Abstract
Use of biomass combustion as primary energy source emit substantial amounts of carbonaceous aerosols (CA) in the Himalayan environment. Any understanding regarding the impact of CA on human health and climate requires a reliable estimation of compositional variability of CA associated carbon forms: Elemental carbon (EC), Organic carbon (OC), and Light absorbing organic carbon (LAOC). This investigation spanning over 14 months was undertaken in the rural part of the Western Himalayas to estimate temporal variability in the ambient aerosol load (PM_(10), PM_(2.5)), CA associated carbon forms. All CA associated carbon forms were part of PM_(2.5) size fraction, their significantly high concentrations in winter corresponded with the high biomass combustion. Source apportionment of CA done on the basis of Char-EC/Soot-EC estimates showed that ＞ 90% of the EC was Char-EC contributed by biomass and coal combustion in winter. Estimates of K^+ (tracer for biomass combustion) showed a strong association with CA associated carbon forms. The estimated values of CA associated carbon forms during winter matched with the reported values of emission factors for biomass burning. Both the mass and composition of ambient aerosol were predominantly contributed by biomass combustion in the region.
Highlights
Worldwide 2.8 billion people use biomass fuel to meet their daily needs for cooking and heating (Bonjour et al, 2013)
In this paper we present a comprehensive composition characterization of the ambient aerosol load (PM10 and PM2.5) collected in two size fractions from a rural site located in the Western Himalayas over 14 months
High correlation of nssK+ with Organic carbon (OC), Elemental carbon (EC), Char-EC, BC and Light absorbing organic carbon (LAOC) suggests their emissions from biomass combustion
Summary
Worldwide 2.8 billion people use biomass fuel to meet their daily needs for cooking and heating (Bonjour et al, 2013). Fuelwood combustion in traditional stoves and open burning practices directly emit carbonaceous aerosol (CA), comprising of elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) as major constituents (Andreae and Gelencser, 2006; Roden et al., 2006; Chakrabarty et al, 2010; Arora and Jain, 2015) These constituents contribute significantly to indoor and outdoor air pollution (Pope III, 2000; Balakrishnan et al, 2013; Bonjour et al, 2013), which has emerged as a leading cause for millions of deaths every year globally (Lim et al, 2013). Climate forcing related impacts from brown cloud formation over South Asia region anticipate changes in the monsoon circulation, an increase in extreme weather events (floods and droughts), and melting of the Himalayan glaciers (Menon et al, 2002; Ramanathan et al, 2005; Ramanathan et al, 2007; Menon et al, 2010; Das and Jayaraman, 2011)
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