scholarly journals Source apportionment of ambient fine particle from combined size distribution and chemical composition data during summertime in Beijing

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 1367-1397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. R. Liu ◽  
Y. S. Wang ◽  
Q. Liu ◽  
B. Hu ◽  
Y. Sun

Abstract. Continuous particle number concentration and chemical composition data were collected over one month during summertime in Beijing to investigate the source apportionment of ambient fine particles. Particle size distributions from 15 nm to 2.5 μm in diameter and composition data, such as organic matter, sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, chlorine, and gaseous pollutants, were analyzed using positive matrix factorisation (PMF) which indentified eight factors: cooking, solid mode exhaust, nucleation mode exhaust, accumulation mode, secondary nitrate, secondary sulfate, coal-fired power plant and road dust. Nearly two-thirds of particle number concentrations were attributed to cooking (22.8%) and motor vehicle (37.5%), whereas road dust, coal-fired power plant and regional sources contributed 69.0% to particle volume concentrations. Local and remote sources were distinguished using size distributions associated with each factor. Local sources were generally characterised by unimodal or bimodal number distributions, consisting mostly of particles less 0.1 μm in diameter, and regional sources were defined by mostly accumulation mode particles. Nearly one third of secondary nitrate and secondary sulfate was transported from the surrounding areas of Beijing during study period. Overall the introduction of combination of particle number concentration and chemical composition in PMF model is successful at separating the components and quantifying relative contributions to the particle number and volume population in a complex urban atmosphere.

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 16457-16492 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Dall'Osto ◽  
D.C.S. Beddows ◽  
J. Pey ◽  
S. Rodriguez ◽  
A. Alastuey ◽  
...  

Abstract. Differential mobility particle sizer (DMPS) aerosol concentrations (N13–800) were collected over a one-year-period (2004) at an urban background site in Barcelona, North-Eastern Spain. Quantitative contributions to particle number concentrations of the nucleation (33–38%), Aitken (39–49%) and accumulation mode (18–22%) were estimated. We examined the source and time variability of atmospheric aerosol particles by using both K-means clustering and Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) analysis. Performing clustering analysis on hourly size distributions, nine K-means DMPS clusters were identified and, by directional association, diurnal variation and relationship to meteorological and pollution variables, four typical aerosol size distribution scenarios were identified: traffic (69% of the time), dilution (15% of the time), summer background conditions (4% of the time) and regional pollution (12% of the time). According to the results of PMF, vehicle exhausts are estimated to contribute at least to 62–66% of the total particle number concentration, with a slightly higher proportion distributed towards the nucleation mode (34%) relative to the Aitken mode (28–32%). Photochemically induced nucleation particles make only a small contribution to the total particle number concentration (2–3% of the total), although only particles larger than 13 nm were considered in this study. Overall the combination of the two statistical methods is successful at separating components and quantifying relative contributions to the particle number population.


2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4783-4799 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Zábori ◽  
R. Krejci ◽  
J. Ström ◽  
P. Vaattovaara ◽  
A. M. L. Ekman ◽  
...  

Abstract. Primary marine aerosols (PMAs) are an important source of cloud condensation nuclei, and one of the key elements of the remote marine radiative budget. Changes occurring in the rapidly warming Arctic, most importantly the decreasing sea ice extent, will alter PMA production and hence the Arctic climate through a set of feedback processes. In light of this, laboratory experiments with Arctic Ocean water during both Arctic winter and summer were conducted and focused on PMA emissions as a function of season and water properties. Total particle number concentrations and particle number size distributions were used to characterize the PMA population. A comprehensive data set from the Arctic summer and winter showed a decrease in PMA concentrations for the covered water temperature (Tw) range between −1°C and 15°C. A sharp decrease in PMA emissions for a Tw increase from −1°C to 4°C was followed by a lower rate of change in PMA emissions for Tw up to about 6°C. Near constant number concentrations for water temperatures between 6°C to 10°C and higher were recorded. Even though the total particle number concentration changes for overlapping Tw ranges were consistent between the summer and winter measurements, the distribution of particle number concentrations among the different sizes varied between the seasons. Median particle number concentrations for a dry diameter (Dp< 0.125μm measured during winter conditions were similar (deviation of up to 3%), or lower (up to 70%) than the ones measured during summer conditions (for the same water temperature range). For Dp > 0.125μm, the particle number concentrations during winter were mostly higher than in summer (up to 50%). The normalized particle number size distribution as a function of water temperature was examined for both winter and summer measurements. An increase in Tw from −1°C to 10°C during winter measurements showed a decrease in the peak of relative particle number concentration at about a Dp of 0.180μm, while an increase was observed for particles with Dp > 1μm. Summer measurements exhibited a relative shift to smaller particle sizes for an increase of Tw in the range 7–11°C. The differences in the shape of the number size distributions between winter and summer may be caused by different production of organic material in water, different local processes modifying the water masses within the fjord (for example sea ice production in winter and increased glacial meltwater inflow during summer) and different origin of the dominant sea water mass. Further research is needed regarding the contribution of these factors to the PMA production.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neeraj Shandilya ◽  
Olivier Le Bihan ◽  
Christophe Bressot ◽  
Martin Morgeneyer

A parametric study on the release of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles from two commercial photocatalytic nanocoatings is carried out. For this, abrasion tests are performed on them. The formed aerosols are characterized by their number concentration, particle size distribution, individual particle shape, size, and chemical composition. The two nanocoatings appear to exhibit contrastingly opposite behavior with respect to the number concentration of the released particles. Having irregular shapes, the released particles are found to have unimodal size distributions with 1.5–3.5% (in mass) of Ti content. However, no free nanoparticles of TiO2were found. Distinct phases during the particle number concentration evolution with time are also discussed and evaluated. Two quantities—(ΔC/Δt)IandTII—are identified as the important indicators to qualitatively measure the resistance strength and hence the concentration of the released particles from a nanocoating during stress application.


2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (17) ◽  
pp. 13111-13126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Firoz Khan ◽  
Mohd Talib Latif ◽  
Norhaniza Amil ◽  
Liew Juneng ◽  
Noorlin Mohamad ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (23) ◽  
pp. 14849-14873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Tunved ◽  
Johan Ström

Abstract. Size-resolved aerosol trends were investigated based on a 17-year data set (2000–2017) from the rural background site Aspvreten located in southern Sweden (58.8∘ N, 17.4∘ E). Cluster analysis of the size distributions was performed to aid in the interpretation of the data. The results confirm previous findings of decreasing aerosol mass and number during the last decades as a result of reduced anthropogenic emissions in Europe. We show that both particle modal number concentration and size have substantially been reduced during the last 17 years. Negative trends in particle number concentration of about 10 cm−3 yr−1 are present for nuclei, Aitken, and accumulation modes. In total, integral particle number concentration has decreased by 30 %, from 1860 to ca. 1300 cm−3. The reduction in modal number concentration is accompanied by a decrease in modal size, and this decrease is largest for the accumulation mode (2 nm yr−1 or about 17 % for the whole period). These reductions have resulted in a decrease in submicron particle mass (< 390 nm) by more than 50 % over the period 2000–2017. These decreases are similar to observations found at other stations in northern Europe. Although all size classes show a downward trend as annual averages, we also show that observed trends are not evenly distributed over the year and that a rather complex picture emerges where both sign and magnitude of trends vary with season and size. The strongest negative trends are present during spring (accumulation mode) and autumn (Aitken mode). The strongest positive trends are present during summer months (Aitken mode). The combined trajectory and data analyses do not present evidence for an increase in new particle formation formed locally, although some evidence of increased new particle formation some distance away from the receptor is present. Observed aerosol size distribution data, together with an adiabatic cloud parcel model, were further used to estimate the change in cloud droplet concentration for various assumptions of updraught velocities and aerosol chemical composition. The results indicate a substantial increase in the atmospheric brightening effect due to a reduction in cloud reflectivity corresponding to 10 %–12 % reduction in cloud albedo over the period 2000–2017.


2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vidmantas Ulevicius ◽  
Steigvilė Byčenkienė ◽  
Kristina Plauškaitė ◽  
Vadimas Dudoitis

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