9079-9124
Author(s):  
P. Q. Fu ◽  
K. Kawamura ◽  
J. Chen ◽  
J. Li ◽  
Y. L. Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
North China Plain ◽  
North China ◽  
Secondary Organic Aerosol ◽  
Organic Aerosol ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Stable Carbon ◽  
Isotopic Compositions ◽  
Carbon Isotopic

Abstract. Organic tracer compounds of tropospheric aerosols, as well as organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), and stable carbon isotope ratios (δ13C) of total carbon (TC) have been investigated for aerosol samples collected during early and late periods of Mount Tai eXperiment 2006 (MTX2006) field campaign in North China Plain. Total solvent extracts were investigated by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. More than 130 organic compounds were detected in the aerosol samples. They were grouped into twelve organic compound classes, including biomass burning tracers, biogenic primary sugars, biogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) tracers, and anthropogenic tracers such as phthalates, hopanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). In early June when the field burning activities of wheat straws in North China Plain were very active, the total identified organics (2090 ± 1170 ng m−3) were double those in late June (926 ± 574 ng m−3). All the compound classes were more abundant in early June than in late June, except phthalate esters, which were higher in late June. Levoglucosan (88–1210 ng m−3, 403 ng m−3) was found as the most abundant single compound in early June, while diisobutyl phthalate was the predominant species in late June. During the biomass-burning period in early June, the diurnal trends of most of the primary and secondary organic aerosol tracers were characterized by the concentration peaks observed at mid-night or in early morning, while in late June most of the organic species peaked in late afternoon. This suggests that smoke plumes from biomass burning can uplift the aerosol particulate matter to a certain altitude and then transported to and encountered the summit of Mt. Tai during nighttime. On the basis of the tracer-based method for the estimation of biomass-burning OC, fungal-spore OC and biogenic secondary organic carbon (SOC), we estimate that an average of 24% (up to 64%) of the OC in the Mt. Tai aerosols was due to biomass burning in early June, followed by the contribution of isoprene SOC (mean 4.3%). In contrast, isoprene SOC was the main contributor (6.6%) to OC, and only 3.0% of the OC was due to biomass burning in late June. In early June, δ13C of TC (−26.6‰ to −23.2‰, mean −25.0‰) were lower than those (−23.9‰ to −21.9‰, mean −22.9‰) in late June. In addition, a strong anti-correlation was found between levoglucosan and δ13C values. This study demonstrates that crop-residue burning activities can significantly enhance the organic aerosol loading and alter the organic molecular compositions and stable carbon isotopic compositions of aerosol particles in the troposphere over North China Plain.

scholarly journals Springtime carbon episodes at Gosan background site revealed by total carbon, stable carbon isotopic composition, and thermal characteristics of carbonaceous particles

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 13867-13910
Author(s):  
J. Jung ◽  
K. Kawamura
Keyword(s):  
Citric Acid ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Thermal Evolution ◽  
Carbon Isotopic Composition ◽  
Organic Aerosols ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Stable Carbon ◽  
Carbon Isotopic ◽  
Airborne Pollens

Abstract. In order to investigate the carbon episodes at Gosan background super-site (33.17° N, 126.10° E) in East Asia during spring of 2007 and 2008, total suspended particles (TSP) were collected and analyzed for particulate organic carbon, elemental carbon, total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), and stable carbon isotopic composition (δ13C) of TC. The carbon episodes at the Gosan site were categorized as long-range transported anthropogenic pollutant (LTP) from Asian continent, Asian dust (AD) accompanying with LTP, and local pollen episodes. The stable carbon isotopic composition of TC (δ13CTC) was found to be lowest during the pollen episodes (range: −26.2 ‰ to −23.5 ‰, avg.: −25.2 ± 0.9 ‰), followed by the LTP episodes (range: −23.5 ‰ to −23.0 ‰, avg.: −23.3 ± 0.3 ‰) and the AD episodes (range: −23.3 to −20.4 %, avg.: −21.8 ± 2.0 ‰). The δ13CTC of the airborne pollens (−28.0 ‰) collected at the Gosan site showed value similar to that of tangerine fruit (−28.1 ‰) produced from Jeju Island. Based on the carbon isotope mass balance equation and the TN and TC regression approach, we found that ∼40–45 % of TC in the TSP samples during the pollen episodes was attributed to airborne pollens from Japanese cedar trees planted around tangerine farms in Jeju Island. The δ13C of citric acid in the airborne pollens (−26.3 ‰) collected at the Gosan site was similar to that in tangerine fruit (−27.4 ‰). The negative correlation between the citric acid-carbon/TC ratios and δ13CTC were obtained during the pollen episodes. These results suggest that citric acid emitted from tangerine fruit may be adsorbed on the airborne pollens and then transported to the Gosan site. Based on the thermal evolution pattern of organic aerosols during the carbon episodes, we found that organic aerosols originated from East China are more volatile on heating and are more likely to form pyrolized organic carbon than the pollen-enriched organic aerosols and organic aerosols originated from Northeast China. Since thermal evolution patterns of organic aerosols are highly influenced by their molecular weight, they can be used as additional information on the formation of secondary organic aerosols during the long-range atmospheric transport and the source regions of organics.

scholarly journals Molecular distribution and stable carbon isotopic compositions of dicarboxylic acids and related SOA from biogenic sources in the summertime atmosphere of Mt. Tai in the North China Plain

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (20) ◽  
pp. 15069-15086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingjing Meng ◽  
Gehui Wang ◽  
Zhanfang Hou ◽  
Xiaodi Liu ◽  
Benjie Wei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Azelaic Acid ◽  
North China Plain ◽  
North China ◽  
Organic Aerosols ◽  
Dicarboxylic Acids ◽  
Stable Carbon ◽  
Δ13c Values ◽  
Carbon Isotopic ◽  
The North ◽  
The North China Plain

Abstract. Molecular distributions and stable carbon isotopic (δ13C values) compositions of dicarboxylic acids and related secondary organic aerosols (SOA) in PM2.5 aerosols collected on a day/night basis at the summit of Mt. Tai (1534 m a.s.l.) in the summer of 2016 were analyzed to investigate the sources and photochemical aging process of organic aerosols in the forested highland region of the North China Plain. The molecular distributions of dicarboxylic acids and related SOA are characterized by the dominance of oxalic acid (C2), followed by malonic (C3), succinic (C4) and azelaic (C9) acids. The concentration ratios of C2 ∕ C4, diacid-C ∕ OC and C2 ∕ total diacids are larger in the daytime than in the nighttime, suggesting that the daytime aerosols are more photochemically aged than those in the nighttime due to the higher temperature and stronger solar radiation. Both ratios of C2 ∕ C4 (R2>0.5) and C3 ∕ C4 (R2>0.5) correlated strongly with the ambient temperatures, indicating that SOA in the mountaintop atmosphere are mainly derived from the photochemical oxidation of local emissions rather than long-range transport. The mass ratios of azelaic acid to adipic acid (C9 ∕ C6), azelaic acid to phthalic aid (C9 ∕ Ph) and glyoxal to methylglyoxal (Gly ∕ mGly) and the strong linear correlations of major dicarboxylic acids and related SOA (i.e., C2, C3, C4, ωC2, Pyr, Gly and mGly) with biogenic precursors (SOA tracers derived from isoprene, α/β-pinene and β-caryophyllene) further suggest that aerosols in this region are mainly originated from biogenic sources (i.e., tree emissions). C2 concentrations correlated well with aerosol pH, indicating that particle acidity favors the organic acid formation. The stable carbon isotopic compositions (δ13C) of the dicarboxylic acids are higher in the daytime than in the nighttime, with the highest value (-16.5±1.9 ‰) found for C2 and the lowest value (-25.2±2.7 ‰) found for C9. An increase in δ13C values of C2 along with increases in C2 ∕ Gly and C2 ∕ mGly ratios was observed, largely due to the isotopic fractionation effect during the precursor oxidation process.

scholarly journals Springtime carbon emission episodes at the Gosan background site revealed by total carbon, stable carbon isotopic composition, and thermal characteristics of carbonaceous particles

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 10911-10928 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Jung ◽  
K. Kawamura
Keyword(s):  
Citric Acid ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Isotopic Composition ◽  
Thermal Evolution ◽  
Airborne Pollen ◽  
Carbon Isotopic Composition ◽  
Organic Aerosols ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Stable Carbon ◽  
Carbon Isotopic

Abstract. In order to investigate the emission of carbonaceous aerosols at the Gosan background super-site (33.17° N, 126.10° E) in East Asia, total suspended particles (TSP) were collected during spring of 2007 and 2008 and analyzed for particulate organic carbon, elemental carbon, total carbon (TC), total nitrogen (TN), and stable carbon isotopic composition (δ13C) of TC. The stable carbon isotopic composition of TC (δ13CTC) was found to be lowest during pollen emission episodes (range: −26.2‰ to −23.5‰, avg. −25.2 ± 0.9‰), approaching those of the airborne pollen (−28.0‰) collected at the Gosan site. Based on a carbon isotope mass balance equation, we found that ~42% of TC in the TSP samples during the pollen episodes was attributed to airborne pollen from Japanese cedar trees planted around tangerine farms in Jeju Island. A negative correlation between the citric acid-carbon/TC ratios and δ13CTC was obtained during the pollen episodes. These results suggest that citric acid emitted from tangerine fruit may be adsorbed on the airborne pollen and then transported to the Gosan site. Thermal evolution patterns of organic carbon during the pollen episodes were characterized by high OC evolution in the OC2 temperature step (450 °C). Since thermal evolution patterns of organic aerosols are highly influenced by their molecular weight, they can be used as additional information on the formation of secondary organic aerosols and the effect of aging of organic aerosols during the long-range atmospheric transport and sources of organic aerosols.

scholarly journals Molecular distribution and stable carbon isotopic compositions of dicarboxylic acids and related SOA from biogenic sources in the summertime atmosphere of Mt. Tai in the North China Plain

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingjing Meng ◽  
Gehui Wang ◽  
Zhanfang Hou ◽  
Xiaodi Liu ◽  
Benjie Wei ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North China Plain ◽  
North China ◽  
Isotopic Fractionation ◽  
Dicarboxylic Acids ◽  
Photochemical Oxidation ◽  
Photochemical Degradation ◽  
Stable Carbon ◽  
Δ13c Values ◽  
Isotopic Compositions ◽  
Carbon Isotopic

Abstract. Abstract: Molecular distributions and stable carbon isotopic (δ13C values) compositions of dicarboxylic acids and related SOA in PM2.5 aerosols collected on a day/night basis at the summit of Mt. Tai (1534 m  a.s.l.) in the summer of 2016 were analyzed to investigate the sources and photochemical aging process of organic aerosols in the forested highland region of North China Plain. The molecular distributions of dicarboxylic acids and related SOA are characterized by the dominance of oxalic acid (C2), followed by malonic (C3), succinic (C4) and azelaic (C9) acids. The concentration ratios of C2/C4, diacid-C/OC and C2/total diacids are larger in daytime than in nighttime, suggesting that the daytime aerosols are more photochemically aged than those in nighttime due to the higher temperatures and stronger solar radiation. Both ratios of C2/C4 (R2 > 0.5) and C3/C4 (R2 > 0.5) correlated strongly with the ambient temperature, indicating that SOA in the mountaintop atmosphere are mainly derived from the photochemical oxidation of local emissions rather than long-range transport. The mass ratios of C9/C6, C9/Ph, Gly/mGly and the strong linear correlation of major dicarboxylic acids and related SOA with biogenic precursors further suggest that aerosols in this region are mainly originated from biogenic sources (i.e., tree emissions). C2 concentrations correlated well with aerosol pH, indicating that particle acidity favors the organic acid formation. The stable carbon isotopic compositions (δ13C) of the dicarboxylic acids are higher in daytime than in nighttime with the highest value (−16.5 ± 1.9 ‰) found for C2 and the lowest value (−25.2 ± 2.7 ‰) found for C9. An increase in δ13C values of C2 along with increases in C2/Gly and C2/mGly ratios was observed, largely due to the isotopic fractionation during photochemical degradation of the precursors.

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