Analytical study on the primary and secondary organic carbon and elemental carbon in the particulate matter at the high-altitude Monte Curcio GAW station, Italy.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int
; 28(42): 60221-60234, 2021 Nov.
Article
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| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-34156618
This study provides a thorough investigation of the trends of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in particulate matter (PM)10 and PM2.5 samples collected at the Monte Curcio Observatory (1780 m a.s.l.), a station of the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) program and Global Mercury Observation System (GMOS) network. Although the drawn attention toward these pollutants, there is still a lack of data for southern Italy, and this work is a contribution toward the filling of this gap. PM was sampled daily in 2016 and analyzed by thermo-optical transmittance method, while equivalent black carbon (eBC) concentrations in PM10 were simultaneously measured using a multiangle absorption photometer. The results showed that in PM10, the average values of OC and EC were 1.43 µgC/m3 and 0.12 µgC/m3, whereas in PM2.5, these concentrations were 1.09 µgC/m3 and 0.12 µgC/m3, respectively. We detected a clear seasonal variability in OC and EC with higher concentrations during the warm period. Moreover, the analysis of the OC/EC ratio revealed that most of the carbonaceous aerosol was transported by long-range air masses, as further confirmed by the use of the concentration-weighed trajectory (CWT) model. The mass absorption cross-section at 632 nm of EC (MACEC) over the entire period was 9.67 ± 4.86 m2/g and 8.70 ± 3.18 m2/g in PM2.5 and PM10, respectively, and did not exhibit a clear seasonal variation. The concentrations for OC and EC were also used for the computation of the secondary organic carbon (SOC) content, whose outcomes resulted in a seasonal trend similar to those obtained for OC and EC. As regards the eBC, its weekly pattern showed a slight increase during the weekend in the warm period, consistent with the anthropic activities in the touristic area surrounding the observatory.
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Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Contaminantes Atmosféricos
/
Material Particulado
País/Región como asunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int
Asunto de la revista:
SAUDE AMBIENTAL
/
TOXICOLOGIA
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Italia
Pais de publicación:
Alemania