Ambient air particle and metallic pollutant dry deposition study at a farmland sampling site during 2013–2014

Abstract

ABSTRACTIn this study, the concentrations of particulate and metallic pollutants (Cu, Cd, Cr, Pb, and Zn) in ambient air and dry deposits were monitored in daytime sampling periods at a farmland sampling site in central Taiwan from August 2013 to July 2014. Ambient air dry deposition models of dry deposition from ambient air (Noll et al., 2010) were used to determine the differences between measured and modeled concentrations of pollutants in ambient air and dry deposits. The results indicate that the mean calculated/measured dry deposition flux ratios obtained using the model of Noll et al. (2010) for 2.5 µm particles and metallic elements (Cu, Cr, Cd, and Pb) in ambient air were all less than one in all seasons. The mean calculated/measured dry deposition flux ratios obtained using the model of Noll et al. (2010) for particles and metallic elements (Cu, Cr, Cd, and Pb) in ambient air were more than one in summer and autumn for particles of all sizes of interest. Finally, the mean calculated/measured dry deposition flux ratios that were obtained using the model of Noll et al. (2010) for metallic elements (Cu, Cr, Cd, Zn, and Pb) reflected the fact that all dry deposition fluxes were underestimated in the winter and spring for all particle sizes of interest.