Application of high-performance anion-exchange chromatography–pulsed amperometric detection for measuring carbohydrates in routine daily filter samples collected by a national network: 1. Determination of the impact of biomass burning in the upper Midwest

Abstract

[1] Biomass burning is one of the major sources of organic carbon aerosols. However, there is limited information on the temporal and spatial variability for the impact of biomass burning in most regions of the United States, including the upper Midwest. In an attempt to obtain information on these variabilities, high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) was employed to measure the smoke marker levoglucosan (and various other carbohydrates) on archived daily Federal Reference Monitor (FRM) Teflon filter samples from the PM2.5 NAAQS compliance monitoring network. Levoglucosan data, along with measurements of water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and potassium, from the analysis of FRM samples collected at 10 sites in the upper Midwest from March 2004 through February 2005 are presented. Results suggest that WSOC contains a substantial regional component, summer levoglucosan is dependent on both horizontal and vertical transport of fire emissions, and potassium revealed no clear pattern associated with biomass burning impacts. The contribution of organic carbon due to primary biomass burning particle emissions ranged on average from about 5 to 35%, suggesting that for this study in the upper Midwest, >50% of the WSOC is from secondary organic aerosol rather than biomass burning. In a second paper the results from the measurements of the other carbohydrates that HPAEC-PAD analysis can determine are discussed to investigate their sources and trends.