scholarly journals Anthropogenic and natural constituents in particulate matter in the Netherlands

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 26513-26549 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. P. Weijers ◽  
M. Schaap ◽  
L. Nguyen ◽  
J. Matthijsen ◽  
H. A. C. Denier van der Gon ◽  
...  

Abstract. To develop mitigation strategies for reducing concentrations of both PM2.5 (and PM10), the origin of particulate matter (PM) needs to be established. An intensive, one-year measurement campaign from August 2007 to August 2008 was carried out to determine the composition of PM10 and PM2.5 at five locations in the Netherlands, aiming at reducing the uncertainties on the origin of PM. Generally, a considerable conformity in the chemical composition of PM2.5 (and PM10) was observed. From all the constituents present in PM2.5, the secondary inorganic aerosol is the most dominant (42–48%), followed by total carbonaceous matter (22–37%). Contributions due to sea salt (maximum 8%), mineral dust and metals (maximum 5%) are relatively low. For the first time, a detailed overview can be presented of the composition of the coarse fraction. Compared to the fine fraction, contributions of the sea salt, mineral dust and metals are now larger resulting in a more balanced distribution between the various constituents. Through mass closure a considerable part of the PM mass could be defined (PM2.5: 80–94%). The chemical distribution on days with high PM levels showed a distinct increase of nitrate as well as in the mass not accounted for. Contributions of the remaining constituents remained equal of were lower (sea salt) when expressed in percentages. A correspondence between nitrate and the unknown mass was observed hinting at the presence of water on the filters. The contribution from natural sources in the Netherlands was estimated to be about 25% for PM10 and 20% for PM2.5.

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2281-2294 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. P. Weijers ◽  
M. Schaap ◽  
L. Nguyen ◽  
J. Matthijsen ◽  
H. A. C. Denier van der Gon ◽  
...  

Abstract. To develop mitigation strategies for reducing concentrations of both PM2.5 and PM10, the origin of particulate matter (PM) needs to be established. An intensive, one-year measurement campaign from August 2007 to August 2008 was carried out to determine the composition of PM10 and PM2.5 at five locations in the Netherlands, aiming at reducing the uncertainties on the origin of PM. Generally, a considerable conformity in the chemical composition of PM2.5 (and PM10) is observed. From all constituents present in PM2.5, the secondary inorganic aerosol is the most dominant (42–48%), followed by the total carbonaceous matter (22–37%). Contributions from sea salt (maximum 8%), mineral dust and metals (maximum 5%) are relatively low. For the first time, a detailed overview of the composition of the coarse fraction can be presented. Compared to the fine fraction, contributions of sea salt, mineral dust and metals are larger resulting in a more balanced distribution between the various constituents. Through mass closure a considerable part of the PM mass could be defined (PM2.5: 80–94%). The chemical distribution on days with high PM levels shows a distinct increase in nitrate as well as in the unaccounted mass. Contributions of the other constituents remain equal or are lower (sea salt) when expressed in percentages. A correspondence between nitrate and the unaccounted mass is observed hinting at the presence of water on the filters. The contribution from natural sources in the Netherlands (at a rural station) was estimated to be 19 to 24% for PM10 and 13 to 17% for PM2.5.


2012 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-31
Author(s):  
Bilkis A Begum ◽  
Swapan K Biswas ◽  
M Nasiruddin

Black carbon and other selected trace elements concentrations in aerosol samples collected at   the Continuous Air Monitoring Station (CAMS) in Chittagong, the second largest city in Bangladesh, were investigated for possible source contributions. The particulate matter (PM) sampling was done from end of winter to middle of rainy season (February and July, 2007) using dichotomous sampler. The samples collected in two fractions of <2.5 ?m (fine) and 2.5 to 10 ?m (coarse) were analyzed for elemental concentrations by proton induced X-ray emission (PIXE), hydrogen by proton elastic scattering analysis (PESA), and black carbon by reflectance measurement. The elemental data sets together with black carbon were analyzed by principal component analysis method to identify the possible sources contributing to the mass concentration of coarse and fine particulate matter (FPM) fractions. The best solutions were found to be six and seven factors for coarse and fine fractions respectively, which could explain more than 90% of the variance in the data set. The sources were identified as biomass burning/brick kiln, soil dust, road dust, Zn source, Pb source, motor vehicle, CNG (compressed natural gas) vehicle and sea salt. It was found that in coarse fraction, the sea salt is mixed with Zn source and in fine fraction, the road dust factor is mixed with CNG vehicle source. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jbas.v36i1.10907 Journal of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences, Vol. 36, No. 1, 19-31, 2012


Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dusan Jandacka ◽  
Daniela Durcanska

Urban air quality is continuing to deteriorate. If we want to do something about this problem, we need to know the cause of the pollution. The big problem, not only in Europe, is the high concentrations of particulate matter (PM) in the urban environment. The origin of these particles can be different, including combustion, transport, industry, natural resources, etc. Particulate matter includes a large amount of the finest PM fractions, which can remain in the air for a long time, easily enter respiratory tracks, and damage human health. Particulate matter is also produced by the abrasion of different parts of roads and vehicle fleets and from resuspension road dust, which concerns matter with larger aerodynamic diameters. For this reason, we carried out a series of measurements at various measuring stations in Žilina, Slovakia, during different measuring seasons. The main objective was to find out the diversity of particulate matter sources in Žilina. The search for the particulate matter origin was carried out by particulate matter measurements, determination of the particulate matter fraction concentrations (PM10, PM2.5, and PM1), an investigation on the effect of secondary factors on the particulate matter concentrations, chemical analyses, and multivariate statistical analyses. Varied behavior of the particulate matter with respect to the measurement station and the measurement season was found. Differences in the concentrations of investigated chemical elements contained in the PM were found. Significant changes in the concentrations of particulate matter are caused not only by primary sources (e.g., road traffic in the city of Žilina), but mainly by the negative events (combination of air pollution sources and meteorological conditions). Maximum concentrations of particulate matter PM10 were measured during the winter season at the measuring station on Komenského Street: PM10 126.2 µg/m3, PM2.5 97.7 µg/m3, and PM1 90.4 µg/m3 were obtained using the gravimetric method. The coarse fraction PM2.5-10 was mainly represented by the chemical elements Mg, Al, Si, Ca, Cr, Fe, and Ba, and the fine fraction PM2.5 was represented by the chemical elements K, S, Cd, Pb, Ni, and Zn. Road transport as a dominant source of PM10 was identified from all measurements in the city of Žilina by using the multivariate statistical methods of principal component analysis (PCA) and factor analysis (FA).


Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 722
Author(s):  
Gennadi Milinevsky ◽  
Natallia Miatselskaya ◽  
Asen Grytsai ◽  
Vassyl Danylevsky ◽  
Andrey Bril ◽  
...  

The spatial and temporal distributions of atmospheric aerosols have been simulated using the GEOS-Chem model over the sparsely investigated Eastern European region. The spatial distribution of the particulate matter (PM2.5) concentration, mineral dust, black carbon, organic aerosols, sea salt, as well as nitrate, sulfate, and ammonium aerosols during 2016–2017 were considered. The aerosols’ concentration, seasonality and spatial features were determined for the region. Particulate matter (PM2.5) contamination prevails in Poland in late autumn and winter. The monthly mean PM2.5 concentration reached 55 µg m−3 over the Moscow region in the early spring of both years. The mineral dust concentration varied significantly, reaching 40 µg m−3 over the southwestern part of Eastern Europe in March 2016. The areas most polluted by black carbon aerosols were the central and southern parts of Poland in the winter. The organic aerosols’ concentration was the largest in March and April, reaching 10 µg m−3 over East Belarus. The sea salt aerosol concentration increased in the coastal regions in winter due to the wind strength. Mineral dust aerosols in Eastern Europe are mainly composed of dust, partially transported from the Ukrainian steppe and partially from the Saharan Desert.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Magdalena Reizer ◽  
Giulia Calzolai ◽  
Katarzyna Maciejewska ◽  
José A. G. Orza ◽  
Luca Carraresi ◽  
...  

Abstract. Elemental composition of the fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM2.5-10) fraction of atmospheric particulate matter was measured at hourly time resolution by the use of a “streaker” sampler during a winter period at a Central European urban background site in Warsaw, Poland. A combination of multivariate (Positive Matrix Factorization), wind- (Conditional Probability Function) and trajectory-based (Cluster Analysis) receptor models, was applied for source apportionment. It allowed for identification of 5 similar sources in both fractions, including sulfates, soil dust, road salt, traffic- and industry-related sources. Another 2 sources, i.e., Cl-rich and wood and waste combustion, were identified in the fine fraction solely. In the fine fraction, aged sulfate aerosol related with emissions from solid fuel combustion in the residential sector located outside the city was the largest contributing source to fine elemental mass (44 %), while traffic-related sources, including soil dust mixed with road dust, road dust, as well as exhaust and non-exhaust traffic emissions, had the biggest contribution in the coarse elemental mass (together accounting for 83 %). Regional transport of aged aerosols and more local impact of the rest of identified sources played a crucial role in aerosol formation over the city. In addition, 2 intensive Saharan dust outbreaks were registered on 18th February and 8th March 2016. Both episodes were characterized by long-range transport of dust at 1 500 m and 3 000 m over Warsaw, as well as the concentrations of the soil component being 7 (up to 3.5 µg m−3) and 6 (up to 6.1 µg m−3) times higher than the mean concentrations observed during non-episodes days (0.5 µg m−3 and 1.1 µg m−3) in the fine and coarse fraction, respectively. The set of receptor models applied to the high time resolution data allowed to follow in detail the daily evolution of the aerosol elemental composition and to identify distinct sources contributing to the concentrations of different PM fractions, as well as revealed “multi-faces” of some elements, having diverse origin in the fine and coarse fraction. The hourly resolution of meteorological conditions and air mass back trajectories empower to follow transport pathways of the aerosol as well.


Author(s):  
Bo Pieter Johannes Andrée

AbstractThe fast spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has resulted in the emergence of several hot-spots around the world. Several of these are located in areas associated with high levels of air pollution. This study investigates the relationship between exposure to particulate matter and COVID-19 incidence in 355 municipalities in the Netherlands. The results show that atmospheric particulate matter with diameter less than 2.5 is a highly significant predictor of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and related hospital admissions. The estimates suggest that expected COVID-19 cases increase by nearly 100 percent when pollution concentrations increase by 20 percent. The association between air pollution and case incidence is robust in the presence of data on health-related preconditions, proxies for symptom severity, and demographic control variables. The results are obtained with ground-measurements and satellite-derived measures of atmospheric particulate matter as well as COVID-19 data from alternative dates. The findings call for further investigation into the association between air pollution and SARS-CoV-2 infection risk. If particulate matter plays a significant role in COVID-19 incidence, it has strong implications for the mitigation strategies required to prevent spreading.HighlightsBackgroundResearch on viral respiratory infections has found that infection risks increase following exposure to high concentrations of particulate matter. Several hot-spots of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 infections are in areas associated with high levels of air pollution.ApproachThis study investigates the relationship between exposure to particulate matter and COVID-19 incidence in 355 municipalities in the Netherlands using data on confirmed cases and hospital admissions coded by residence, along with local PM2.5, PM10, population density, demographics and health-related pre-conditions. The analysis utilizes different regression specifications that allow for spatial dependence, nonlinearity, alternative error distributions and outlier treatment.ResultsPM2.5 is a highly significant predictor of the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and related hospital admissions. Taking the WHO guideline of 10mcg/m3 as a baseline, the estimates suggest that expected COVID-19 cases increase by nearly 100% when pollution concentrations increase by 20%.ConclusionThe findings call for further investigation into the association between air pollution on SARS-CoV-2 infection risk. If particulate matter plays a significant role in the incidence of COVID-19 disease, it has strong implications for the mitigation strategies required to prevent spreading, particularly in areas that have high levels of pollution.


Author(s):  
Karen A. Katrinak ◽  
James R. Anderson ◽  
Peter R. Buseck

Aerosol samples were collected in Phoenix, Arizona on eleven dates between July 1989 and April 1990. Elemental compositions were determined for approximately 1000 particles per sample using an electron microprobe with an energy-dispersive x-ray spectrometer. Fine-fraction samples (particle cut size of 1 to 2 μm) were analyzed for each date; coarse-fraction samples were also analyzed for four of the dates.The data were reduced using multivariate statistical methods. Cluster analysis was first used to define 35 particle types. 81% of all fine-fraction particles and 84% of the coarse-fraction particles were assigned to these types, which include mineral, metal-rich, sulfur-rich, and salt categories. "Zero-count" particles, consisting entirely of elements lighter than Na, constitute an additional category and dominate the fine fraction, reflecting the importance of anthropogenic air pollutants such as those emitted by motor vehicles. Si- and Ca-rich mineral particles dominate the coarse fraction and are also numerous in the fine fraction.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 9
Author(s):  
Martina Habulan ◽  
Bojan Đurin ◽  
Anita Ptiček Siročić ◽  
Nikola Sakač

Particulate matter (PM) comprises a mixture of chemical compounds and water particles found in the air. The size of suspended particles is directly related to the negative impact on human health and the environment. In this paper, we present an analysis of the PM pollution in urban areas of Croatia. Data on PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations were measured with nine instruments at seven stationary measuring units located in three continental cities, namely Zagreb (the capital), Slavonski Brod, and Osijek, and two cities on the Adriatic coast, namely Rijeka and Dubrovnik. We analyzed an hourly course of PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations and average seasonal PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations from 2017 to 2019. At most measuring stations, maximum concentrations were recorded during autumn and winter, which can be explained by the intensive use of fossil fuels and traffic. Increases in PM concentrations during the summer months at measuring stations in Rijeka and Dubrovnik may be associated with the intensive arrival of tourists by air during the tourist season, and lower PM concentrations during the winter periods may be caused by a milder climate consequently resulting in lower consumption of fossil fuels and use of electric energy for heating.


Atmosphere ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
Haoran Zhai ◽  
Jiaqi Yao ◽  
Guanghui Wang ◽  
Xinming Tang

Based on measurement data from air quality monitoring stations, the spatio-temporal characteristics of the concentrations of particles with aerodynamic equivalent diameters smaller than 2.5 and 10 μm (PM2.5 and PM10, respectively) in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region from 2015 to 2018 were analysed at yearly, seasonal, monthly, daily and hourly scales. The results indicated that (1) from 2015 to 2018, the annual average values of PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations and the PM2.5/PM10 ratio in the study area decreased each year; (2) the particulate matter (PM) concentration in winter was significantly higher than that in summer, and the PM2.5/PM10 ratio was highest in winter and lowest in spring; (3) the PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations exhibited a pattern of double peaks and valleys throughout the day, reaching peak values at night and in the morning and valleys in the morning and afternoon; and (4) with the use of an improved sine function to simulate the change trend of the monthly mean PM concentration, the fitting R2 values for PM2.5 and PM10 in the whole study area were 0.74 and 0.58, respectively. Moreover, the high-value duration was shorter, the low-value duration was longer, and the concentration decrease rate was slower than the increase rate.


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